Facts of the Case:

In this case, the petitioner filed the present writ petition seeking a direction to the respondents to accept an appeal manually against the Order-in-Original. The grievance of the petitioner arose on account of technical difficulties in filing the appeal electronically on the GST common portal. The petitioner submitted that under para 5 of the Order-in-Original multiple demands (Demand I to V) were raised. The petitioner intended to file an appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act challenging only Demand II to V of para 5 of the Order-in-Original. However, the GST portal was not permitting electronic filing of the appeal due to non-deposit of the amount relating to Demand I, even though the petitioner was not preferring an appeal against that portion of the order. Because of this technical impediment, the appeal could not be uploaded electronically.

The petitioner relied upon the Proviso to Rule 108(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, which permits manual filing of app eal in FORM GST APL-01 in two circumstances: (i) where the Commissioner has notified such filing, or (ii) where the appeal cannot be filed electronically due to non-availability of the decision or order on the common portal. The petitioner contended that although the rule contemplates limited circumstances, the present case presented a genuine technical difficulty preventing electronic filing.

Issue:

Whether the Appellate Authority can be directed to accept a manually filed appeal when the GST common portal does not permit electronic filing due to technical constraints, particularly when the petitioner seeks to challenge only part of the Order-in-Original. 

Held That:

The Court held that the petitioner had demonstrated a genuine and bona fide difficulty in filing the appeal electronically, as the GST portal was not accepting the appeal without deposit relating to Demand I, even though that demand had been deferred and was not being challenged in appeal.

Considering the nature of the controversy and the technical impediment faced by the petitioner, the Court directed the Office of the Appellate Authority to accept the appeal manually. The direction was issued to ensure that the petitioner is not deprived of the statutory right of appeal due to technical or procedural difficulties in the electronic filing system.

Case Name: M/s Shiv Kumar Tamrakar Versus Union of India And Others dated 12.02.2026