GSTAT Chennai: Appeal Filed Before First Appellate Order Passes Is Not Maintainable — Section 112(1) Requires an Existing Order Under Section 107 or 108

The GST Appellate Tribunal's Chennai Bench has dismissed an appeal as not maintainable in a case where the appellant had filed the GSTAT appeal before the first appellate authority had even passed its order — in other words, there was no Order-in-Appeal under Section 107 in existence at the time the GSTAT filing was made. The ruling, by Member (Judicial) Praveen Kumar Jain and Member (Technical) Shaik Khader Rahman in APL/D31/CHE/2026 (Pankajam Plastics, decided 17.08.2026), draws a bright line from the statutory text of Section 112(1).

The facts are procedurally unusual but apparently arose from a situation of urgency. The appellant's case was pending before the first appellate authority (Deputy Commissioner, CT Appeals). Facing recovery action, the appellant simultaneously filed both a Section 107 appeal (APL-01) and a GSTAT appeal (APL-05, filing no. 2026133/10100/0064) on 19.03.2026. The first appellate authority subsequently passed a rejection order dated 24.06.2026 — more than three months after the GSTAT filing date. The GSTAT registry raised a defect: the GSTAT appeal was filed prior to the existence of any first appellate order.

The Tribunal upheld the defect and dismissed the appeal. Section 112(1) of the CGST Act is explicit: "any person aggrieved by an order passed against him under Section 107 or 108 of this Act… may appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against such order." The jurisdiction of the GSTAT is triggered by, and conditional upon, the existence of an order under Section 107 (first appellate authority) or Section 108 (revisional authority). Where no such order exists, the GSTAT simply has no jurisdiction to entertain the appeal. The filing of the appeal was accordingly held to be premature and not in accordance with Section 112(1).

The Tribunal granted liberty to the appellant to file a fresh appeal in accordance with law — meaning once the first appellate authority's order dated 24.06.2026 was in hand, the appellant could approach the GSTAT on that order. The practical lesson for practitioners: no matter how urgent the situation, a GSTAT appeal cannot be filed prophylactically in anticipation of a first appellate order. The Section 107 order must exist and be in the appellant's hands before the GSTAT filing is made. Courts and tribunals occasionally extend time on limitation grounds, but not jurisdiction.

2026-juristway.com-2334-GSTAT(Chennai)-GST  |  GST Appellate Tribunal (Chennai Bench) | APL/D31/CHE/2026  |  17.08.2026