Rectification of Orders by GSTAT: Scope, Timeline and Limits Under Rule 108

A Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) order is meant to settle the dispute before the Tribunal. But a final order can still contain mistakes such as wrong date, wrong figure, wrong appeal number, or an omission in the operative part. In such cases, the law gives a limited remedy through Rule 108 of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2025.

This rule allows correction of clerical mistakes and accidental slips or omissions in a Tribunal order. It does not allow a fresh hearing on the merits.

What Rule 108 says

Rule 108 provides:

“Any clerical mistakes in any order of the Appellate Tribunal or error therein arising from any accidental slip or omission may, at any time, be corrected by the Appellate Tribunal on its own motion or on application of any party by way of rectification.”

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It also states:

“An application under sub-rule (1) shall be made online which shall include all the information as prescribed in GSTAT FORM-01 within one month from the date of the final order for rectification.”

This rule gives two routes. The Tribunal can correct the mistake on its own. A party can also file an application for rectification. But when a party files such application, it must be filed online in GSTAT Form-01 within one month from the date of the final order.

Scope of rectification under Rule 108

The scope of Rule 108 is narrow. The power covers:

• clerical mistakes
• accidental slips
• accidental omissions

This means the error must be visible from the order itself or from the record without any fresh debate on law or facts. If the Tribunal meant to mention “April 2021 to March 2022” and typed “April 2022 to March 2023,” that is a rectifiable error.

If the order records that the appeal is allowed, but the last paragraph states “dismissed” by mistake, rectification will apply. If a document relied on, in the hearing is left out of the final narration due to an omission in drafting, and that omission affects the text of the order, the Tribunal can correct it.

Rule 108 must also be read with Rule 101 and Rule 109. Rule 101 deals with corrections in the order. Rule 109 gives the Tribunal a general power to amend defects or errors in proceedings within thirty days from completion of pleadings for deciding the real issue in dispute. Rule 108 is different. It applies after the final order and deals with mistakes in the order itself.

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What rectification does not cover

This is the most important limit under Rule 108. Rectification is not review. It is not appeal. It is not reconsideration of the case.

A party cannot use Rule 108 to argue that:

• the Tribunal took a wrong view on limitation
• the Bench misread a notification
• the evidence was not appreciated in the right way
• more relief should have been granted
• the legal finding is wrong

These are issues on merits. Rule 108 does not permit the Tribunal to rewrite its judgment on such grounds.

Timeline under Rule 108

The time limit matters. A party must file the rectification application within one month from the date of the final order. This makes it necessary to read the order as soon as it is uploaded or received.

After receiving the order, the party must check:

• name of parties
• appeal number
• order number and date
• tax period
• amount in dispute
• final relief granted
• any conflict between reasoning and operative part

If a rectifiable mistake exists, the application must be filed within time.

Form and procedure

Rule 108 requires the application to be filed online in GSTAT Form-01. The application must state the facts, the exact mistake, the grounds and the prayer. The prayer must stay within the scope of rectification. It must ask for correction of the error. It must not ask for a fresh decision on the dispute.

Practical examples of rectifiable errors

• A typographical mistake in the appeal number is rectifiable.
• A wrong date of the impugned order is rectifiable.
• A mismatch between the reasoning part and the operative part of the order is rectifiable if it arises from slip or omission.
• A wrong total due to a clear arithmetic error is rectifiable.
• Failure to discuss a legal argument raised by a party is not, by itself, a clerical mistake.
• Disagreement with the Tribunal’s reading of a notification is not rectifiable.
• A plea that the Bench should have allowed more relief on merits is not rectifiable.

Conclusion

Rule 108 gives GSTAT a limited but valuable power to correct clerical mistakes and accidental slips or omissions in its final orders. It allows correction on the Tribunal’s own motion and it allows parties to move an online application in GSTAT Form-01 within one month from the date of the final order.

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