Published 14 October 2026
A person who loses before the Appellate Tribunal often expects the High Court to look at the case again. It will not. Above the Tribunal, the facts are treated as settled. A further appeal is heard only on a question of law, and only if the court accepts that the question is a substantial one. The court the appeal goes to depends on which bench of the Tribunal passed the order. And once the Tribunal has decided, the statutory stay of recovery ends. The amount it confirmed becomes payable unless a court stays it.
This guide covers appeals to the High Court under section 117 of the CGST Act and to the Supreme Court under section 118. The Tribunal stage is covered in Appealing to the GST Appellate Tribunal and Before the Tribunal: Hearing, Order and Rectification. Writ petitions, which are a different remedy, are covered in the next guide.
Which court: it depends on the bench
The Tribunal sits as a Principal Bench in New Delhi and as State Benches (section 109). The two routes upward are different.
| Order passed by | Next forum | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| A State Bench | High Court, on a substantial question of law | Section 117(1) |
| The Principal Bench | Supreme Court, directly | Section 118(1)(a) |
| The High Court, in a section 117 appeal | Supreme Court, if the High Court certifies the case as fit | Section 118(1)(b) |
The Principal Bench is not only an appellate bench for Delhi. The first proviso to section 109(5) provides that cases “in which any one of the issues involved relates to the place of supply, shall be heard only by the Principal Bench”. The second proviso sends anti-profiteering matters under section 171(2) to it, and the third lets the Government notify other classes of case. So any appeal with a place of supply issue in it, however small, ends at the Principal Bench. A further appeal from it goes straight to the Supreme Court.
This division dates from 1 August 2023. Sections 152 and 153 of the Finance Act, 2023 substituted “State Benches” in section 117 and “Principal Bench” in section 118, with effect from that date under Notification No. 28/2023-Central Tax.
Section 162 provides that, “save as provided in sections 117 and 118, no civil court shall have jurisdiction” over anything done under the Act. These two sections are the only appellate routes beyond the Tribunal.
The appeal to the High Court
Only a substantial question of law
Under section 117(1), the High Court “may admit such appeal, if it is satisfied that the case involves a substantial question of law”. Section 117(3) then requires the court to “formulate that question”. The appeal “shall be heard only on the question so formulated”. The respondent may argue at the hearing that the case does not involve that question. The proviso preserves the court’s power to hear the appeal, “for reasons to be recorded”, on another substantial question of law that it did not formulate.
The words are taken from section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which governs second appeals. The Supreme Court explained them in Santosh Hazari v Purushottam Tiwari (Civil Appeal No. 1117 of 2001, 8 February 2001). A landowner had won his suit for possession at trial, lost it on first appeal, and had his second appeal dismissed at the threshold. The High Court said in a brief order that the matter stood concluded by findings of fact. The Supreme Court held that “a point of law which admits of no two opinions may be a proposition of law but cannot be a substantial question of law”. To be substantial, a question “must be debatable, not previously settled by law of the land or a binding precedent, and must have a material bearing on the decision of the case”. It must have “a foundation for it laid in the pleadings” and “emerge from the sustainable findings of fact”. The Court framed the question that arose and sent the case back to the High Court to be heard on it.
Applied to a Tribunal order, that test excludes most arguments about evidence. A finding that goods moved, that a supplier existed, or that documents were or were not produced is a finding of fact. It may become a question of law only where it rests on no evidence, ignores material evidence, or misreads the law. Section 117(5) allows the High Court to determine an issue that the State Bench did not determine, or determined wrongly, “by reason of a decision on such question of law”.
180 days, and no fixed outer limit
Section 117(2) requires the appeal to be filed “within a period of one hundred and eighty days from the date on which the order appealed against is received by the aggrieved person”. The proviso allows the High Court to “entertain an appeal after the expiry of the said period if it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause”.
Two features of this differ from the earlier stages. The period runs from receipt of the order. And unlike section 107(4), which allows only one further month, the proviso sets no limit on how late an appeal may be admitted. It leaves the matter to the court’s satisfaction about the cause.
The form and its contents
Rule 114 of the CGST Rules requires the appeal to be filed in FORM GST APL-08. The form asks for:
- who is appealing, whether the taxable person or the Government, with GSTIN, temporary ID or UIN
- the order appealed against, its number and date, and the Tribunal bench that passed it
- the date of communication of the order
- the name of the representative
- the issue, with a synopsis, the goods or services and their classification, and the period of dispute
- the amount in dispute, split into tax or cess, interest, penalty, fees and other charges, under each Act, and the market value of any seized goods
- the statement of facts, the grounds of appeal, the prayer, and annexures
Under rule 114(2), the grounds and the verification are signed “in the manner specified in rule 26”, the rule on authentication. The form ends with a verification that the information is true and nothing has been concealed. The High Court’s own rules govern presentation, fees, and the number of copies. Section 117(9) applies the Code of Civil Procedure provisions on appeals to the High Court, “as far as may be”.
The bench and the decision
Section 117(6) requires the appeal to be heard “by a Bench of not less than two Judges”, and decided by their opinion or that of the majority. Where there is no majority, section 117(7) requires the judges to state the point on which they differ. That point alone is then heard by one or more other judges, and decided by the majority of all the judges who heard the case, including those who first heard it.
