QUESTION
Mr. X is a taxable person registered in the state of Gujarat. Its goods were
detained in transit for minor mistake in way bill in April, 2019 and were
released on payment of tax and penalty. Manual Order for the same was passed by
Himachal Pradesh Central Excise officer in the month of October, 2019 after
several reminders. Taxable person wants to file appeal against said order. How
and what is the procedure to file appeal against such order passed u/s. 129 of
the Act? Till date no order is shown online on the portal. Whether Manual Appeal
can be filed before Gujarat State Authority? What will be date of service in
such case; The date on which same is reflected on portal or date of manual
order. Kindly assist in the above matter.
ANSWER
Facts of the case: Goods were detained in transit and manual order for the same
was passed. What is the procedure for filing of appeal?
Law Applicable: Section 107 of CGST ACT
(1) Any person aggrieved by any decision or order passed under this Act or the
State Goods and Services Tax Act or the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax
Act by an adjudicating authority may appeal to such Appellate Authority as may
be prescribed within three months from the date on which the said decision or
order is communicated to such person.
CGST RULE 108
(1) An appeal to the Appellate Authority under sub-section (1) of section 107
shall be filed in FORM GST APL-01, along with the relevant documents, either
electronically or otherwise as may be notified by the Commissioner, and a
provisional acknowledgement shall be issued to the appellant immediately.
(2) The grounds of appeal and the form of verification as contained in FORM GST
APL-01 shall be signed in the manner specified in rule 26.
(3) A certified copy of the decision or order appealed against shall be
submitted within seven days of filing the appeal under sub-rule (1) and a final
acknowledgement, indicating appeal number shall be issued thereafter in FORM GST
APL-02 by the Appellate Authority or an officer authorized by him in this
behalf:
Provided that where the certified copy of the decision or order is submitted
within seven days from the date of filing the FORM GST APL-01, the date of
filing of the appeal shall be the date of the issue of the provisional
acknowledgement and where the said copy is submitted after seven days, the date
of filing of the appeal shall be the date of the submission of such copy.
Interpretation: The appeal to appellate authority can be filed within a period
of 3 months from the date of communication of order. Even if the order is not
reflecting on the portal, manual receipt of such order is sufficient.
Conclusion: In the present case, date of service of order shall be the date on
which the order is manually received by you.
The procedure of filing of the appeal shall be as specified in Rule 108 of CGST
Rules, 2017.
The appeal can be filed online but if the portal is not active then you can also
file the appeal manually. If the officer is not accepting the appeal manually,
you are requested to contact the helpdesk or raise a grievance.(Reply dt.29-02-2020