Drafting a GST appeal: limitation, pre-deposit and filing

What this guide covers and why it matters

An appeal against a GST order is a sequence of procedural steps. Each step has a deadline, a payment or a form. Miss one and the merits of the dispute may never be heard. This guide takes a practitioner through the first appeal to the Appellate Authority under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017, and touches on the second appeal to the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) under Section 112 where the sequence continues.

Three terms are used throughout. The admitted amount is the part of tax, interest, penalty, fine or fee in the order that you accept and will not contest. The disputed tax is the balance of tax you contest. The pre-deposit is the 10 per cent amount paid on the disputed tax before the appeal can be filed. The law in this area changes often. The position stated here is as of November 2026, and the points that may move are flagged.

The time limit and how it is counted

The normal period under Section 107(1) is three months from the date the order is communicated to you. The Finance Act, 2026 implementation circular records this as the normal period, and it also records a further month that can be condoned under Section 107(4) where there is sufficient cause. The total outer limit, therefore, is four months from communication, but the fourth month is not automatic. You must show sufficient cause and ask for condonation.

The circular also says a delayed appeal that falls outside the condonable period should not be decided on merits, even if the case looks strong. The appellate order must record reasons for accepting or rejecting the appeal on limitation. So the date of communication matters more than the date you received a copy by hand or email. Record the date on the portal or in the department's communication and keep that record.

Two related dates should not be confused. Under Section 78, recovery proceedings can begin if the amount payable under an order is not paid within three months from the date the order is served. That is a recovery clock, not the appeal clock. A taxpayer who files an appeal and pays the pre-deposit has a separate protection against recovery, discussed below.

The pre-deposit: how much and how to pay

Under Section 107(6), no appeal lies unless the appellant has paid the admitted amount in full and deposited 10 per cent of the remaining tax in dispute. Interest and penalty that are disputed do not attract the pre-deposit, so the 10 per cent applies to the tax alone. The rate was 10 per cent before the amendment effective 1 November 2024, and the amendment reduced the cap, not the rate.

How the pre-deposit is paid

The pre-deposit is paid through the electronic cash ledger or, where the underlying demand can itself be paid from input tax credit, through the electronic credit ledger. The Central Tax notification and the rules at the time of filing set out the ledger entries. Under the form for pre-deposit, the amount is shown in the table for the appeal, which the taxpayer fills in at filing.

Two points need care. First, where the underlying demand is for reverse charge tax, or for an erroneous refund, the pre-deposit must be paid in cash, since credit cannot be used for those demands. Second, where a manual appeal is filed, the pre-deposit may be paid through DRC-03, and a DRC-03 made involuntarily during pre-adjudication can be counted. Some commentary also warns that a credit-ledger payment can be rejected at the GSTAT portal. Check the portal's current behaviour before relying on credit for the pre-deposit at the second stage.

The pre-deposit is not a one-time cost. At the second appeal stage, Section 112(8) requires a further 10 per cent of the tax still in dispute, with the same caps. Commentary that describes a 20 per cent GSTAT deposit reflects the position before the 2024 change and should not be followed.

Refund of the pre-deposit and the stay

The circular on the Finance Act, 2026 says an appellate order need not say expressly that the pre-deposit is to be refunded. The refund is claimed on receipt of the order by filing RFD-01 under the 'on account of order' head. Where the appellate order is in your favour and the department intends to appeal further, the refund is still payable unless the order is stayed by the Tribunal or a court. An intention to appeal is not a ground to hold back the refund. Interest on the refund is payable under Section 115 from the date of each payment, and a practitioner's slide records the rate as 6 per cent.

Under Section 107(7), recovery of the balance disputed tax is deemed stayed once the appeal is filed with the pre-deposit. Commentary notes that the taxpayer should still inform the jurisdictional officer, and that the stay position is less clear where less than 10 per cent was deposited or where the final acknowledgement has not been issued. Do not rely on the stay without these steps.

