GST first appeal under section 107: the time limit, late appeals and the pre-deposit

You have three months from the day a GST order is communicated to you to file a first appeal (section 107(1) of the CGST Act), and the Appellate Authority may allow one more month if you show sufficient cause (section 107(4)). Beyond those four months, Delhi (7 February 2025) and Gujarat (27 November 2025) Division Benches hold that the Authority has no power to condone the delay; a Calcutta Division Bench (28 July 2025) holds the limit directory. For a FY 2022-23 order communicated in the last week of December 2026, that means filing FORM GST APL-01 by the last week of March 2027, after paying the admitted amount and 10% of the disputed tax.

When does the three-month clock start?

Section 107(1) says an appeal lies "within three months from the date on which the said decision or order is communicated to such person". Section 169(1) lists how an order may be served: by hand, by post, "by sending a communication to his e-mail address", "by making it available on the common portal", and so on. The question is which day is day zero (the month count is in our appeal clock).

• E-mail first, portal later: a Bombay Division Bench held that "the date of communication of the impugned assessment order is to be regarded as April 20, 2019 viz the date on which the order was sent by email to the petitioner" (Meritas Hotels, WP 7793/2021, 3 December 2021, para 16), not the later portal upload.
• Only in the "Additional Notices and Orders" tab: a Calcutta Division Bench held that a notice visible only there "could not constitute a proper communication or uploading as contemplated in Section 73(1)" (Ram Kumar Sinhal, MAT 53/2025, 28 July 2025, para 51). An Allahabad Division Bench refused the same argument because since 16 January 2024 the portal shows all notices and orders on one common screen: the plea "is not available" (Bhura Traders, Writ Tax 1769/2025, 30 April 2025, paras 14 and 15). The Calcutta notice was dated 10 May 2024 (para 3), after that change, so the Benches differ even for recent notices; do not time an appeal on the tab argument.

Practical point: count from the earliest day the order reached you by any mode in section 169(1).

How do I file the appeal, and when is it treated as filed?

Rule 108(1) of the CGST Rules requires FORM GST APL-01, filed electronically (manually only if the Commissioner has notified it or the order is not on the portal), with "a provisional acknowledgement" issued "immediately". Since Notification 26/2022-Central Tax (26 December 2022, para 13), rule 108(3) reads:

• Order uploaded on the portal: the final acknowledgement comes in FORM GST APL-02, and "the date of issue of the provisional acknowledgment shall be considered as the date of filing of appeal".
• Order not uploaded: you submit "a self-certified copy" within seven days of filing APL-01; if you are later, "the date of submission of such copy shall be considered as the date of filing of appeal".

The 2017 demand for "a certified copy" is gone. The Explanation still says the appeal is "treated as filed only when the final acknowledgement, indicating the appeal number, is issued".

Can the Appellate Authority accept an appeal in the fourth month?

Yes, if you show cause. Section 107(4): the Authority may, "if he is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from presenting the appeal within the aforesaid period of three months", allow it "within a further period of one month". Practical point: file the delay application with the appeal, with documents.

In S.R.S. Travels and Logistics (Karnataka High Court, WP 29625/2025, 8 October 2025) the appeal was dismissed on the view that section 5 of the Limitation Act did not apply. The court held that section 107(4) itself provides "an extendable/condonable period of one month" which "permits the Appellate Authority to condone the delay in filing an appeal beyond the prescribed period of three months" (para 4), set the order aside and treated the delay as condoned (para 5).

I missed four months. Can the delay still be condoned?

This is where the High Courts divide.

No power to condone (Delhi, Gujarat). A Delhi Division Bench held that section 107(4) "clearly excludes the general principles which the law recognises as relevant for the purposes of condonation of delay" (Addichem Speciality LLP, W.P.(C) 14279/2024 and connected matters, 7 February 2025, para 65), and that once a statute "creates a special period of limitation and proscribes the same being entertained after a terminal date, the general provisions of the Limitation Act would cease to apply" (para 69). It cited Chhattisgarh and Allahabad rulings to the same effect (paras 66, 67) and held that contrary Calcutta and Andhra Pradesh rulings "cannot be of any assistance" (para 68). A Gujarat Division Bench upheld the Authority's view that it "does not have the power to condone the delay in filing the appeal beyond the period of limitation of 120 days" (Tapi Ready Plast, SCA 12047/2025, 27 November 2025, para 8.1), and called the accountant's illness and closure of business a "lame excuse" (para 14).

