Drafting the Grounds of Appeal in a GST Appeal

Drafting the Grounds explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.

An appellate order answers the grounds. Grounds that are vague get answered vaguely, and grounds left out may not get in at all.

A memorandum of appeal has four parts: the statement of facts, the grounds, the prayer, and the annexures. Grounds should be numbered, self-contained propositions, each stating what the order below got wrong and why — ordered as jurisdiction, limitation, natural justice, merits, quantum, penalty and interest. Section 107(10) allows an additional ground at the hearing only if the Appellate Authority is satisfied the omission was not wilful or unreasonable — so completeness at filing is the safer course. And Rule 112 restricts new evidence, which is a separate and harder bar.

The four parts

1. Statement of facts. A neutral chronology: the registration and business, the periods, the notice, the reply, the hearing, the order, the demand. Dates for everything. No argument.

2. Grounds of appeal. Numbered, each a single proposition, each capable of being accepted or rejected on its own.

3. Prayer. What you want: the order set aside, or modified in stated respects; the demand deleted or reduced to a stated figure; the penalty deleted; interest recomputed; and, at the Tribunal, a remand with directions where that is sought. Section 113 →

4. Annexures, indexed and paginated: the order, the notice and its annexures, the reply and its annexures, the hearing record, the relied-upon documents, the computations, and the pre-deposit challan.

The order of the grounds

Arrange them so that each, if it succeeds, makes the ones below unnecessary.

Jurisdiction. The officer's competence for the amount; s.6(2)(b) cross-empowerment where the other authority initiated proceedings on the same subject matter; service under s.169; the DIN.

Limitation. Year by year, with the computation stated — the annual return due date, the applicable provision, the limitation date, the date of the notice, the date of the order. The demand limitation map →

Natural justice. No hearing where s.75(4) required one; relied-upon documents not supplied; a non-speaking order contrary to s.75(6); an order exceeding the notice or confirming on grounds not in it, contrary to s.75(7). Section 75(7) →

Merits, issue by issue. One ground per issue, or a short series where an issue has distinct limbs.

Quantum. Period, rate, value, offsetting credit, double counting, cum-tax treatment — with an alternative computation annexed.

Penalty. The suppression characterisation; s.75(13) barring a penalty under another provision for the same act; s.126 general disciplines. The suppression allegation →

Interest. The s.50(1) proviso limiting interest to the net cash liability; s.50(3) for credit wrongly availed and utilised; the computation dates.

What a good ground looks like

Weak: "The order is bad in law and against the facts."

Better: "The Adjudicating Authority erred in holding that credit of ₹X was inadmissible under s.17(5)(d), in that the expenditure was incurred on plant and machinery and not on construction of immovable property on own account, as evidenced by the fixed asset register at Annexure D and the engineer's certificate at Annexure E."

The elements of the second:

• who erred and what they held;
• the provision in issue, with the clause;
• why it is wrong, in one proposition;
• the evidence, identified by annexure.

Length is not the test; specificity is. A ground of three lines that identifies the finding, the provision and the evidence is stronger than a page of narrative.

Three drafting habits worth adopting

Plead in the alternative, expressly. "Without prejudice to Ground 3, and in the alternative, if the supply is held taxable, the value has been computed without allowing the discount under s.15(3)(a)..." Alternatives are not weakness; they are how quantum is preserved when the primary ground fails.

Plead quantum even where you contest liability. An order that confirms an issue while ignoring an unrebutted alternative computation is vulnerable, and it is the ground that most often produces a partial success.

Ask for the hearing in the memorandum. Section 107(8) requires an opportunity of being heard, but the request should be on the record from the outset, along with a request to file written submissions at the hearing.

Section 107(10) and why completeness matters

"The Appellate Authority may, at the time of hearing of an appeal, allow an appellant to add any ground of appeal not specified in the grounds of appeal, if it is satisfied that the omission of that ground from the grounds of appeal was not wilful or unreasonable."

A discretion, on a condition. The appellant must satisfy the authority that the omission was not wilful or unreasonable — which requires an explanation.

And it concerns grounds, not evidence. Rule 112 governs additional evidence, and its four gateways are all about a failure at the earlier stage. A ground that can be argued on the existing record may be added under s.107(10); one that needs a new document faces Rule 112 as well. Rule 112 →

So the safer approach is to plead every ground at filing, including those that seem secondary, and to say expressly that they are pleaded without prejudice to each other.

The pre-filing checklist

1. Read the order against the notice — does it exceed it in amount, or confirm on new grounds? Section 75(7).
2. Read the order against the reply — which grounds of the reply does it not address?
3. Compute limitation for every year.
4. Compute the pre-deposit — admitted amount in full, plus 10% of the remaining disputed tax; or 10% of the penalty for a penalty-only order. Section 107 pre-deposit →
5. Prepare the alternative computation.
6. Index the annexures and check the reply's annexures are all included.
7. Confirm the signatory is authorised as Rule 26 requires. Rule 108 →
8. Check whether the order is on the portal, because the date of filing depends on it.

Key takeaways

• Four parts: statement of facts, grounds, prayer, annexures.
• Order the grounds jurisdiction, limitation, natural justice, merits, quantum, penalty, interest.
• Each ground: who erred, what they held, which provision, why it is wrong, which annexure proves it.
• Plead alternatives expressly, and plead quantum even where liability is contested.
• Section 107(10) allows an additional ground only where the omission was not wilful or unreasonable.
• Rule 112 is a separate and harder bar for additional evidence.

Read next

• Section 107: The First Appeal and the Pre-Deposit
• Rule 112: Additional Evidence Before the Appellate Authority
• Answering a DRC-01: Building the Reply
• Rule 108: APL-01 Filing and the Date of Filing

Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on the CGST Act and Rules as amended to 31 March 2026 (ICAI Bare Law, 12th edition).