Before the Tribunal: Hearing, Order and Rectification

Once an appeal is registered, the work moves from the portal to the bench. Many people’s experience of appeal is the first stage, where an officer of the department hears the case alone, often briefly. The Tribunal works differently. It is a judicial body with a cause list and a Registry, with rules on replies, rejoinders and adjournments, and with a power the first appellate authority lacks: to send a case back. Its order also changes the position on recovery, and it opens a further appeal to a court. This guide covers those stages.

Filing, fees and the pre-deposit are covered in Appealing to the GST Appellate Tribunal.

The rules that govern the hearing

Section 111(1) frees the Tribunal from the Code of Civil Procedure. It is “guided by the principles of natural justice” and has “power to regulate its own procedure”. Section 111(2) gives it a civil court’s powers to summon witnesses, require documents, receive evidence on affidavit, requisition public records, issue commissions, dismiss a representation for default or decide it ex parte, and set aside such orders. Under section 111(4), its proceedings are “deemed to be judicial proceedings” for the purposes of sections 193, 196 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code, which deal with false evidence and insult to a judicial proceeding.

The Tribunal made the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2025 under section 111. They were published as G.S.R. 256(E) on 24 April 2025, and came into force on publication. The CGST Rules continue to govern the forms (rules 110 to 113A). Where this guide cites “Procedure Rules”, it means the 2025 rules.

From registration to the hearing

Notice and service. Rule 34 of the Procedure Rules requires a copy of the appeal and its documents to be provided to the respondent and to the Commissioner concerned “as soon as they are filed”. Under rule 40, notices may be served by any method in section 169. For this purpose “the common Portal” means the GSTAT portal. Service on an authorised representative is “deemed to be a proper service”. Under rule 115, notices, communications and summons are issued electronically through the portal.

Respondents. Under rule 33, in a taxpayer’s appeal “the Commissioner concerned shall be made the respondent”. In the Commissioner’s appeal, the other party is the respondent.

Reply and rejoinder. Under rule 36, each respondent may file a reply with documents “within one month of the receipt thereof”, serving a copy on the appellant. The appellant must then “specifically admit, deny, or rebut” the facts in the reply. Under rule 37, the Bench may allow a rejoinder within one month. The party against whom an appeal is filed may also file cross-objections in APL-06 within forty-five days of notice under section 112(5).

Cause list. Under rule 38, the Registrar publishes the next day’s cause list on the notice board and the GSTAT portal, and “shall communicate to the parties the date and place of hearing”. Cases are listed in a set order of priority:

1. pronouncements
2. clarifications
3. admissions
4. orders or directions
5. part-heard cases
6. the rest in numerical order

Mode. Under rule 115(7), hearings may be physical or, “upon the permission of the President, in the electronic mode”. The Tribunal’s FAQ says the mode and any joining instructions are communicated through the portal or the hearing notice. Under rule 48, proceedings are open to the public unless the Tribunal orders otherwise.

Representation. An authorised representative under section 116 appears on filing a vakalatnama, memorandum of appearance or letter of authorisation, in the form of GSTAT FORM-04 (Procedure Rules, rule 72). A party who has engaged a representative “may be restricted” in addressing the Tribunal personally (rule 75).

The hearing

Rule 41 sets the order of hearing. On the day fixed, “the appellant shall be heard in support of the appeal”. The Tribunal then, “if necessary”, hears the respondent, and the appellant “shall be entitled to reply”.

Grounds. Under rule 31, the appellant may not urge grounds outside the appeal without leave. The Tribunal is not confined to the grounds pleaded. But it “shall not rest its decision on any other grounds unless the party who may be affected thereby has had a sufficient opportunity of being heard on that ground”.

Evidence. Rule 112 of the CGST Rules and rule 45 of the Procedure Rules restrict additional evidence. It may be admitted only in listed circumstances, for reasons recorded in writing. The other side must get a chance to examine or rebut it. The Tribunal may itself call for documents or witnesses. Under rule 46, it may direct evidence by affidavit, and may order cross-examination of a deponent, including by video conference.

In Anil Kumar Singh v Agarwala’s Bitumex Private Limited (GSTAT, Kolkata Bench, APL/10 and 14/KLK/2026, 20 August 2026), the department appealed refunds of accumulated credit on exports made under a bill-to-ship-to arrangement. Before the Tribunal it raised, for the first time, concerns about credit used by the exporter and the supplier’s licence. It filed no document showing any investigation. The Tribunal held that rule 45(1) of the Procedure Rules and rule 112(1) of the CGST Rules “clearly bar additional evidence except in exceptional circumstances”. It rejected the additional grounds, and dismissed the department’s appeals on the merits.