Limitation Act applies (Calcutta). A Calcutta Division Bench found "no express bar" in section 107(4), so section 5 of the Limitation Act "should apply" (Ram Kumar Sinhal, para 43), and held that "the timeline stipulated in Section 107(4) of the WBGST Act is not mandatory but directory" (para 45). It condoned a delay of about three months and twenty days beyond the four months (para 57).

The writ court is not bound (Rajasthan). A Rajasthan Division Bench held that the limits in section 107 "bind the statutory authority" but "are not applied in a writ proceeding" (Shree Shakti Minerals, D.B. Civil Writ Petition 11763/2024, 25 July 2024, para 5), and restored the appeal subject to the statutory deposits (para 7).

Gujarat and Rajasthan both discuss a Supreme Court VAT ruling, Civil Appeal No. 2413 of 2020 (6 May 2020): once the maximum period has passed, the High Court "cannot disregard the statutory period for redressal of the grievance and entertain the writ petition of such a party as a matter of course" (para 15 in the SCR report). Gujarat applied it; Rajasthan read it as leaving room for the writ court.

How late are you, and what have courts done?

By how late the appeal is, as at 6 November 2026. DB means Division Bench.

Does a pending writ petition stop the appeal clock?

Do not assume so. In Treco Wire India (Delhi High Court, Division Bench, W.P.(C) 14428/2025, 24 September 2025) the taxpayer said its writ was filed in April 2025, inside the appeal period; the case history showed filing on 8 September 2025. The court held that "within the prescribed period, no appeal has been filed" and the findings "have thus, become final" (para 12). The period "cannot be extended unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as complete violation of the principles of natural justice" (para 18). Where a hearing was denied, see our section 75(4) guide.

How much is the pre-deposit, and what counts as "admitted"?

Section 107(6) bars an appeal until you pay "in full" the part of the tax, interest, fine, fee and penalty "as is admitted by him", and "a sum equal to ten per cent. of the remaining amount of tax in dispute", now capped at ₹20 crore. For an order demanding only a penalty, the proviso asks for ten per cent of the penalty. Once paid, recovery of the balance "shall be deemed to be stayed" (section 107(7)). A worked example is in our order-in-appeal guide; the 57th Council's proposed cap is in what the Council changed; the second appeal is in our GSTAT guide.

CBIC's Circular 259/05/2026-GST (26 October 2026) clarifies, for officers, that the "Admitted amount" is the portion "the taxpayer acknowledges as payable", and that the choice of what is admitted or disputed "is to be made by the taxpayer at the time of filing the appeal and is captured in Table-14 of APL-01" (issue 1).

Can the 10% be paid from the electronic credit ledger?

CBIC's Circular 172/04/2022-GST (6 July 2022, issue 6) says output tax "payable as a consequence of any proceeding instituted under the provisions of GST Laws, can be made by utilization of the amount available in the electronic credit ledger". The courts read it differently:

• Yes: Gujarat Division Bench, Yasho Industries (SCA 10504/2023, 17 October 2024): the deposit made "utilizing the amount of Electronic Credit Ledger is required to be considered valid" (para 6). The Delhi High Court recorded that the Supreme Court dismissed the department's petition against it on 19 May 2025, after the department said similar matters were pending there (Army Welfare Housing Organisation, W.P.(C) 13260/2024, 22 December 2025, para 20).
• No: Patna Division Bench, Flipkart Internet (CWJC 1848/2023, 19 September 2023): the Authorities "cannot allow him to comply with the requirement of pre-deposit (10 percent) by debiting ECRL" (para 59). Orissa Division Bench, Jyoti Construction (WP(C) 23508/2021, 7 October 2021): the credit ledger "cannot be debited for making payment of pre-deposit at the time of filing of the appeal" (para 14).

Practical point: in Bihar or Odisha, pay the 10% in cash. The GST Appellate Tribunal's Mumbai Bench held that paying an amnesty-scheme appeal's deposit wholly from the credit ledger did not make it time-barred (APL/1/MMB/2026, 2 November 2026, para 39): see the digest of 5 November.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Statute CGST Act section 107 and section 169; CGST Rules rule 108; Notification 26/2022-Central Tax, para 13.
• CBIC Circular 172/04/2022-GST, issue 6; Circular 259/05/2026-GST, issue 1.
• Judgments as named above, with paragraph numbers; the Supreme Court's Civil Appeal No. 2413 of 2020 is cited from [2020] 4 SCR 602.