Notification 13/2025-CT: GSTAT Filing Went Fully Electronic

Notification 13 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.

Notification No. 13/2025-Central Tax dated 17 September 2025 is often described as a "GST 2.0 notification". It is not. It changed rules, not rates — and the bulk of what it changed sits in Chapter XIII, the appeals machinery, effective 22 September 2025.

If you are filing before the GST Appellate Tribunal, this is the notification that governs how.

An appeal to the GSTAT in FORM GST APL-05 must now be filed electronically — the proviso permitting manual filing with the Registrar's leave is omitted. The provisional acknowledgement issues in Part A of FORM GST APL-02A, and the final acknowledgement with the appeal number in Part B. The old APL-02 is replaced throughout. Cross-objections in APL-06 are also electronic-only. And Rule 113(2) now requires the Tribunal itself to issue the summary of its order in FORM GST APL-04A, instead of the jurisdictional officer issuing APL-04.

Manual filing is gone

Rule 110(1) previously carried a proviso: an appeal may be filed manually in APL-05, along with the relevant documents, only if the Registrar allows it by a special or general order, subject to conditions, with a provisional acknowledgement issued in that case too.

That proviso is omitted. Rule 110(1) now reads plainly: the appeal "shall be filed in FORM GST APL-05, along with the relevant documents, electronically".

The equivalent proviso in Rule 110(2) for cross-objections in APL-06 is likewise omitted, as is the corresponding proviso in Rule 111 for applications under s.112(3).

There is no residual discretion. An appeal that cannot be uploaded is an appeal that cannot be filed.

APL-02A, in two parts

The single acknowledgement form APL-02 is replaced by APL-02A, split:

• Part A — the provisional acknowledgement, issued immediately on filing APL-05.
• Part B — the final acknowledgement indicating the appeal number, issued on removal of defects.

The Explanation to Rule 110 is unchanged and remains the sting: "the appeal shall be treated as filed only when the final acknowledgement, indicating the appeal number, is issued."

So Part A alone is not a filed appeal. Part B is.

Which date counts as the date of filing

Rule 110(4) sets three cases, and the distinction turns on whether the order appealed against is on the common portal.

Order uploaded on the portal. Final acknowledgement in Part B on removal of defects, and the date of the provisional acknowledgement is the date of filing. Nothing further is required from the appellant — the Tribunal has the order.

Order not on the portal, self-certified copy filed within seven days of APL-05. Part B on removal of defects, and again the date of the provisional acknowledgement is the date of filing.

Order not on the portal, self-certified copy filed after seven days. Part B still issues on removal of defects, but the date of filing is the date of submission of the self-certified copy — not the provisional acknowledgement.

That third case is where limitation is lost. Section 112(1) gives three months from communication of the order. If the copy is uploaded late and the resulting filing date falls outside that window, the appeal is time-barred even though APL-05 went in on time.

Note also that the notification substituted "self-certified copy" in two places within Rule 111 — the requirement is a self-certified copy, not a certified copy from the authority, which was the older and slower standard.

Rule 113(2): the Tribunal issues its own summary

Previously: "The jurisdictional officer shall issue a statement in FORM GST APL-04 clearly indicating the final amount of demand confirmed by the Appellate Tribunal."

Now: "The Appellate Tribunal shall, along with its order under sub-section (1) of section 113, issue, or cause to be issued, a summary of the order in FORM GST APL-04A clearly indicating the final amount of demand confirmed by the Appellate Tribunal."

Two changes. The issuing authority moves from the jurisdictional officer to the Tribunal, and it happens along with the order rather than afterwards. And there is a separate form — APL-04A for the Tribunal, with APL-04 retained for the Appellate Authority under Rule 113(1) and for court-confirmed demands under Rule 115.

The practical gain: the confirmed demand figure is fixed by the Tribunal at the moment of the order, not reconstructed later by the officer who lost. Recovery, appeal to the High Court, and refund of excess pre-deposit all key off a number that is now authoritative from day one.

Withdrawal: Rule 113A still refers to APL-02

Rule 113A, inserted earlier by Notification No. 12/2024-CT, allows withdrawal of an appeal in APL-05 or an application in APL-07 by filing FORM GST APL-05/07W at any time before the s.113(1) order.

Its proviso says that where the final acknowledgment in FORM GST APL-02 has been issued, withdrawal needs the Tribunal's approval, to be decided within fifteen days.

Read with the substituted Rule 110, the reference should be understood as the final acknowledgement — now Part B of APL-02A. The operative point is unchanged: before final acknowledgement, withdrawal is at will; after it, it needs leave. And a fresh appeal after withdrawal must still be within the s.112(1) or (3) time limit — withdrawal does not reset the clock.

Key takeaways

• Electronic filing only for APL-05, APL-06 and APL-07 from 22.09.2025.
• APL-02A replaces APL-02: Part A provisional, Part B final with appeal number.
• The appeal is filed only when Part B issues.
• Where the order is not on the portal, a self-certified copy within seven days preserves the provisional-acknowledgement date.
• A copy filed after seven days moves the filing date — and can time-bar the appeal.
• Rule 113(2): the Tribunal issues the summary in APL-04A, along with its order.

Read next

• How to Appeal to the GST Appellate Tribunal: APL-05
• Appeal to the GST Appellate Tribunal: Process
• Pre-Deposit in GST Appeals: 10% and 20%
• Finance Act 2026: Every GST Amendment, and When Each One Starts

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