GSTAT PROCEDURE RULES – PART 1

[Dr. Sanjiv Agarwal]

Central Government has notified the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2025 (in short GSTAT Procedure Rules) vide Notification No. 217 dated 24.04.2025 issued by The Gazette of India [Part II, Section 3 (i)] MoF, (Department of Revenue).

• These shall come into force w.e.f. 24.04.2025, i.e., date of publication in Official Gazette.
• It contains 15 Chapters, 124 Rules and 8 Forms.
• It prescribes definitions such as of appellate Tribunal, authorized representative, bench, certified copy, GSTAT portal, member, party, principal bench, interlocutory application etc.
• These rules inter alia, provide for:
  • Powers and functions
  • Institution of appeals – Procedure
  • Cause list
  • Hearing of Appeal
  • Record of proceedings
  • Maintenance of registers
  • Inspection of record
  • Appearance of authorised representative
  • Affidavits
  • Discovery, production and return of documents
  • Examination of witnesses and issue of commissions
  • Disposal of cases and pronouncement of orders
  • Electronic filing and processing of appeals and conduct of proceedings in the Appellate Tribunal in hybrid mode
  • Miscellaneous - Fees, costs, register of appeals, dress of members and parties etc.
  • Forms

Powers and functions of the Registrar

The Registrar shall have the following powers and functions, namely:

1. shall be responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Appellate Tribunal;
2. notify the procedure of filing appeal to the Appellate Tribunal;
3. registration of appeals, petitions and applications and scrutiny thereof;
4. receive applications for amendment of appeal or the petition or application or subsequent proceedings;
5. receive applications for fresh summons or notices and regarding services thereof;
6. receive applications for short date summons and notices;
7. receive applications for substituted service of summons or notices;
8. receive applications for seeking orders concerning the admission and inspection of documents;
1. maintain records of proceedings and manage the registry; and
10. such other incidental matters as the President may direct from time to time.

Contents of filing of Appeals at GSTAT

An appeal to the Appellate Tribunal shall be filed online on GSTAT Portal in Form prescribed under the Rules, and shall contain the following details namely:

1. the cause title shall state ―In the Goods and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal‖ and also set out the proceedings or order of the authority against which it is preferred.
2. appeal shall be divided into paragraphs and shall be numbered consecutively, and each paragraph shall contain as nearly as may be, a separate fact or allegation or point.
3. full name, parentage, Goods and Services Tax Identification Number, description of each party and address, as applicable, shall also be set out at the beginning of the appeal and need not be repeated in the subsequent proceedings in the same appeal.
4. the names of parties shall be numbered consecutively and a separate line should be allotted to the name and description of each party and these numbers shall not be changed and in the event of the death of a party during the pendency of the appeal, his legal heirs or representative, as the case may be, if more than one, shall be shown by sub-numbers.

Contents of an Appeal Form to be filed at GSTAT

1. Every Form of appeal shall set forth concisely and under distinct heads, the grounds of appeal and such grounds shall be numbered consecutively and shall be typed in double space of the paper.
2. Every Form of appeal, cross-objections, reference applications, stay applications or any other miscellaneous applications shall also be typed neatly in double spacing on the A4 size paper and the same shall be duly paged, indexed and tagged firmly with Form of appeal in a separate folder.
3. Every Form of appeal or application or cross-objection shall be signed and verified by the appellant or applicant or respondent or the authorised representative. The appellant or applicant or respondent or the authorised representative shall certify as true copy the documents produced before the Appellate Tribunal.

Documents required to accompany Form of appeal at GSTAT

1. Every Form of appeal required to be heard by the Appellate Tribunal shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the order appealed against in the case of an appeal against the original order passed by the adjudicating authority and where such an order has been passed in appeal or revision, there shall be a certified copy of the order passed in appeal or in revision along with the order of the original authority along with all the relevant documents including relied upon documents. Provided that where an application filed under the direction of the Commissioner, the copy of the order appealed against shall be an attested copy instead of a certified copy.
2. A certified copy of the decision or order appealed against along with fees as specified in sub-rule 5 of rule 110 of the Rules shall be submitted online and a final acknowledgement, shall be issued the Rules, by the GSTAT Portal.
3. The President may further direct that in case of non-filing of the documents as specified under this Rule, the Registrar or any other authorised officer would be competent to return the specified documents or sets of documents and to receive the same back only after rectification of the defects to the satisfaction of the Registrar or any other authorised officer or the Bench as the case may be and on the return the case may be assigned a new number.
4. The Appellate Tribunal may on its own motion direct the preparation of as many copies as may be required of all the relevant documents including relied upon documents by and at the cost of the appellant or the respondent, containing copies of such statements, papers or documents as it may consider necessary for the proper disposal of the appeal.
5. President may by a general or special order allow attestation of the documents filed along with appeal or application or as a part of relevant documents including relied upon documents or otherwise by a gazetted officer or such other person as may be authorised by the President to attest or certify such documents or photo copies thereof; and
6. All relevant documents including relied upon documents shall be clearly legible, duly paged, indexed and tagged firmly.

Interlocutory applications at GSTAT

Every interlocutory application for stay, direction, rectification in order, condonation of delay, early hearing, exemption from production of copy of order appealed against or extension of time prayed for in pending matters shall include all the information as per the prescribed GSTAT FORM-01 and the requirements prescribed in that behalf shall be complied with by the applicant, besides filing an affidavit supporting the application.

Sitting hours and Working hours of the Appellate Tribunal at GSTAT

• The sitting hours of the Appellate Tribunal shall ordinarily be from 10.30 a.m. to 01.30 p.m. and from 2.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. subject to any order made by the President and this shall not prevent the Appellate Tribunal to extend its sitting as it deems fit.
• The administrative offices of the Appellate Tribunal shall remain open on all working days from 9:30 am to 6.00 pm, subject to any order made by the President.

 (To be continued…..)