Order of rejecting GST appeal not filed electronically was to be set aside: HC

Case Details: Ali Cotton Mill v. Appellate Joint Commissioner (ST) - [2021] 124 taxmann.com 611 (Andhra Pradesh)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• • U. Durga Prasad Rao and Ms. J. Uma Devi, JJ.

Facts of the Case

The assessee attempted to file appeal electronically against order of Competent Authority, but same was not received by department website due to glitches. It filed appeal manually before Appellate Authority and obtained acknowledgement. The Appellate Authority rejected appeal on sole ground that appeal was not filed electronically. It filed writ petition against the same.

High Court Held

The Honorable High Court observed that rule 108(1) of CGST Rules, 2017 is as clear as crystal to effect that an appeal to Appellate Authority under section 107(1) shall be filed along with Form GST APL-01 and relevant documents either electronically or otherwise as may be notified by Chief Commissioner. Till Chief Commissioner specified any particular mode of filing appeal, assessee could choose to file appeal either electronically or manually. Therefore, it was held that writ petition was allowed and order of rejecting manually filed appeal on sole ground that it was not filed electronically was liable to be set aside.

List of Cases Referred to

• • Sri Siddhi Kalko Bhagavan Stone Crusher v. Asstt. Commissioner (ST) [2020] 115 taxmann.com 429 (AP) (para 4).