QUESTION

Mr. X is a taxable person registered in the state of Gujarat. Its goods were detained in transit for minor mistake in way bill in April, 2019 and were released on payment of tax and penalty. Manual Order for the same was passed by Himachal Pradesh Central Excise officer in the month of October, 2019 after several reminders. Taxable person wants to file appeal against said order. How and what is the procedure to file appeal against such order passed u/s. 129 of the Act? Till date no order is shown online on the portal. Whether Manual Appeal can be filed before Gujarat State Authority? What will be date of service in such case; The date on which same is reflected on portal or date of manual order. Kindly assist in the above matter.


ANSWER

Facts of the case: Goods were detained in transit and manual order for the same was passed. What is the procedure for filing of appeal?

Law Applicable: Section 107 of CGST ACT
(1) Any person aggrieved by any decision or order passed under this Act or the State Goods and Services Tax Act or the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act by an adjudicating authority may appeal to such Appellate Authority as may be prescribed within three months from the date on which the said decision or order is communicated to such person.

CGST RULE 108

(1) An appeal to the Appellate Authority under sub-section (1) of section 107 shall be filed in FORM GST APL-01, along with the relevant documents, either electronically or otherwise as may be notified by the Commissioner, and a provisional acknowledgement shall be issued to the appellant immediately.

(2) The grounds of appeal and the form of verification as contained in FORM GST APL-01 shall be signed in the manner specified in rule 26.

(3) A certified copy of the decision or order appealed against shall be submitted within seven days of filing the appeal under sub-rule (1) and a final acknowledgement, indicating appeal number shall be issued thereafter in FORM GST APL-02 by the Appellate Authority or an officer authorized by him in this behalf:

Provided that where the certified copy of the decision or order is submitted within seven days from the date of filing the FORM GST APL-01, the date of filing of the appeal shall be the date of the issue of the provisional acknowledgement and where the said copy is submitted after seven days, the date of filing of the appeal shall be the date of the submission of such copy.

Interpretation: The appeal to appellate authority can be filed within a period of 3 months from the date of communication of order. Even if the order is not reflecting on the portal, manual receipt of such order is sufficient.

Conclusion: In the present case, date of service of order shall be the date on which the order is manually received by you.

The procedure of filing of the appeal shall be as specified in Rule 108 of CGST Rules, 2017.

The appeal can be filed online but if the portal is not active then you can also file the appeal manually. If the officer is not accepting the appeal manually, you are requested to contact the helpdesk or raise a grievance.(Reply dt.29-02-2020