GSTAT Portal Update: Government Revises GSTAT Portal Declaration After Stakeholder Concerns

The Ministry of Finance has noted stakeholders concerns about the declaration required while filing an appeal on the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) portal. These concerns were formally brought to the government’s attention through a representation submitted by the Marwar GST Appellate Tribunal Bar Association.

While filing an appeal before the GSTAT, taxpayers are required to enter the ARN or CRN of the order they want to challenge. Earlier, the portal did not allow users to continue with the appeal unless they accepted an undertaking stating that it was their first appeal against the order and that they had not filed any appeal or writ petition earlier, nor had any matter pending before another forum such as the High Court or the Supreme Court.

Stakeholders pointed out that this declaration was not practical in many cases. In the past, since the GST Appellate Tribunal was not functioning, taxpayers had approached the high courts by filing writ petitions. Later, when those matters were sent back to the tribunal, taxpayers needed to file appeals before GSTAT. However, they could not honestly provide the required declaration because they had already approached the High Court earlier, which prevented them from filing the appeal on the portal.

Stakeholders also argued that this requirement for an undertaking has no legal basis. Such a condition is not provided under the CGST Act or the GSTAT Rules related to the appointment and service conditions of the President and Members. Therefore, stakeholders stated that the requirement on the portal does not match the current legal framework.

New Update

Earlier, when filing an appeal on the GSTAT portal, users could not move forward unless they agreed to a specific declaration. The following is the declaration:

“We hereby declare that this is our first appeal in the impugned order before the tribunal, and we have previously neither filed any appeal/writ nor have any pending before any other legal forum, including the High Court/Supreme Court.”

After receiving feedback from stakeholders, the government revised the wording of this declaration on the GSTAT portal to make it clearer. The following is the new declaration:

“We hereby declare that this is our first appeal in the impugned order before the tribunal and we have previously neither filed any appeal nor have any pending before any other legal forum, including the High Court/Supreme Court; and that no writ petition at present is pending before any High Court/Supreme Court.”

Major Improvements

The revised undertaking has removed the earlier requirement where taxpayers had to declare that they had never filed a writ petition. This change was made after concerns were raised by taxpayers and legal professionals.

Now, the declaration only requires the appellant to confirm that no writ petition is currently pending in the High Court. This means that people who had earlier approached the High Court, but whose cases have already been decided or sent back, can now file their appeals without any difficulty.

This change makes the process fairer and more practical, while still keeping the appeal process clear and transparent.