Law stated as on 18 October 2026, under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the notifications cited. The Kerala SGST Act contains parallel provisions.
Summary
- First appeal (section 107). An appeal against an adjudication order lies to the Appellate Authority within three months of communication of the order. The Appellate Authority may allow a further one month for sufficient cause; section 107 provides for no longer condonation.
- Pre-deposit at first appeal. The admitted amount in full, plus 10% of the tax in dispute, subject to a ceiling of ₹20 crore under the CGST Act (with a corresponding ceiling under the State Act).
- Second appeal (section 112). The appeal lies to the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), with a further 10% of the tax in dispute (ceiling ₹20 crore under the CGST Act). Kerala has one State Bench, at Ernakulam.
- Penalty-only orders. From 1 October 2025, an appeal against an order demanding only a penalty requires a pre-deposit of 10% of the penalty at each appellate stage. Whether this applies to proceedings begun before that date is an open question; two reported rulings (a Calcutta High Court writ judgment and a GSTAT order) say it does not.
- GSTAT filing dates for older orders. Notification S.O. 3502(E) dated 30 June 2026 notified 31 July 2026 as the date up to which appeals against orders communicated before 1 May 2026 may be filed. That date has passed. Section 112(6) allows the Tribunal, at its discretion and only on sufficient cause, to admit an appeal filed within three months after the period expires. On that basis, the statutory condonation window for these orders ends on 31 October 2026. This is not an extension of the filing date, and admission is not guaranteed. Section 112(6) provides no condonation beyond that date.
- Kerala High Court. The court has declined to extend statutory appeal periods through its writ jurisdiction, and does not ordinarily entertain writ petitions against show-cause notices, so most disputes run through adjudication and the statutory appeals.
1. The appellate structure
| Level | Forum | Provision | Typical subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| First appeal | Appellate Authority — Joint/Additional Commissioner (Appeals), or the State equivalent | s.107 | Orders of adjudicating authorities: demands under ss.73/74/74A, refund rejections, registration cancellations |
| Revision | Revisional Authority | s.108 | Departmental review of orders |
| Second appeal | GSTAT — Principal Bench (New Delhi) and State Benches | s.112 | Orders under s.107 or s.108 |
| Further appeal | High Court (substantial question of law) / Supreme Court | ss.117, 118 | Orders of State Benches and the Principal Bench respectively |
2. First appeal — section 107
2.1 Limitation
- Assessee: three months from the date on which the decision or order is communicated (s.107(1)).
- Department: an application by the authorised officer, following the Commissioner’s review, within six months of the order (s.107(2)–(3)).
- Condonation: the Appellate Authority may allow a further one month if satisfied that there was sufficient cause (s.107(4)). Section 107(4) provides no condonation beyond that. A writ petition is an exceptional remedy and cannot be assumed to be available to cure delay; the Kerala High Court has been reluctant to grant one for this purpose (see section 4).
Limitation runs from communication of the order. Where an order is uploaded on the common portal, the date of upload is ordinarily treated as the date of communication under section 169. Disputes about effective service — for example, an order placed under a portal tab the assessee could not reasonably be expected to monitor — are decided on their facts.
2.2 Pre-deposit and stay
No appeal may be filed under section 107(6) unless the appellant has paid:
- in full, the tax, interest, fine, fee and penalty admitted; and
- 10% of the remaining tax in dispute, subject to a maximum of ₹20 crore under the CGST Act.
Where the order demands only a penalty, the requirement from 1 October 2025 is 10% of the penalty. The amendment was made by section 129 of the Finance Act, 2025 (with the corresponding change to section 112(8) by section 130) and brought into force from that date by Notification No. 16/2025–Central Tax dated 17 September 2025.
On payment of the pre-deposit, recovery of the balance is deemed to be stayed until the appeal is disposed of (s.107(7)).
2.3 Procedure and powers
- The appeal is filed electronically in Form GST APL-01 under rule 108 of the CGST Rules, with a statement of facts and grounds.
- Additional evidence is admissible only in the circumstances set out in rule 112, after giving the adjudicating authority an opportunity to respond.
- The Appellate Authority may confirm, modify or annul the order, but cannot refer the case back to the adjudicating authority (s.107(11)).
- Before enhancing a demand, it must issue a show-cause notice. Where the enhancement concerns tax not levied or short-paid, that notice must issue within the limitation applicable to the original proceeding.
- Section 107(13) asks the Appellate Authority to decide the appeal, where possible, within one year of filing.
3. Second appeal — section 112 and the GSTAT
3.1 Constitution and the Kerala Bench
- The GSTAT has a Principal Bench at New Delhi and State Benches across the country.
