The Office of the Commissioner of GST and Central Excise (Appeals-I), Chennai, has issued a public notice inviting trade and industry to report difficulties encountered while filing online appeals before the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT).

The Public Notice No. 02/2025-26, dated February 6, 2026, highlights that appeals to GSTAT under Section 112 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 must be filed within three months from the date of communication of the order of the First Appellate Authority or by June 30, 2026, whichever is later. Such appeals are required to be filed online on the GSTAT portal along with the prescribed pre-deposit.

Common Difficulties Identified

According to the notice, the department has observed that taxpayers are facing technical and procedural challenges in filing online appeals, primarily due to:

• First appeals under Section 107 having been filed manually instead of online through Form APL-01.
• Non-reflection of Form APL-04 (appeal order) on the GST common portal.
• Resultant inability to proceed with filing second-stage appeals before GSTAT.

These issues have led to a growing number of grievances from taxpayers who fear missing statutory timelines due to portal-related constraints.

Dedicated Grievance Redressal Mechanism

As a proactive measure, all stakeholders under the jurisdiction of the Chennai North Commissionerate of GST and Central Excise and the Puducherry Commissionerate of GST and Central Excise have been advised to raise their concerns directly with the Appeals-I Commissionerate, Chennai.

Grievances relating to non-availability of APL-04 or difficulties arising from manual/online filing of first appeals can be sent to the official email ID: commrappl1-cexchn@nic.in, with the subject line:
“Grievance regarding Appeal filed Manually / online with Chennai-I Appeals”.

For quicker resolution, appellants must include essential details such as GSTIN, DRC-07 number, and APL-01 ARN (where applicable).

Additionally, a dedicated phone line (044-28335058) has been made available for guidance and follow-up.

Role of Field Formations

The notice also directs the Principal Commissioner of GST and Central Excise, Chennai North, and the Commissioner of GST and Central Excise, Puducherry, to nominate nodal officers for effective grievance handling. The Additional Commissioner (Computers), Chennai North, has been asked to upload the notice on the official website for wider dissemination.

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