Online Appeal Filing: Digital Submission Trumps Physical Copy Under Rule 108(3) CGST Rules, 2017

HC ruled that an online appeal filed within prescribed time limits should not be rejected due to delayed hard copy submission. The court interpreted Rule 108(3) of CGST Rules, 2017 to mean that online filing date is the official appeal filing date when the original order is uploaded on the common portal. The impugned order was set aside, and the appellate authority was directed to consider the appeal on merits.

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Issues:
1. Rejection of refund application under Section 54 of applicable GST enactments.
2. Appeal filed online within the prescribed time limit but rejected due to submission of hard copy later.
3. Interpretation of Rule 108(3) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 regarding the date of filing of appeal.

Analysis:
Issue 1: The petitioner's refund application under Section 54 of the GST enactments was rejected by an appellate order dated 24.01.2024. The petitioner appealed this decision before the appellate authority, which was submitted online on 29.06.2022, within the prescribed time limit of 12.07.2022. However, the appeal was rejected due to the submission of a hard copy on 23.05.2023.

Issue 2: The petitioner contended that the appeal was filed within the stipulated time and should not have been rejected. The respondent, represented by Mr. Rajendran Raghavan, argued that the date of filing the appeal should be based on the issuance of a provisional acknowledgment, which is considered the date of filing only if the order appealed against was uploaded on the common portal.

Issue 3: Rule 108(3) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 was crucial in determining the date of filing the appeal. The rule specifies that if the decision or order appealed against is uploaded on the common portal, the date of online filing is considered the date of filing of the appeal. The requirement to submit a self-certified copy of the order appealed against arises only if the order is not uploaded on the common portal. In this case, since the order was uploaded online, the date of online filing was deemed the date of appeal filing. The court found the rejection of the appeal based on the submission of a hard copy as a procedural requirement and set aside the impugned order, directing the appellate authority to consider the appeal on its merits.

In conclusion, the High Court set aside the impugned order dated 24.01.2024 and directed the appellate authority to receive and dispose of the appeal on its merits. The writ petition was disposed of with no costs, and the connected miscellaneous petition was closed.

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