The High Court decides the question formulated and delivers a judgment “containing the grounds on which such decision is founded”, and may award costs (section 117(4)). Under section 117(8), “effect shall be given to such judgment by either side on the basis of a certified copy of the judgment”.
The appeal to the Supreme Court
From the Principal Bench. Section 118(1)(a) gives an appeal “from any order passed by the Principal Bench”. It is an appeal as of right under the statute. The Act does not require a substantial question of law for it.
From the High Court, on a certificate. Section 118(1)(b) gives an appeal from a High Court judgment in a section 117 appeal, but only in a case “which, on its own motion or on an application made by or on behalf of the party aggrieved, immediately after passing of the judgment or order, the High Court certifies to be a fit one for appeal to the Supreme Court”. The words “immediately after passing” mean that the certificate is sought, or granted, when the judgment is pronounced. Where the High Court refuses a certificate, or none is sought, the route left is a petition for special leave under Article 136 of the Constitution. That is not a right of appeal. The Supreme Court decides whether to grant leave at all.
Section 118(2) applies the Code of Civil Procedure provisions on appeals to the Supreme Court “so far as may be”. Section 118 itself fixes no period for filing. The time and the form of the petition come from those provisions and the Supreme Court Rules, 2013. Under section 118(3), where the Supreme Court varies or reverses the High Court’s judgment, effect is given to its order on a certified copy, as under section 117(8).
What happens to recovery
This is where an appeal above the Tribunal differs most from the two stages below it.
The statutory stay ends with the Tribunal. Section 112(9) stays recovery of the balance “till the disposal of the appeal” before the Tribunal. Once the Tribunal decides, that stay ends.
An appeal to a court does not stop payment. Section 119 provides that, “notwithstanding that an appeal has been preferred to the High Court or the Supreme Court”, sums due under an order of the Principal Bench, of a State Bench, or of the High Court under section 117 “shall be payable in accordance with the order so passed”. The Act requires no pre-deposit for an appeal to a court. Equally, it gives no automatic stay. Recovery stops only if the court hearing the appeal stays it, on whatever terms it sets.
The demand is restated after each order. Rule 113(2), substituted from 22 September 2025 by Notification No. 13/2025-Central Tax, requires the Tribunal to issue a summary of its order in FORM GST APL-04A, “clearly indicating the final amount of demand confirmed”. After a High Court or Supreme Court decision, rule 115 requires the jurisdictional officer to issue a statement in FORM GST APL-04 showing the final demand confirmed by the court. Where an appeal reduces or enhances a demand, section 84 lets recovery continue “from the stage at which such proceedings stood”. The modes of recovery are in Recovery, and Paying in Instalments.
Pre-deposits stay where they are. The amounts paid under sections 107(6) and 112(8) remain with the Government while a court appeal is pending. If the person finally succeeds, they are refunded, as covered in Getting the Pre-Deposit Back.
When the department appeals
Section 117(1) gives the appeal to “any person aggrieved”, and FORM GST APL-08 provides for an appeal by the Government. Section 120 allows the Board to fix monetary limits below which central tax officers do not appeal. Circular No. 207/1/2024-GST (26 June 2024) fixes them at:
| Forum | Amount involved |
|---|---|
| Appellate Tribunal | Rs 20,00,000 |
| High Court | Rs 1,00,00,000 |
| Supreme Court (appeal or special leave petition) | Rs 2,00,00,000 |
Where tax is in dispute, only the aggregate tax (CGST, SGST or UTGST, IGST and cess) counts. Interest, penalty or late fee count only where no tax is disputed. The limits do not apply where a provision, rule, notification or circular has been held ultra vires. They also do not apply to valuation, classification, refunds, place of supply, or any recurring issue of interpretation, or where strictures or costs have been ordered against the department. Under section 120(3), no party may argue that the department “has acquiesced in the decision” because it did not appeal under these limits.
What to have ready
| Item | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| The Tribunal’s order and its APL-04A summary | Tribunal portal; jurisdictional officer |
| Proof of the date the order was received | Portal record, email or service record |
| The orders below: original, first appeal, and any revision | Case file |
| The record before the Tribunal: grounds, evidence, written submissions | Case file |
| The proposed substantial questions of law, each tied to a finding in the Tribunal’s order | Prepared from the order |
| Details of the pre-deposits paid at both earlier stages | Electronic liability register; payment challans |
| The current recovery position: any notice or DRC-13, and the balance due | Portal; officer’s communications |
The procedure in order
- Identify which bench passed the order. A State Bench order goes to the High Court; a Principal Bench order goes to the Supreme Court.
- Note the date the order was received. The High Court appeal is due within 180 days of it. Later filing needs sufficient cause to be shown.
- Frame the questions of law. Each must arise from the Tribunal’s findings, be debatable, and affect the result.
- Prepare FORM GST APL-08 with the statement of facts, grounds and prayer, verified and signed as rule 26 requires, and file it under the High Court’s rules.
- Check the recovery position. The section 112(9) stay has ended, and section 119 makes the confirmed amount payable. A stay, if sought, is sought from the court.
- After the High Court’s judgment, apply for a certificate under section 118(1)(b) at once if a further appeal is intended. Otherwise the remaining route is a special leave petition.
- Once the final order is passed, check the APL-04 statement issued by the jurisdictional officer under rule 115, and claim any refund of pre-deposits that follows.
The next guide covers the other way a GST dispute reaches the High Court: a writ petition under Article 226, and when the courts will hear one despite the statutory appeals.