Facts as well as law. In Sterling & Wilson Pvt. Ltd. v Commissioner, Odisha (GSTAT, Principal Bench, APL/1/PB/2026, 11 February 2026, the President sitting alone), a demand under section 74 arose from a gap between GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B. The person said the gap was explained by credit notes accounted for in its books but not reported in time. The State argued that the Tribunal could not go into facts. The Tribunal held that the limits in section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure “are singularly absent” from the GST appeal provisions. Questions of law alone are the province of the High Court under section 117 and the Supreme Court under section 118. In exercise of jurisdiction under section 112 read with rule 112, it “has power to examine question of facts also and it is the last adjudicating forum on questions of facts”.

Adjournments, default and ex parte hearing

Section 113(2) allows the Tribunal, “if sufficient cause is shown, at any stage of hearing”, to adjourn “for reasons to be recorded in writing”. The proviso is firm: “no such adjournment shall be granted more than three times to a party during hearing of the appeal”. Rule 16 of the Procedure Rules says adjournments are normally sought before the Bench. Only in “extraordinary circumstances” may the Registrar, if so directed in chambers, adjourn a matter.

Where the appellant does not appear, rule 42 lets the Tribunal “either dismiss the appeal for default or hear and decide it on merits”. An appeal dismissed for default is restored if the appellant shows “sufficient cause for his non-appearance”. A restoration application carries the fee in rule 110(5), under section 112(10)(b). Where the respondent does not appear, rule 43 allows the appeal to be heard and decided ex parte.

Under rule 44, the death or insolvency of a party, or the winding up of a company, causes the appeal to abate. It does not abate if an application to continue it is made within sixty days, a period the Tribunal may extend for sufficient cause.

The order

Section 113(1) allows the Tribunal, “after giving the parties to the appeal an opportunity of being heard”, to:

pass such orders thereon as it thinks fit, confirming, modifying or annulling the decision or order appealed against or may refer the case back to the Appellate Authority, or the Revisional Authority or to the original adjudicating authority, with such directions as it may think fit, for a fresh adjudication or decision after taking additional evidence, if necessary.

This is the main difference from the first appeal. Section 107(11) forbids the Appellate Authority from referring a case back. Section 113(1) allows the Tribunal to.

Sterling & Wilson shows the power in use. The first appellate authority had found no fraud or suppression, but had itself recomputed the demand under section 73. The Tribunal held that under section 75(2), the “original Proper Officer who has issued a notice under Section 74(1) … shall re-determine the tax payable”, and that “it cannot be done by the First Appellate Authority or the Tribunal”. It remanded the case to the proper officer, observing that the person “should be given chance to amend his returns by condoning his delay”. The Kolkata Bench reached the same result on section 75(2) in Commissioner CGST & CX, Kolkata North v Power Tech Global (5 August 2026). Under section 75(3), an order required by such a direction must issue “within two years from the date of communication of the said direction”.

Form and time. Under rule 51 of the Procedure Rules, the order is in writing, signed and dated by the Members. Under rule 103, it is pronounced “either at once or … not later than thirty days from the final hearing excluding vacations or holidays”, and a certified copy is given to the parties. Rule 99 allows an appeal to be dismissed summarily, “for reasons to be recorded”, if there are “no sufficient grounds for proceedings therewith”. Section 113(4) asks the Tribunal to decide every appeal “as far as possible” within one year of filing. Where the Members of a Bench differ, section 109(9) and rule 50 provide for reference to further Members or a larger Bench.

Communication and summary. Section 113(5) requires a copy of every order to go to the authority whose order was appealed, the appellant, and the jurisdictional Commissioners. Rule 113(2), substituted from 22 September 2025, requires the Tribunal to issue, or cause to be issued, a summary “in FORM GST APL-04A clearly indicating the final amount of demand confirmed by the Appellate Tribunal”. APL-04A records whether the order is a remand. Under section 113(6), the order is final and binding, save as provided in sections 117 and 118.

Rectification

Section 113(3) allows the Tribunal to amend its order “so as to rectify any error apparent on the face of the record”. It may do so if the error is noticed “on its own accord”, or is brought to its notice by the Commissioner, the State or UT Commissioner, or “the other party to the appeal within a period of three months from the date of the order”. An amendment “which has the effect of enhancing an assessment or reducing a refund or input tax credit or otherwise increasing the liability of the other party” requires that party to be heard first.

Two procedural provisions sit alongside it:

• Rule 108 of the Procedure Rules lets “clerical mistakes … or error therein arising from any accidental slip or omission” be corrected “at any time”. An application must be made online in GSTAT FORM-01 “within one month from the date of the final order”.
• Under rule 110(6) of the CGST Rules, there is no fee for an application for rectification of errors under section 112(10).