- Under the Government’s notification of 31 July 2024 constituting the Benches, Kerala has one State Bench, at Ernakulam, with Thiruvananthapuram as a circuit location. Later amendments to that notification should be checked for any change.
- Procedure is governed by the GST Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2025.
3.2 Limitation and the filing dates for older orders
The statutory rule. Section 112(1) allows three months from communication of the order, or from the date notified by the Government for filing appeals, whichever is later. The notified-date limb exists because first-appeal orders accumulated for years before the Tribunal began functioning.
The notified dates.
| Instrument | Effect |
|---|---|
| Notification S.O. 4220(E) dated 17 September 2025 | Fixed 30 June 2026 as the last date for appeals against orders communicated before 1 April 2026 |
| Notification S.O. 3502(E) dated 30 June 2026 (Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, F. No. A-50/7/2025-GSTAT-DoR) — supersedes S.O. 4220(E) | Appeals: orders communicated before 1 May 2026 — up to 31 July 2026; orders communicated on or after 1 May 2026 — three months under s.112(1). Departmental applications: orders passed before 1 February 2026 — up to 31 July 2026; orders passed on or after that date — six months under s.112(3). |
| GSTAT Order No. 156/2026 dated 10 July 2026 (Principal Bench) | Token mechanism: a token generated on or before 31 July 2026 is treated as compliance with the due date; the appeal must be completed within 60 days of the token, after which the token lapses; one token per appeal; tokens with incomplete or inaccurate details may be treated as void. |
After the notified date: condonation under section 112(6). The notified date and the power to condone delay are separate.
- The notified date is the last date for filing. Notification S.O. 3502(E) notifies “the 31st day of July, 2026, as the date upto which appeal or application, as the case may be, may be filed”. It is a closing date, not a date from which a fresh three-month period begins. The notification itself says nothing about condonation.
- Condonation is a separate statutory power. Section 112(6) allows the Tribunal to admit an appeal “within three months after the expiry of the period referred to in sub-section (1)”. It may likewise permit a departmental application within three months after the period in sub-section (3). In either case it must be satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not filing in time.
- It is discretionary. Late filing is not admitted as of right. Condonation is sought by an interlocutory application in GSTAT FORM-01, supported by an affidavit (rule 29, GST Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2025), and the applicant must establish sufficient cause.
- The outer limit depends on the order.
- For a taxpayer’s appeal against an order communicated before 1 May 2026, the filing period ended on 31 July 2026. Three months after that is 31 October 2026, which is a Saturday.
- The same dates apply to a departmental application against an order passed before 1 February 2026.
- For later orders, the three months run from the end of each order’s own period: three months from communication for an appeal, six months from the order for a departmental application.
- Do not rely on the last day. Whether section 10 of the General Clauses Act carries a deadline falling on a non-working day to the next working day, for an electronic filing, has not been settled for the Tribunal. Filing should not be left to the last day.
- What 31 October 2026 is, and is not. It is the computed end of the statutory condonation window, and only for the categories above. It is not a general extension of the filing date, and it gives no right to have a late appeal admitted.
- Beyond three months. Section 112(6) provides no condonation after the three-month window. A writ petition to the High Court under Article 226 is an exceptional remedy, and it cannot be assumed to be available to cure delay. The Kerala High Court has declined to use writ jurisdiction to extend statutory limitation (see section 4).
- Judicial position. No directly applicable judicial ruling on the interaction between the notified filing date and section 112(6) has been identified as of 18 October 2026.
- Tokens are not an extension. The token mechanism under GSTAT Order No. 156/2026 applied only to tokens generated on or before 31 July 2026, with the appeal to be completed within 60 days of the token. It does not extend the limitation period.
3.3 Pre-deposit before the Tribunal
Section 112(8) requires, in addition to the amount paid under section 107(6):
- the admitted amount; and
- a further 10% of the remaining tax in dispute, subject to a maximum of ₹20 crore under the CGST Act.
For penalty-only orders, from 1 October 2025, the appellant must pay a further 10% of the penalty, in addition to the amount paid under section 107(6) (proviso to section 112(8), inserted by section 130 of the Finance Act, 2025). Recovery of the balance is then deemed to be stayed (s.112(9)).
