GSTAT Appeal Under Section 112: How to File a GST Second Appeal

In short: If you lost your first GST appeal before the First Appellate Authority, the next stop is the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT). It is the second-appeal forum that sits between the First Appellate Authority and the High Court. You appeal under Section 112 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017, within three months, by filing Form GST APL-05 electronically on the GSTAT portal and paying a pre-deposit of 10 percent of the disputed tax. This page explains the ladder, the steps and the numbers.

GSTAT was a missing rung for years. The first appellate stage existed from 2017, but the tribunal for the next appeal was not functional, so taxpayers who lost their first appeal had no affordable forum and crowded the High Courts. That changed in 2025. The GST Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2025 were notified on 24 April 2025 under Section 111 of the CGST Act, and the tribunal was formally launched on 24 September 2025. Justice (Retd.) Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, who took oath as the first President on 6 May 2024, heads it.

GSTAT is the second appeal, not the first. You only reach it after the First Appellate Authority (under Section 107) has already decided your case and you are still aggrieved. The tribunal hears appeals against orders of the First Appellate Authority and against revision orders passed under Section 108. It is a fact-and-law forum, the last stage where disputed facts are examined; appeals beyond it go only on questions of law.

If you have not yet filed the first appeal, start there instead. See our guide on the GST first appeal under Section 107.

Any person aggrieved by an order of the First Appellate Authority (Section 107) or the Revisional Authority (Section 108) can appeal to GSTAT under Section 112(1) of the CGST Act, 2017. The Department can also appeal against an order that went against revenue. The order you are challenging must not be one barred from appeal under Section 121.

The appeal must be filed within three months from the date the order of the First Appellate Authority or Revisional Authority was communicated to you. The tribunal can condone a further delay of up to three months if you show sufficient cause. Diarise the date the order reaches you, not the date on the order.

For legacy cases, there is a one-time relief. For orders communicated before 1 April 2026, the absolute outer deadline to file before GSTAT is 30 June 2026, notified through S.O. 4220(E) dated 17 September 2025 to clear the backlog accumulated since 2017. If your order is old, do not wait; the 30 June 2026 cut-off is a hard line.

You must pay a pre-deposit before the tribunal will hear you. Under Section 112(8), this is 10 percent of the disputed tax remaining after the First Appellate Authority's order, in addition to the 10 percent you already paid at the first appeal stage. The tribunal-stage pre-deposit is capped at ₹20 crore for CGST and ₹20 crore for SGST. This 10 percent figure is the reduced rate; the earlier requirement was 20 percent capped at ₹50 crore. Once the pre-deposit is paid, recovery of the remaining demand is automatically stayed under Section 112(9).

The appeal is filed in Form GST APL-05 (prescribed under Rule 110 of the CGST Rules), electronically on the GSTAT portal. GSTAT is a paperless tribunal: the appeal, grounds, certified copy of the order being challenged and all supporting documents are uploaded online. The tribunal then issues an acknowledgement, and the respondent files a reply. Keep the proof of pre-deposit payment ready to attach.

The matter is listed before a bench, usually two members (judicial and technical). You or your authorised representative argue the appeal; the tribunal hears both sides and passes a reasoned order, which it can confirm, modify or set aside. Because the process is digital, cause lists and orders are available on the portal.

1. Adjudication by the proper officer (the original demand order, for example under Section 73 or 74A).
2. First Appellate Authority under Section 107 (the first appeal).
3. GSTAT under Section 112 (the second appeal, this page).
4. High Court under Section 117 (only on a substantial question of law, within 180 days).
5. Supreme Court under Section 118 (final appeal).

If your dispute is still at the demand stage, read how to reply to a GST demand notice before any appeal arises.

1. Missing the three-month limit. Count from when the order was communicated, not the hearing date. Beyond six months total, the tribunal cannot condone the delay.
2. Skipping or underpaying the pre-deposit. Without the 10 percent under Section 112(8), the appeal is not maintainable. Pay it before, not after, filing.
3. Treating GSTAT like a fresh start. It reviews the order under appeal; raise your grounds clearly and back them with the record, do not expect to re-litigate everything.
4. Sitting on a legacy order. If your appeal order predates 1 April 2026, the 30 June 2026 backlog cut-off is final. Late means lost.
5. Filing in the wrong forum. GSTAT hears second appeals only. A first appeal still goes to the Section 107 authority.

Kashvi Pathak runs a small auto-parts trading business in Indore. In 2024 a GST officer raised a demand of ₹18 lakh against her for an alleged input-tax-credit mismatch. She paid 10 percent and filed a first appeal under Section 107, but in August 2025 the First Appellate Authority upheld most of the demand, leaving ₹14 lakh in dispute. With GSTAT now operational, her consultant filed a second appeal in Form GST APL-05 on the GSTAT portal in October 2025, within the three-month window, and paid the additional 10 percent pre-deposit of ₹1.4 lakh under Section 112(8). On payment, recovery of the balance was stayed under Section 112(9) while the tribunal hears the matter. Earlier, with no working tribunal, her only costly option would have been a High Court writ.

GSTAT is the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal, the second-appeal forum under Section 112 of the CGST Act, 2017. Its Procedure Rules were notified on 24 April 2025 and it was formally launched on 24 September 2025.

Section 112 of the CGST Act, 2017. It lets a person aggrieved by an order of the First Appellate Authority (Section 107) or the Revisional Authority (Section 108) appeal to the tribunal.

10 percent of the disputed tax remaining after the first appeal order, under Section 112(8), in addition to the 10 percent already paid at the first stage. It is capped at ₹20 crore each for CGST and SGST.

Three months from the date the first appeal or revision order is communicated, with a possible condonation of up to a further three months. For orders communicated before 1 April 2026, the backlog deadline is 30 June 2026.

Form GST APL-05, under Rule 110 of the CGST Rules, filed electronically on the GSTAT portal. GSTAT is a fully digital, paperless tribunal.

Yes. A GSTAT order can be appealed to the High Court under Section 117 only on a substantial question of law (within 180 days), and onward to the Supreme Court under Section 118.

Yes. GSTAT hears GST disputes; the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal hears income-tax disputes. The structure is similar though. See our guide on the ITAT appeal under Section 253.

If you are still drafting a reply or a representation, our AI RTI Drafter can help you structure a clear, fact-based document. To understand how appeals, records and public-authority duties fit together, read The RTI Playbook.

1. Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, Sections 107, 108, 111, 112, 117 and 118; CGST Rules, Rule 110 (Form GST APL-05).
2. Ministry of Finance, GST Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2025, G.S.R. 256(E) dated 24 April 2025, notified under Section 111.
3. S.O. 4220(E) dated 17 September 2025, prescribing the backlog filing deadline of 30 June 2026.
4. Press Information Bureau and reports on the launch of GSTAT on 24 September 2025 and the oath of Justice (Retd.) Sanjaya Kumar Mishra as first President on 6 May 2024.
5. CBIC GST portal (cbic-gst.gov.in) and GST Council recommendations on the tribunal pre-deposit and procedure.