The Act gives three months for a party to point out an error apparent on the record. The Procedure Rules prescribe one month for the application form under rule 108. Rules made under section 111 operate “subject to the other provisions of this Act”. Where the two periods differ, the statutory period in section 113(3) is the one the Act fixes.

The effect on recovery

While the appeal is pending. Under section 112(9), payment of the pre-deposit in section 112(8) stays recovery of the balance “till the disposal of the appeal”.

After the order. The stay ends with the appeal. What follows depends on the order:

• If the demand is reduced or annulled, recovery continues only for what remains. Under section 84, recovery proceeds “from the stage at which such proceedings stood” before the appellate order. A reduction needs only an intimation, issued in FORM GST DRC-25 under rule 161. The procedure is in Recovery, and Paying in Instalments.
• If the demand is confirmed, section 119 provides that sums due under an order of the Principal Bench or a State Bench “shall be payable in accordance with the order so passed”, “notwithstanding that an appeal has been preferred to the High Court or the Supreme Court”. The Act gives no automatic stay at this stage. A stay is a matter for the court.
• If the pre-deposit is to be returned, section 115 gives interest at the rate under section 56 from the date of payment to the date of refund. The claim is covered in Getting the Pre-Deposit Back. At its 8 October 2026 meeting the GST Council recommended amending section 115 to make it a standalone provision on the rate of interest, with a circular. These are recommended, not yet notified.
• On a remand, the authority to which the case is sent decides afresh. On a remand to the proper officer under section 75(2), the time limit is the two years in section 75(3).

Appeal onwards

The route depends on which bench decided.

• From a State Bench. Section 117 allows an appeal to the High Court within “one hundred and eighty days from the date on which the order appealed against is received”. The High Court may admit it “if it is satisfied that the case involves a substantial question of law”. It may entertain a late appeal for sufficient cause. The appeal is filed in FORM GST APL-08 under rule 114 and heard by at least two judges.
• From the Principal Bench. Section 118(1)(a) gives a direct appeal to the Supreme Court “from any order passed by the Principal Bench of the Appellate Tribunal”.

The jurisdictional officer then issues a statement in FORM GST APL-04 showing the final demand confirmed by the High Court or Supreme Court (rule 115). Both routes are covered in Appeals to the High Court and the Supreme Court.

What to have ready

Item	Where it comes from
The APL-02A Part B registration, and the case number	GSTAT portal
The respondent’s reply, and the documents served with it	GSTAT portal; service under rule 40
A rejoinder, if the Bench allows one	The appellant
Cross-objections in APL-06, if any, with their acknowledgement	GSTAT portal
The memorandum of appearance or vakalatnama	GSTAT FORM-04
The cause list entry and any hearing link	GSTAT portal; hearing notice
The final order, its certified copy and the APL-04A summary	GSTAT; GST portal

Who signs

Replies, rejoinders and applications are signed and verified by the party or the authorised representative (Procedure Rules, rules 20(3) and 22). Interlocutory applications in GSTAT FORM-01 must be supported by an affidavit (rule 29). The order is signed by the Members of the Bench (rule 51).

Rights and duties at each step

• Before the hearing. Each side is entitled to the other’s pleadings and documents. The respondent replies within one month, and the appellant must answer the facts stated in the reply.
• At the hearing. Each party may have up to three adjournments, for recorded reasons. A party who does not appear risks dismissal for default or an ex parte decision. Restoration is available for sufficient cause.
• After the order. Either side may seek rectification of an error apparent on the record within three months. An amendment against a party requires that party to be heard. Further appeal lies on a substantial question of law to the High Court, or directly to the Supreme Court from the Principal Bench.

The steps in order

1. On registration, the appeal and documents go to the respondent. A reply is due within one month, and a rejoinder if the Bench allows one.
2. Watch the cause list and portal notices for the date, bench and mode of hearing.
3. At the hearing, the appellant opens, the respondent answers, and the appellant replies. Additional evidence needs the Tribunal’s leave, with reasons recorded.
4. Adjournments are limited to three for each party. Non-appearance can lead to dismissal for default, which can be restored for sufficient cause.
5. The order confirms, modifies or annuls the order appealed against, or remands the case. It is pronounced within thirty days of the final hearing, with an APL-04A summary of the demand.
6. Within three months of the order, either side may seek rectification of an error apparent on the record.
7. Recovery of any confirmed demand is no longer stayed under section 112(9). Further appeal lies to the High Court within 180 days from a State Bench, or to the Supreme Court from the Principal Bench.

The next guide covers appeals to the High Court and the Supreme Court.