A Comprehensive Guide on Appeal against GST Assessment

The Goods and Services Act, 2017 (CGST Act) allows an individual taxpayer or an entity to file an appeal against an order of the Adjudicating Authority under Section 112 of the Act if they feel that such order is arbitrary or unfair. The CGST Act defines Adjudicating Authority as any authority lawfully authorized, appointed, or authorized to pass any order or decision under the provisions of this Act. However, it does not include Commissioner, revisional Authority, Authority for Advance Ruling, and Appellate Authority and Tribunal. The Adjudicating Authority is competent to take up appeals against any kind of orders or assessment made by the competent authority, except for the following cases-

1. An order of the Commissioner or other authority empowered to direct the transfer of proceedings from one officer to another.
2. An order pertaining to the seizure or retention of books of account, registers and other documents.
3. An order sanctioning prosecution under the Act.
4. An order passed under section 80 of the CGST Act.

The taxpayer can make an appeal against GST assessment within three months of the order being passed by the Adjudicating Authority. The Appellate Authority may further condone a delay of up to 1 month from the expiration of the three months time limit. However, the same would have to be properly justified by the Appellant.

GST Appeal Process

The GST Appeal process involves the aggrieved person appealing to a higher forum or authority against the order of the lower authority in prescribed forms. The hierarchy for making an appeal against GST assessment before the statutory authority is that firstly, an appeal is made to the First Appellate Authority under Section 107 of the Goods and Services Act, 2017 (CGST Act). A Commissioner, too, can appeal to the Appellate Authority. The order of the appellate order authority must be a speaking order and should clearly state the substantial points of adjudication and reasoning provided by the authority. Following the First Appeal, if the Appellant is still dissatisfied with the order of the AA, the Appellant can make an appeal with the Tribunal under Sections 111-116 of the Goods and Services Act, 2017 (CGST Act).

Similarly, further appeals from the Tribunal can be made to the High Court and Supreme Court against the order of the Adjudicating Authority, however, before pursuing the right to appeal before higher authorities. The Appellant must first deposit the pre-adjudged amount with the authorities before filing for an appeal. As per the Act, the Appellant must deposit the complete amount of tax, interest, fine, charge, and penalty that he acknowledges resulting from the contested order, as well as an amount equal to 10% of the remaining tax that is under dispute as a result of the contested order. Without making a demand order of the pre-adjudged amount in Favour of the Appellate Authority, the AA cannot proceed with the appeal filing. 

GST Tribunal Procedures

The process of Appeal before GST authorities follows a process whereby a single appeal against an order or pronouncement by the adjudicating authority is appealable by multiple higher authorities. The GST tribunal procedures involved in the final adjudication of a GST Appeal are as follows- 

First Appeal

The taxpayer can make an appeal against an impugned order of the adjudicating authority to the adjudicating authority. The time restriction for the party to file an appeal before the Adjudicating Authority is three months from the date of communication of the impugned order. But the AA may accept the delay of up to one month if he is satisfied that there was a sufficient reason for such delay. An appeal to the AA should be made in form GST APL-01, along with a certified copy of the order of the adjudicating authority. The Appellate Authority must pronounce the final order within a period of one year from the date of appeal. The Appellate Authority must follow the procedure of judicial review and should not allow more than three adjournments to the hearing unless additional grounds for such are provided in writing.

Appeal Before Tribunal

If the applicant is dissatisfied with the order of the Appellate Authority, an appeal against GST assessment can be made before the Regional Bench of the GST Tribunal un. The party against whom the appeal has been filed shall file an appeal before the Tribunal in form GST APL-05, even though he may not have appealed against the order or any part of it. The Appellant must also file a memorandum of cross-objections form GST- APL-06 against any part of the order appealed against within forty-five days after learning that an appeal has been submitted. The Appellate Tribunal will then consider the memorandum as if it were an appeal presented within the initial appeal’s time frame. The Tribunal has the inherent power to stay the order given by the Appellate Authority. An order by the Tribunal can be further challenged by the Appellant in the Appellant Tribunal.

Appeal Before The High Court

An order passed by the Regional Tribunal with regard to an appeal GST assessment can be appealed before the concerned High Court of the State. An appeal before the High Court should be filed in form GST APL-08 and can only be admitted if it contains contention on the substantial question of law. An appeal to the High Court shall be filed within 180 days of the order of the Tribunal; however, the Court can condone delay in filing an appeal on grounds of sufficient grounds provided by the party.

Role of Revisional Authority in Appeal against GST Assessment

The Revisional Authority is authorized and empowered by the Act to, upon information received by the Commissioner of CGST, SGCT, or UTGST, examine any order or records produced in any proceedings if the Adjudicating Authority thinks that the order passed by the subordinate officer is erroneous, illegal, arbitrary, not taking into account certain aspects, damaging tot eh interest and reputation of the Appellant.

Though the Revisional Authority has been authorized to entertain an appeal against GST assessment for any order or decision passed by the AA, it has certain restrictions imposed upon it, too, by the Chief Commissioner of CGST and SGST. They are –

1. It has been appealed before the Adjudicating Authority, the Tribunal, the High Court, or the Supreme Court;
2. A period of six months hasn’t passed yet;
3. Three years have passed since the decision or order sought to be revised was passed;
4. The order has already been taken for revision at an earlier stage;
5. The order of the Adjudicating Authority is a revisional order. Conclusion

Appeal against GST assessment is a process through which any person or entity aggrieved by an order or decision passed by an Adjudicating Authority can file an Appeal against GST assessment before the Appellate Tribunal. The appeal mechanism allows the aggrieved person to file an appeal before the appellate authority, Regional/National tribunal, High Court, and Supreme Court. The GST appeal process involves several processes and filing with the statutory authorities. Corpbiz shall be your aide and assistant to help you discharge any grievance or complaint related to GST assessment or appeal to higher authorities. Our dedicated tax team shall help fulfill all your compliances in a timely and ensure that you do not face any hurdles in the complex GST litigation and advisory processes.

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