Rejection of GST Appeal on Grounds of Manual Filing Unsustainable: Andhra Pradesh HC Sets Aside Appellate Order
Andhra Pradesh High Court Restores GST Appeal Dismissed Solely For Manual Filing Technicality
The Andhra Pradesh High Court has upheld the setting aside of an appellate order dismissing a Goods and Services Tax (GST) appeal solely on the ground that it was filed manually and not through the online facility, as the technical ground cannot prevail over the merits of the case. The Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court consisting of Justice Rao Raghunandan Rao...
The Andhra Pradesh High Court has upheld the setting aside of an appellate order dismissing a Goods and Services Tax (GST) appeal solely on the ground that it was filed manually and not through the online facility, as the technical ground cannot prevail over the merits of the case.
The Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court consisting of Justice Rao Raghunandan Rao and Justice T.C.D. Sekhar was hearing the writ petition filed by Harsha Trading Private Limited which is a registered dealer involved in the business of trading commercial vehicles.
The dispute arose when the Assistant Commissioner passed an assessment order dated April 26, 2024, for the tax period 2018-19. The petitioner argued that the assessment order was not uploaded on the GST portal. After making the mandatory predeposit under Section 107 of the CGST Act the petitioner filed an appeal manually on July 31, 2024.
The appellate authority accepted the appeal as well as accepted the pre-deposit issued notice for personal hearing also heard the appeal on merits.
However, by order dated November 25, 2025, the appeal was rejected solely on the ground that the appeal was not filed electronically, as mandated under Rule 108 of the CGST Rules.
The petitioner had submitted that after the appeal was entertained and heard on merits, it was arbitrary to reject the appeal on a procedural issue at a later stage.However, the Revenue department had submitted that Rule 108 requires the filing of appeals electronically and that the authority was justified in rejecting the appeal that was filed manually.
The High Court had held that the appellate authority had not raised any objection at the initial stage and had heard the appeal on merits after more than a year.
Further, it was held to be unsustainable to raise a technical objection at such a belated stage.
As such, the Bench had set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter to the appellate authority to decide the appeal on merits irrespective of the manner of filing.
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