SUB GST p5.7

File an appeal in GST

14 May 2020

Where a person is not happy with any order passed or decision formed against him by an adjudicating authority under GST then an appeal to the First Appellate Authority can be filed by him. 

If they are not agreed with the decision of the First Appellate Authority they can appeal to the National Appellate Tribunal, then to the High Court and finally Supreme Court.

What is Appeal?

Every appeal under every law is an application to a higher court for a reversal of the decision of a lower court. Appeals arise when there are some legal disputes.

Tax laws or any law impose obligations. 

Such obligations are broadly of two kinds: 

• tax-related  

• procedure-related

The taxpayer’s compliance with these obligations is verified by the tax officer through an audit, anti-evasion, examination, etc. 

There are situations of actual or perceived non-compliance. If the difference in views persists, it results in a dispute, which is then required to be resolved.

The initial resolution of this dispute is done by a departmental officer by a quasi-judicial process resulting in the issue of an initial order known by various names -assessment order, adjudication order, order-in-original, etc.

 Examples – the imposition of a penalty,  best judgment assessment, cancellation of registration, a decision on a refund claim.

Steps of appeals under GST

• Order Passed by Adjudicating Authority appeal shall be made to First Appellate Authority under section 107

• Order Passed by Appellate Authority appeal shall be made to  Appellate Tribunal under section 109,110

• Order Passed by Appellate Tribunal appeal shall be made to High Court under section 111,116

• Order Passed by High Court  appeal shall be made to Supreme Court under section 117,118

Is every appeal made to both CGST & SGST authorities?

No.

As per the GST Act, officers under both CGST & SGST/ are empowered to pass orders. As per this Act, an order approved under CGST will also be deemed to apply to SGST. However, if an officer under CGST has passed an order, any appeal/review/ revision/rectification against the order will lie only with the officers of CGST. Similarly, for SGST, for any order passed by the SGST officer, the appeal/review/revision/rectification will lie with the proper officer of SGST only.

General rules for filing GST appeals

All the appeals, along with required fees, must be made in prescribed forms.

A fee will be-
–The full amount of tax, fee, fine, interest, and penalty arising from the order challenged, as admitted by the appellant,
        AND
–10% of the disputed amount

Fees will not be applicable in cases where an officer or the Commissioner of GST is the appellant.

Can an authorized representative appear in court?

Yes.

 Any person required to appear before a GST Officer/First Appellate Authority/Appellate Tribunal can assign an authorized representative to appear on his behalf unless he is required by the Act to appear personally.

An authorized representative can be-

1. a relative

2. a regular employee

3. Any chartered accountant/cost accountant/company secretary, with a valid certificate of practice, a lawyer practicing in any court in India.

4. a retired officer of the Tax Department of any State Government or the Excise Dept. whose rank was not below Group-B gazetted officer.

5. any tax return preparer

Retired officers cannot become representative of the appellant person within 1 year after their retirement.

Appeal cannot be filed in certain cases

The Board or the State Government may, on the recommendation of the GST Council, fix  the monetary limits for appeals by the GST officer to regulate the filing of an appeal and avoid unnecessary legal expenses

Can all decisions be appealed against?

No. 

For the following decisions taken by a GST officer appeals cannot be made:

1. An order to transfer the proceedings from one officer to another officer;

2. An order allowing payment of tax and other amounts in installments; or

3. An order to seize or retain books of account and other documents; or

4. An order sanctioning prosecution under the Act