Taxpayers are encountering a technical hurdle on the GST portal when attempting to file an appeal if their demand order reflects a “NIL” demand, despite an ongoing dispute. This issue arises when taxpayers make a voluntary payment during the Show Cause Notice (SCN) stage without admitting liability, yet the adjudicating authority issues an order reflecting no demand, treating the payment as full settlement without properly assessing liability.
The GST portal's system behavior automatically generates a Demand ID in the liability ledger, registering zero liability if the demand is marked as NIL. Consequently, when taxpayers attempt to file an appeal using APL-01, they encounter an error message stating “Disputed amount cannot exceed demand amount,” which prevents the appeal process. This technical barrier contradicts the taxpayer's legal right to appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017.
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The core issue is that the actual dispute is not accurately captured within the system, leading to the denial of the appeal filing functionality. To resolve this, taxpayers must request a rectification order from the adjudicating authority through the GST portal. Once the corrected demand is reflected, they can proceed to file the appeal within the prescribed timeframe.
Key Pointers -
- When a taxpayer makes voluntary payment at the SCN stage without admitting liability, it does not mean they accept the demand; the right to appeal still exists.
- Sometimes, the adjudicating authority issues an order showing “NIL demand”, treating prior payment as full discharge without properly determining liability.
- The GST portal automatically creates a Demand ID in the DCR (liability ledger); if the demand is NIL, it records zero liability.
- Due to this system behavior, while filing appeal (APL-01), the portal throws an error like “Disputed amount cannot exceed demand amount”, effectively blocking the appeal.
- This creates a technical barrier, even though legally the taxpayer has the right to appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017.
- The core issue is that the actual dispute is not captured in the system, leading to denial of the appeal filing functionality.
- Solution: Taxpayer must request a rectification order from the adjudicating authority via the GST portal; once corrected demand is reflected, appeal can be filed within the prescribed time.
Read More: https://www.gst.gov.in/newsandupdates/read/655
