GST Appeal Can’t Be Rejected for Non-Filing of Hard Copy: Jammu & Kashmir High Court

The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has quashed an order rejecting a GST appeal solely on the ground that the appellant failed to submit a hard copy of the appeal, holding that such rejection was unsustainable in law when the appeal had been duly filed online within the prescribed time. The bench of Justice Sindhu Sharma and Justice Shahzad Azeem reiterated that procedural technicalities cannot be allowed to defeat substantive rights, particularly under the GST regime which provides for electronic filing of appeals. The writ petition was filed by TC Tours Limited, a company engaged in providing tour-related services including planning and organising tours, arranging transport, accommodation, meals and guide services. For rendering these services, the company procured various inputs and input services and availed Input Tax Credit (ITC) in accordance with the Jammu & Kashmir GST Act, 2017. For the period April 2019 to March 2020, the GST department issued a show cause notice under Section 73 of the GST Act alleging excess availment of ITC on the basis of a mismatch between ITC reflected in Form GSTR-3B and Form GSTR-2A. The notice proposed a demand of over ₹17.14 lakh towards CGST and SGST, along with interest and penalty. As the petitioner did not submit a reply—citing severe business disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lack of awareness of the notice—the demand was confirmed by an order dated 2 June 2021. Aggrieved by the demand, the petitioner filed an appeal online on the GST portal on 27 August 2021 after making the mandatory pre-deposit. The appeal was filed in Form GST APL-01 along with supporting documents, invoices, reconciliations and a copy of the impugned order, and a provisional acknowledgement was generated on the portal. However, nearly 18 months later, the Appellate Authority rejected the appeal by issuing Form GST APL-02 dated 6 March 2023. The sole reason cited was that the petitioner had not submitted a hard copy of the appeal as allegedly required under Section 107 of the J&K GST Act and Rule 108 of the J&K GST Rules. The authority also contended that a certified copy of the impugned order had not been furnished The court examined Section 107 of the GST Act and Rule 108 of the J&K GST Rules. The Court noted that Rule 108(1) expressly permits filing of appeals electronically in Form GST APL-01 and that the respondents failed to produce any notification mandating submission of a hard copy in addition to electronic filing. The Bench further observed that the requirement of submitting a certified copy of the impugned order had been removed by an amendment to Rule 108, particularly in cases where the order is already uploaded on the GST portal. In the present case, the impugned order was admittedly available on the portal, rendering the insistence on a certified copy wholly unnecessary. The Court relied on precedents, including the Calcutta High Court’s ruling in Saraogi E-Ventures Pvt. Ltd.and other judgments which held that appeals should not be dismissed on hyper-technical procedural grounds when filed within limitation The High Court also found fault with the manner in which the appeal was rejected without granting any opportunity of hearing to the petitioner. It held that even if there were procedural deficiencies, the Appellate Authority ought to have granted time to cure such defects rather than outrightly rejecting the appeal, especially when substantial tax liability was involved. Allowing the writ petition, the High Court set aside the order dated 6 March 2023 rejecting the appeal. The matter was remanded to the Appellate Authority with directions to decide the appeal afresh on merits, in accordance with law, after affording the petitioner a proper opportunity of hearing. Case Details Case Title: TC Tours Limited Versus Union Territory of J&K and ors. Case No.: WP(C) No. 809/2024 Date: 26/12/2025 Counsel For Petitioner: Amrinder Singh, Advocate Counsel For Respondent: Mohsin Qadiri, Sr. AAG Click Here To Read Order Read More: 100% GST Penalty for Wrong Destination in E-Way Bill Upheld: MP HC

GST Appeal Can’t Be Rejected for Non-Filing of Hard Copy: Jammu & Kashmir High Court

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