Lawgics – Judgment No. 199

Synopsis: Rejection of appeal on ground that appeal was not filed electronically under Rule 108 of CGST Rules, 2017 is invalid in case of non availability of order–in–original on GST portal and Appeal being filed manually.

Case Name: M/s Appolo Sesame Industries & Anr. VS Assistant Commissioner of CGST, Division X, Nadiad & Ors

Citation: R/Special Civil Application No. 571 of 2025 dated 24.04.2025

Authority: Gujarat High Court

Brief facts of the case:

The petitioners challenged the rejection of their appeal against an Order-in-Original dated 30.10.2023. They had filed the appeal manually in Form GST APL-01, as the order was not available on the GST portal, making electronic filing impossible. Despite this, the Appellate Authority rejected the appeal on 27.09.2024, stating it was not filed electronically, as required under Rule 108(1) of the CGST Rules, 2017.

Contentions of the Petitioner:

The order-in-original was not available on the portal, so manual filing was the only viable option. A pre-deposit of 10% of the disputed dues was paid. The Appellate Authority ignored the proviso to Rule 108(1), which allows manual filing if the order is unavailable electronically. The Appellate Authority failed to issue the mandatory provisional acknowledgment, despite receiving the appeal.

Contentions of the Department:

The appeal was filed offline without fulfilling electronic filing requirements. The Appellate Authority argued that procedural rules were not followed, hence the rejection was valid.

Findings and Decision of the Court:

The High Court found that the Appellate Authority failed to apply its mind to the facts. It held that the rejection of the appeal violated Rule 108(1) of the CGST Rules, as manual filing is permitted when the order is not available on the portal. The impugned rejection order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the Appellate Authority to hear and decide the appeal on merits.