2022 (1) TMI 697 - HC - GST

Maintainability of appeal to present petition - uploading of appeal on the appropriate portal or not - HELD THAT - It appears that the petitioner also filed a hard copy before the respondent Appellate authority but the Appellate authority under Annexure-7 refused to accept the same as an appeal purportedly since on verification of the portal of the State GST no such appeal was found thereon. This Court need not enter into the niceties of law in this respect. Factually, the petitioner had uploaded an appeal may be before the wrong portal but it is obligatory on the part of the authorities concerned in such an event to bring it to the notice of the appellant that the appeal has been filed before the wrong authority so that the appellant can take necessary action in the said regard. It appears from the record that the appellant was unaware that it had uploaded its appeal before the Central Portal instead of State Portal of the GST. The petitioner shall file a fresh appeal and upload the said appeal before the appropriate authority i.e. the State Portal of the GST - Since the matter had been filed before a wrong forum, the delay in filing the appeal shall be condoned. Petition disposed off.

Summary

Issues:
1. Filing of appeal in wrong portal.
2. Refusal to accept hard copy of appeal.
3. Obligations of authorities in case of filing in wrong forum.
4. Directions to file a fresh appeal and condone delay.

Analysis:
1. The petitioner filed an appeal in FORM GST APL-01 under Annexure-6 but uploaded it on the wrong portal, the Central Portal instead of the State Portal of GST. The State GST Appellate Authority could not find the appeal on their portal. The respondents stated that the online appeal was accessible only by the CGST authority or jurisdictional CGST offices, not the State GST appellate authority. The hard copy of the appeal was returned as final acknowledgment was not issued by the State GST Appellate Court.

2. The Appellate authority under Annexure-7 refused to accept the hard copy of the appeal since it was not found on the State GST portal. The court noted that the petitioner was unaware of filing in the wrong portal and directed the authorities to inform appellants of such errors. The State GST authority later located the appeal filed by the petitioner before the Central authorities.

3. The court emphasized that in such cases, authorities should notify appellants of filing in the wrong forum to allow necessary action. The judgment directed the petitioner to file a fresh appeal on the appropriate State Portal of GST. It was also decided to condone the delay in filing the appeal due to the confusion regarding the correct portal.

4. The judgment concluded by advising all Appellate authorities, Central and State, to inform appellants of errors in filing appeals before the wrong forum via email. The writ petition was disposed of, and orders under Annexure-6 and 7 were quashed to enable the petitioner to file a fresh appeal in the correct portal, emphasizing the need for communication and guidance in such situations to avoid procedural errors.