3.4 An open question: does the penalty pre-deposit apply to earlier proceedings?
Two reported rulings take the view that the 1 October 2025 amendment does not apply where the proceedings began earlier. Neither is a binding appellate precedent in Kerala, and the full text of neither was available for this review:
| Forum | Decision | Holding |
|---|---|---|
| Calcutta High Court (writ judgment, as reported) | Barjinder Singh Kohli v. Assistant Commissioner of Revenue, W.P.A. No. 19676 of 2025, decided 3 November 2025 | Under section 107(6) as it stood before 1 October 2025, pre-deposit applied only to disputed tax; an appeal against a penalty-only order could not be rejected for want of pre-deposit. Matter remitted to the Appellate Authority. |
| GSTAT, Hyderabad Bench (order at admission stage, as reported) | Reddy Veeranna Constructions (P) Ltd. v. Appeal-I Commissioner, APL/623/HYD/2026, order dated 28 July 2026 | Appeal admitted without the 10% penalty pre-deposit, as the show-cause notice and orders pre-dated 1 October 2025 and the right of appeal vests when proceedings commence. The Tribunal reserved liberty to require the pre-deposit at the final hearing. |
The GSTAT order is an admission-stage order with an express reservation, and the point is likely to be contested by the department. Where the proceedings began before 1 October 2025, the appellant should claim the benefit expressly in the appeal.
4. Kerala High Court: the writ court and statutory appeals
- No extension of statutory limitation by writ. In Baiju George v. Commissioner of Goods and Services Tax, 2024:KER:87231, appeals were filed about four years after orders under section 62. The court declined to condone the delay, relying on Singh Enterprises v. CCE, (2008) 3 SCC 70. It also treated the long delay in approaching the writ court as a ground for refusal.
- Writs at the show-cause stage. In Deputy Commissioner v. Minimol Sabu, 2025:KER:10005, the High Court held that writ jurisdiction should not ordinarily be invoked against a show-cause notice under section 74 at the preliminary stage. Most disputes are therefore channelled into adjudication and appeal.
5. Practical points
- Diarise from communication, not from download.
- Record the portal upload date and the date of any physical service.
- Where they differ, file within the earlier date and argue the later one only if necessary.
- Treat the condonation window as a safety valve, not part of the limitation. Keep contemporaneous evidence of any cause of delay.
- Calculate the pre-deposit on the disputed tax.
- Do not include interest or penalty, except for penalty-only orders.
- Pay it through the electronic liability register and link it to the appeal.
- Amounts already recovered before the appeal can generally be adjusted against the pre-deposit.
- Build the record at the first appeal. The GSTAT decides largely on the record, and grounds or evidence not raised before the Appellate Authority face restrictions later.
- Plead jurisdiction and limitation separately. In a section 73/74/74A matter, check:
- the validity of the show-cause notice;
- its limitation;
- the separate time limit for the order;
- compliance with natural justice.
Each should be a distinct ground, not folded into the merits. - Writ or appeal.
- A writ petition suits lack of jurisdiction, breach of natural justice or a challenge to vires.
- Where the Tribunal is available, the High Court is likely to expect the statutory appeal to be used.
Related on this site
- GST Show Cause Notice: Reply, Hearing and Appeal (ss.73, 74, 74A) — the stage before the first appeal
- Knowledge Centre
- Practice Areas
Sources
- Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017: ss.107, 112 (sub-sections (1), (3) and (6) as amended by s.143 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024, w.e.f. 1 August 2024; provisos inserted by ss.129–130 of the Finance Act, 2025) and 169; CGST Rules, 2017: rules 108 and 112
- GST Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2025, G.S.R. 256(E) dated 24 April 2025: rule 29 (interlocutory applications, including condonation of delay)
- Notification No. 16/2025–Central Tax dated 17 September 2025 (commencement of Finance Act, 2025 amendments from 1 October 2025)
- Notification S.O. 4220(E) dated 17 September 2025; Notification S.O. 3502(E) dated 30 June 2026, Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), F. No. A-50/7/2025-GSTAT-DoR, issued under section 112(1) read with section 112(3), superseding it (Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3(ii), No. 3367)
- General Clauses Act, 1897: sections 9 and 10
- GSTAT Order No. 156/2026 dated 10 July 2026 (Principal Bench)
- Notification dated 31 July 2024 constituting the Principal and State Benches of the GSTAT
- Barjinder Singh Kohli v. Assistant Commissioner of Revenue, W.P.A. No. 19676 of 2025 (Cal HC, 3 November 2025)
- Reddy Veeranna Constructions (P) Ltd. v. Appeal-I Commissioner, APL/623/HYD/2026 (GSTAT Hyderabad, 28 July 2026)
- Baiju George v. Commissioner of GST, 2024:KER:87231; Deputy Commissioner v. Minimol Sabu, 2025:KER:10005
This article explains the law for general educational purposes as at the date stated. It is not advice on any particular case, and readers should consider the statute, the notifications in force and the facts of their own matter before acting.