Drafting the memorandum of grounds

The memorandum of grounds of appeal is the heart of the filing. It is made in FORM GST APL-01 and includes a statement of facts and grounds of appeal, followed by the verification. The grounds must be signed in the manner the rules prescribe. A practitioner's appeal checklist lists the cover letter, the acknowledgement of APL-01, the annexure to APL-01, any application for condonation of delay, a copy of the order and the supporting documents.

Additional grounds can be raised later. Under Section 107(10), a new ground may be permitted where its omission was neither wilful nor unreasonable. The authority must separate new legal arguments arising from the existing demand from new factual issues that need fresh investigation, and must record reasons for accepting or rejecting the ground. Additional evidence is governed by Rule 112. It may be admitted in specified cases, for example where the adjudicating officer refused to admit admissible evidence or where there was sufficient cause for not producing it earlier. The authority records reasons either way, and the original officer must be given a chance to examine and rebut it.

Filing, acknowledgement and service

Under Rule 108, the appeal is filed in FORM GST APL-01, either electronically or otherwise as the Commissioner notifies. A provisional acknowledgement is issued immediately. Where the order was passed manually, a hard copy of the appeal in triplicate must be submitted with a certified copy of the order, within seven days of filing. Where the hard copy is submitted within seven days, the date of filing is the date of the provisional acknowledgement. Where it is submitted later, the date of filing is the date of submission of documents.

The appeal is treated as filed only when the final acknowledgement, FORM GST APL-02, indicating the appeal number, is issued. The rule is explicit on this point. A taxpayer who has a provisional acknowledgement but no APL-02 should follow up on the portal the same week.

On service, the appeal is filed through the portal, and the portal gives the acknowledgement. Separate from that, the orders themselves must be served by the proper means. Service of notices and orders can be made by the portal, by publication, or by affixing the notice at the last known place of business or residence. A notice cannot be served by WhatsApp, and the department's instruction of November 2023 requires orders to be uploaded on the portal. The materials available do not set out a separate service step for the appeal beyond filing and the department's acknowledgement, so keep proof of every filing and every copy you send.

Scrutiny and defects

The Appellate Authority scrutinises the appeal before it is registered. Under Rule 108, it checks the details of the appellant and the order, the statutory limitation, the correct form, the payment of the pre-deposit, the grounds, the supporting documents, and jurisdiction and procedural completeness. The circular says disputes on the merits should ordinarily be examined in the appeal and not rejected summarily at registration. Defects are still a risk, so the checklist above matters.

When the GSTAT is in place: second appeals and the writ

The GST Appellate Tribunal began adjudicatory work on 16 February 2026, with its Principal Bench in New Delhi and state benches following in phases. The second appeal lies to the Tribunal under Section 112 against first appellate orders and revisional orders. Because the Tribunal now exists, the older position that a writ was the only door has changed. The High Courts have repeatedly dismissed writ petitions where an effective statutory remedy is available, and have sent taxpayers back to the appeal route.

Courts have held that writs are ordinarily not entertained where an effective alternative remedy exists. The recognised exceptions are violation of natural justice, lack of jurisdiction, enforcement of fundamental rights, and a challenge to the vires of the statute. Courts have also said that the Tribunal can grant interim relief, including a stay of recovery, so a writ is usually not the right tool even to stop recovery during the appeal. Filing a writ to avoid the pre-deposit is not a safe course.

Where the sources differ or are out of date

The library passages used for this guide include a practitioner slide that shows a Rs 25 crore cap and a passage noting that the Tribunal was not yet working. Both are superseded. The Tribunal began work on 16 February 2026, and the cap was reduced from 1 November 2024. Some commentary gives a 20 per cent GSTAT deposit, which is the older rate. The backlog date of 30 June 2026 was extended to 31 July 2026 for some appeals, and that window has now closed for most matters. The amended CGST Rules took effect in phases from 1 November 2026, and this guide has not checked every changed form for the first appeal. Verify the current forms and portal steps before filing.