GSTN Advisory On Procedures And Provisions For Taxpayer Amnesty Due To Missed Appeal Filing Deadlines

GSTN Advisory on Procedures and Provisions for Taxpayer Amnesty Due to Missed Appeal Filing Deadlines

The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has issued an advisory outlining procedures and provisions for taxpayers who missed the appeal filing deadline for orders passed on or before March 31, 2023.

Amnesty for Taxpayers: In its 52nd meeting, the GST Council recommended granting amnesty to taxpayers unable to file an appeal under section 107 of the CGST (Central Goods and Services Tax) Act, 2017, against demand orders under sections 73 or 74 of the CGST Act, 2017, passed on or before March 31, 2023, or whose appeals against said orders were rejected due to not being filed within the specified time frame in sub-section (1) of section 107.

In compliance with the GST Council's recommendation, the government issued Notification No. 53/2023 on November 2, 2023.

Taxpayers with an option can submit an appeal using FORM GST APL-01 on the GST portal until January 31, 2024, for orders issued by the proper officer on or before March 31, 2023. Taxpayers are advised to make payments to entertain the appeal as per the provisions of Notification No. 53/2023.

The GST Portal allows taxpayers to choose the mode of payment (electronic Credit/Cash ledger), and it is their responsibility to select the appropriate ledgers and make the correct payments. The Appellate Authority will verify the accuracy of the payment before considering the appeal, and any appeal submitted without appropriate payment may be addressed following legal provisions.

If a taxpayer has already filed an appeal and wishes to avail the benefit of the amnesty scheme, they need to make differential payments to comply with Notification No. 53/2023. Make payments towards the demand order using the "Payment towards demand" feature on the GST portal.

Taxpayers who previously filed an appeal but it was rejected as time-barred in APL-02 by the Appellate authority can refile the appeal. If any issues arise while refiling APL-01, a ticket can be raised on the Grievance Redressal portal under the category "Amnesty Scheme" and the sub-category "Amnesty scheme– Issue in appeal filing."

For cases where the Appellate authority issued a rejection order in APL-04 due to the appeal application being time-barred, taxpayers must approach the respective Appellate authority office well in advance to comply with the dates in the notification.

The Appellate authority will check the eligibility of the taxpayer for the amnesty scheme and forward the case to GSTN through the State Nodal officer.

Note: APL 04-issued cases will not be entertained directly by GSTN or through the Grievance Redressal portal; they must be forwarded through the State Nodal officer.

Once the State Nodal officer forwards the case to GSTN, taxpayers will be allowed to submit an appeal against the relevant order.

Also Read: GSTN Enhances Login Security: Introduces Two-Factor Authentication For Taxpayers on GST Portal