Departmental Appeal Held Non-Maintainable for Failure to Meet the Prescribed Monetary Threshold under Section 120 of the CGST Act{ Sandeep Tiwari vs. Ankita Gupta [2026] 191 taxmann.com 236 (GSTAT – GHAZIABAD)}
Facts
The Department filed an appeal before the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), Ghaziabad, challenging an order passed by the First Appellate Authority in favour of the taxpayer. The dispute concerned a penalty imposed under Section 129(3) of the UPGST Act, 2017.
The taxpayer had challenged the penalty before the First Appellate Authority, which allowed the taxpayer’s appeal. Aggrieved by this decision, the Department filed an appeal before the GSTAT.
However, the disputed penalty was below the prescribed monetary threshold for departmental appeals before the Tribunal. The Department did not establish that the case fell within any recognised exception to the monetary-limit policy
Issue
Whether a departmental appeal could be entertained by the GSTAT under Section 120 of the UPGST Act, 2017, when the disputed penalty was below the prescribed monetary threshold and the Department had not established any applicable exception.
Held
The GSTAT held that the departmental appeal was not maintainable because it did not satisfy the prescribed monetary-limit requirements under Section 120 of the UPGST Act, 2017.
The Tribunal observed that the Commissioner’s authorisation to file an appeal does not automatically exempt the Department from complying with the prescribed monetary limits. Where the Department seeks to pursue an appeal despite the monetary threshold, it must specifically establish that the case falls within a recognised exception and provide appropriate justification.
Since the Department neither established an applicable exception nor demonstrated a specific, reasoned exercise of the Commissioner’s discretionary power, the Tribunal dismissed the appeal at the threshold without examining the merits of the underlying dispute
Principle laid down: Departmental appeals before the GSTAT must comply with the prescribed monetary limits under Section 120. Mere authorisation to file an appeal is insufficient to overcome those limits unless an applicable exception is properly established.
