Appeal to Appellate Authority (APL-01) — Time Limit, Fee & Draft

Time limit and pre-deposit

The appeal is filed within 3 months from the date of communication of the order under Section 107(1), extendable by a further 1 month on sufficient cause under Section 107(4). Pre-deposit is 10% of the disputed tax, subject to the cap notified from time to time (currently Rs. 40 crores under CGST and SGST each, in appeals u/s 107).

Statement of Facts and Grounds of Appeal

The strength of the appeal lies in a clean Statement of Facts (a self-contained chronological narrative) and Grounds of Appeal that separately raise each legal and factual objection to the impugned order.

• Statement of facts — parties, period, notice, reply, order, dates
• Grounds — jurisdiction, limitation, natural justice, merits (issue-wise)
• Prayer — setting aside / modification of the impugned order
• Documents — impugned order, DRC-01, DRC-06 reply, evidence, case law

Common grounds in a GST appeal

Every appeal is fact-specific, but recurring grounds are worth checking before drafting.

• Impugned order beyond the SCN — no travel beyond the SCN allowed
• Non-consideration of the reply and case law relied on
• Failure to afford personal hearing / cross-examination
• SCN barred by limitation u/s 73(2) / 74(2) / 74A(2)
• ITC restriction contrary to Section 16 / Section 17(5)

A defensible reply combines procedural safeguards with grounds on merits. Use this checklist as the skeleton of every APL-01 reply.

1. 1. Proper officer & jurisdiction
   Verify that the officer issuing the APL-01 has monetary and territorial jurisdiction under the CBIC circulars. A notice issued without jurisdiction is void.
2. 2. Statutory time limits
   Check whether the APL-01 is within limitation under Section 73/74/74A (or the applicable rule). A time-barred notice is liable to be dropped as a threshold ground.
3. 3. Natural justice
   Confirm that the SCN is not vague, that relied-upon documents are enclosed, and that opportunity of personal hearing under Section 75(4) has been granted.
4. 4. Statement of facts
   A clean, chronological narrative — parties, GSTIN, period, returns, audit / scrutiny trigger, prior correspondence and payments made.
5. 5. Grounds on law and merits
   Discrepancy-wise reply — agreed, partly agreed, or disagreed, with the section, rule, circular and case law relied on. Reconciliations attached as annexures.
6. 6. Correct form & payments
   File the reply in the prescribed form on the GST portal. Any admitted tax is paid through DRC-03 with interest, penalty and late fee shown separately.
7. 7. Prayer & hearing request
   End the reply with a specific prayer (drop proceedings / grant hearing / accept payment) and expressly request a personal hearing.

Frequently asked questions

Related notices & orders