Statutory GST appeal rights cannot be denied for portal failure where no valid notification permits offline filing.

A statutory right of appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act cannot be defeated by portal non-reflection where the assessee has attempted to file offline. Rule 108 of the Uttar Pradesh GST Rules permits electronic filing or another mode only if properly notified by the Commissioner, and a circular cannot replace that notification requirement. In the absence of such notification, and where technical difficulty prevented online acknowledgment, the assessee could not be denied the appellate remedy on a purely procedural ground. The offline appeal was therefore treated as maintainable, and the correspondence insisting on online acknowledgment was set aside.

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Issues: Whether an assessee's offline appeal could be refused on the ground that the electronic portal did not reflect the appeal and no notification had been issued permitting an alternative mode of filing.

Analysis: Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 confers a statutory right on any person aggrieved by an adjudication order to prefer an appeal. Rule 108 of the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 contemplates filing of the appeal electronically, or otherwise as may be notified by the Commissioner. The definition of "notify" was treated as requiring a proper notification, and in the absence of any such notification, the alternative mode of filing could not be denied. The Court also held that a circular could not substitute for the statutory requirement of notification. Since the appeal was not being reflected on the portal because of technical difficulty, the assessee could not be deprived of the appellate remedy on a purely technical ground.

Conclusion: The offline appeal was held maintainable and the impugned correspondence insisting on online acknowledgment was set aside.

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