GST Tribunal Appeals Hit by Portal Glitches Despite Deadline Extension | Biz Flow Kit
Even after an extension of the due date to submit the appeals before the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) from March 31 to June 30, the condition for appeal filings remained less than what was expected.
In this tax, experts are quoting the load of other deposits and continuous technical problems on the filing portal as key reasons for the sluggish replies.
Till now, approximately 8400 appeals have been submitted all across the nation, along with nearly 1000 from Gujarat, even though professionals had anticipated 4 lakh appeals after the long-awaited tribunal became operative nearly 8 years after the introduction of the GST regime.
Various taxpayers are demotivated from approaching the tribunal concerning the requirement for an additional deposit.
The cause of fewer appeals is the additional 10% pre-deposit of the disputed tax demand needed at the time of filing an appeal before the tribunal. Taxpayers’ approach to the tribunal had earlier deposited 10% at the first appellate phase, which became a burden.
He mentioned the norms vary from the earlier excise and service tax regime, where the total pre-deposit was capped at 10%.
Taxpayers are feeling the sharp difference. Now the portal is functioning seamlessly, and filings may increase in the forthcoming months.
Although it is not explicit till now when physical hearings get started.
As per industry stakeholders, the financial burden is not the only factor for the low number of appeals. They pointed out the technical and procedural issues on the GSTAT portal.
Nayan Sheth, chairman of the indirect tax committee of the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated that errors on the portal continue to make the filing process difficult.
Various problems are present on the portal, and that is one of the causes why appeal filings have stayed lower. However, tax advocates submit appeals for appellants, and dealer registration is also required. Concerning procedure, an OTP sent to the dealer is needed, and only after that can the appeal be filed.
He stated that taxpayers and practitioners are facing increased difficulties due to delays in OTP authentication and issues with coordination between the GST portal and the tribunal’s website.
Read Also: GSTN Advisory No. 655: GST NIL Demand Appeal Filing Issue
Synchronisation problems exist between the GST portal and the GSTAT platform. Such procedural and technical errors are depriving eligible appeals from being filed on time.
Sheth also mentioned that many taxpayers had earlier deposited the additional 10% of the disputed tax demand after the govt issued a circular ensuring that taxpayers making the payment for second appeals would not encounter recovery proceedings until the tribunal became operational.
