Case Title: M/s Appolo Sesame Industries & Anr. v. Assistant Commissioner of CGST, Division X, Nadiad & Ors.
Court: High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad
Petition No.: R/Special Civil Application No. 571 of 2025
Date of Judgment: 24.04.2025
Category of Dispute: Appeal – Procedural Validity (Manual Filing of Appeal)
Relevant Sections/Rules:
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Section 107(1) & 107(6) of the CGST Act, 2017
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Rule 108(1) of the CGST Rules, 2017
Facts of the Case (Ref. Para 4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3)
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The petitioner challenged Order-in-Original dated 30.10.2023 passed by Respondent No. 1.
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The order was not uploaded on the GST portal with Form DRC-07; instead, it was physically served on 02.11.2023.
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Due to non-availability of the order online, the petitioner filed a manual appeal in Form GST APL-01 along with a pre-deposit of ₹57,87,800 (10% of disputed tax as per Section 107(6)).
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The Appellate Authority (Respondent No. 2), however, rejected the appeal on 27.09.2024 on the ground that it was not filed electronically as required under Rule 108.
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The Authority also failed to issue a provisional acknowledgment for manual filing, despite acknowledging receipt on 17.01.2024.
Question(s) in Consideration (Ref. Para 4.2–4.3)
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Whether the Appellate Authority erred in rejecting the appeal solely on technical grounds of non-electronic filing, ignoring Rule 108(1) proviso.
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Whether manual filing of an appeal is valid when the Order-in-Original is not available on the GST portal.
Observations of the Court (Ref. Para 4.2–5)
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Rule 108(1) expressly allows manual filing when an order is not available on the portal.
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The Appellate Authority failed to apply its mind to the petitioner’s valid reason for manual filing.
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By ignoring the proviso to Rule 108(1) and not verifying the portal status of the order, the authority committed a procedural error.
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The rejection was mechanical and not in line with GST provisions.
Judgment of the Court (Ref. Para 5)
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The High Court set aside the impugned appellate rejection order dated 27.09.2024.
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Directed the Appellate Authority to consider the appeal on merits within 12 weeks from the receipt of this order.
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Petition disposed of; no costs awarded.
Between Fine Lines (5-Line Simplified Summary)
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Appeals under GST must usually be filed online.
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If the order is not available on the GST portal, Rule 108(1) allows manual filing.
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Appolo Sesame filed manually since the order was only physically served.
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The appellate authority wrongly rejected the appeal citing non-electronic filing.
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The High Court restored the appeal and ordered it to be heard on merits.
Summary of Referred Cases
(No external cases were referred or relied upon in this judgment.)
Disclaimer – “The above summary is for academic purpose only; not formal legal opinion. Seek professional opinion before application. Author or publisher or website shall not be responsible for any usage in any form.”
