Marwar GSTAT Bar Flags Technical Glitches, Procedural Snags in Appeal Filing Portal

The Marwar Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal Bar Association has submitted a detailed representation to the President of the GSTAT, New Delhi, raising concerns on various technical and procedural difficulties faced by taxpayers and professionals while filing appeals on the newly launched GSTAT portal.

The representation has been issued under the hand of President CA Pradeep Jain and Secretary CA Dr. Arpit Haldia on behalf of the Bar.

The representation flags several shortcomings noted during the initial phase of operations, primarily in the design, accessibility and user-friendliness of the portal and need for procedural clarity in terms of the relevant Rules.

Concerns Relating to the GSTAT Filing Portal

As per the representation, the filing process is rigid and unclear in several aspects and at times mismatches with the practical realities and needs of GST litigation.

A major concern is the mandatory undertaking required on the portal, wherein appellants must declare that the appeal before the GSTAT is their first appeal against the impugned order and that no proceedings are pending before any other forum, including High Courts or the Supreme Court.

The Bar pointed out that in cases where writ petitions were filed earlier due to the non-constitution of GSTAT and were later remitted back, furnishing such an undertaking may not be factually possible.

However, the portal does not permit further progress in the filing process without submitting this declaration, potentially forcing appellants to either abandon their appeals or make incorrect declarations.

Another key issue highlighted is the 2000-character restriction imposed on mandatory fields such as grounds of appeal in brief, brief issue under dispute and prayer. While the portal does allow litigants to upload detailed documents in separate columns, the inability to enter beyond the word limit casts confusion regarding the actual relevance of these truncated text fields, creating confusion and the risk of future objections.

The Bar has also sought clarifications on issues such as selection of case categories, mapping of applicable GST sections and rules, duplication of information already available within the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) system, uploading documents, certification requirements and defect rectification mechanisms.

Issues Under GSTAT (Procedure) Rules, 2025

The representation also raises concerns regarding the GSTAT (Procedure) Rules, 2025, including procedural rigidity, handling of defects, limitation-related aspects, interim relief, issuance of notices and conduct of hearings.

In particular, the Bar has sought clear guidance on the nature and scope of defects that may be raised, especially in light of the direction that only substantive defects would be flagged during the first six months, so as to ensure uniform application and to avoid uncertainty for appellants.

The representation also seeks clarity on ‘Place of Supply’, stating that rigid portal requirements and procedural assumptions may compel appellants to select certain jurisdictional or supply-related details even when such matters are being disputed in appeal, primarily in inter-State services.

It was certain that the actual functionality of the appellate process would be scrutinized considering that the Tribunal has only recently become fully functional. With stakeholders raising their concerns, the onus is now on the authorities to rectify them at the earliest.

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