Date of Online Filing Considered as Date of Filing Appeal When Order Appealed Against Uploaded on Common Portal

By: Admin | October 21, 2024
Category: Important Pronouncements
Read Time: 4 Minutes

In a recent ruling by the Hon’ble High Court of Madras, in Sunbeam Generators (P.) Ltd. v. Additional Commissioner (Appeals-I) [Writ Petition No. 16140 of 2024], the court emphasized that the date of online filing of an appeal is deemed the date of filing when the order appealed against is uploaded on the common portal. The court remanded the case for disposal on merits, siding with the petitioner, M/s Sunbeam Generators (P.) Ltd., who argued that their appeal was filed within the time limit.

Case Background:

The petitioner had applied for a refund under Section 54 of the CGST Act, which was rejected on April 13, 2022. Consequently, they filed an appeal on the GST portal on June 28, 2022. Although the appeal deadline was July 12, 2022, the appeal was formally rejected on May 23, 2023, via an impugned order dated January 24, 2024.

The petitioner argued that the appeal was filed timely on the GST portal, while the Additional Commissioner contended that the date of filing should be considered only if the order was uploaded on the common portal.

Court’s Decision:

The High Court held that under Rule 108(3) of the CGST Rules, 2017, the requirement to file a self-certified copy of the order applies only if the order is not uploaded on the common portal. In this case, as the order was duly uploaded, the date of online filing was considered as the actual date of filing. Thus, the court set aside the impugned order.

Key Takeaways:

Rule 108 of the CGST Rules governs appeals to the Appellate Authority.

When the order appealed against is uploaded on the common portal, the date of online filing is the recognized date of appeal.

Filing a hard copy is only a procedural requirement when the order is not uploaded on the portal.

Related Case:

A similar ruling was made in M/s Kasturi & Sons Pvt. Ltd. v. Additional Commissioner of GST & Central Excise (Appeals-1) [W.P. No. 18642 of 2024], where the court held that when the order is uploaded on the portal, the online filing date is accepted as the appeal filing date.

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