GSTAT Kolkata Bench: How to File a GST Appeal (2026)

For eight years there was nowhere to go

The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal was written into the CGST Act in 2017. Section 109 provided for it. Then, for the better part of a decade, it did not exist.

The consequence was ugly. A taxpayer who lost before the first appellate authority under Section 107 had no forum for a second appeal on facts. The only route was a writ petition to the High Court — which will not re-examine findings of fact, only jurisdictional error or breach of natural justice. Genuine factual disputes had nowhere to land, and demands accumulated behind them.

That has now changed. Following the appointment of judicial and technical members, the tribunal began operating in phases through 2026. The Kolkata Bench commenced functioning on 23 March 2026.

What the Kolkata Bench covers

The Kolkata Bench exercises jurisdiction over:

• West Bengal
• Sikkim
• The Andaman & Nicobar Islands

It sits at 2/5 Judges Court Road, Alipore, Kolkata.

Your bench is determined by the state of your GST registration. The first two digits of your GSTIN tell you: 19 is West Bengal. If your GSTIN begins 19, your appeal is filed at Kolkata, not Delhi and not Cuttack.

The rollout, in order

Each bench issues its own public notice on commencement, so "the GSTAT is operational" is not a single national fact — it is bench by bench.

Who can appeal

You may appeal to the Tribunal if you are aggrieved by an order passed by:

• the Appellate Authority under Section 107, or
• the Revisional Authority under Section 108.

Note what is not appealable here. You cannot leapfrog. An original order under Section 73 or 74 goes first to the Section 107 appellate authority; only that authority's order comes to the Tribunal.

The pre-deposit

This is where appeals stall, and it is worth being blunt about the cash requirement before you start drafting.

Under Section 112 of the CGST Act:

• Appeal to a State Bench requires a pre-deposit of 10% of the disputed tax, over and above amounts already admitted and paid
• That pre-deposit is capped at ₹20 crore each under CGST and SGST (Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024, from 1 November 2024)
• For an order that demands only a penalty, the pre-deposit is 10% of the penalty (from 1 October 2025)

Three points that catch people out:

• Where tax is demanded, the percentage runs on tax in dispute, not on interest or penalty. A demand that is mostly penalty is cheaper to appeal than its headline suggests.
• It is cumulative. You already paid 10% at the Section 107 stage. This is on top.
• It is a precondition to filing, not something you settle later.

Procedure

Filing is governed by the GST Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2025, notified in the Official Gazette. Appeals are filed electronically through the GSTAT portal, and the Tribunal has published an e-filing user manual along with a helpdesk for technical issues.

Broadly:

• Compute limitation. Because the Tribunal became available so late, transitional timelines have applied to older orders. Check your specific position rather than assuming.
• Pay the pre-deposit and retain proof.
• Draft the appeal — memorandum, grounds of appeal, statement of facts, and the certified copy of the impugned order.
• File electronically on the GSTAT portal.
• Cure defects. Benches have been issuing defect rectification notices as filings ramp up; respond promptly or the appeal is not taken on record.
• Appear at the hearing, personally or through an authorised representative.

What this means practically for eastern India

Two things.

If you are holding an adverse Section 107 order and have been waiting for a forum, the forum exists now — and the clock is running. Waiting was defensible while there was no tribunal. It is not defensible any more.

And if you are currently at the notice stage — an ASMT-10, a DRC-01, a Section 73 or 74 show cause notice — the reply you file today is the record the Tribunal will read in two years. Appeals are won and lost on what went into the original reply. A thin, hurried ASMT-11 is very hard to repair later.

Frequently Asked Questions