Electronic GST Appeal Valid – Rejection for No Hard Copy Set Aside | HC

Case Details: TC Tours Ltd. vs. Union Territory of J & K [2026] 182 taxmann.com 875 (Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• Sindhu Sharma & Shahzad Azeem, JJ.
• Amrinder Singh & Sheikh Umar Farooq, Advs. for the Appellant
• Mohsin Qadiri, Sr. AAG & Ms Maha Majeed, Assisting Counsel for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner challenged the rejection of its statutory appeal filed against the demand confirmed under Section 73 of the CGST Act and Jammu and Kashmir GST Act. It filed the appeal on the GST portal with the requisite pre-deposit and supporting documents for the specified period after a show cause notice was issued, alleging that the ITC claimed in Form GSTR-3B exceeded the ITC available in Form GSTR-2A. The appeal was rejected because the hard copy was not submitted. The matter was accordingly placed before the High Court.

High Court Held

The High Court held that Rule 108(1) of the CGST Rules provides that an appeal shall be filed along with all relevant documents either electronically or otherwise as may be notified by the Commissioner, and therefore envisages electronic filing. The Court further held that the appeal could not be rejected solely on the ground that a hard copy was not filed, and that rejection on procedural grounds without granting an opportunity to be heard was unsustainable. Consequently, the Court set aside the rejection of the appeal and remanded the matter for a fresh decision on the merits.

List of Cases Referred to

• Otsuka Pharmaceutical India (P.) Ltd. v. Union of India [2024] 161 taxmann.com 368 (Gujarat) (para 12)
• Saraogi E-Ventures (P.) Ltd. v. Asstt. Commissioner, CGST & CX [2023] 153 taxmann.com 601/100 GST 94/78 GSTL 226 (Calcutta) (para 15).