The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, (CBIC) on July 11, 2024, issued a notification related to Guidelines for recovery of outstanding dues, in cases wherein the first appeal has been disposed of, till Appellate Tribunal comes into operation.
Concerns from trade and field formations regarding the recovery of outstanding dues when the first appellate authority has confirmed demands and appeals cannot be filed with the GST Appellate Tribunal due to its non-constitution.
The following has been stated-
•Non-constitution of Tribunal: Taxpayers cannot currently appeal to the GST Appellate Tribunal, leaving them unable to make the necessary pre-deposit payments under Section 112 of the CGST Act. Tax officers have been initiating recovery proceedings due to this inability.
•Payment and Recovery Stay:
oTaxpayers willing to appeal against the appellate authority's order can make pre-deposit payments using the Electronic Liability Register (ELL) Part-II.
oUpon making the pre-deposit and filing an undertaking to appeal once the Tribunal is operational, recovery of the remaining demand will be stayed as per Section 112(9) of the CGST Act.
•Procedure for Pre-deposit:
oNavigate to Services >> Ledgers >> Payment towards demand on the GST portal.
oSelect the relevant order and make the payment to reduce the outstanding demand.
oFile an undertaking with the jurisdictional officer to confirm the intention to appeal when the Tribunal is operational.
•Non-compliance:
oIf the taxpayer does not make the pre-deposit or file the undertaking, recovery proceedings can be initiated.
oIf the Tribunal becomes operational and the taxpayer fails to appeal within the prescribed timelines, recovery of the remaining demand will proceed.
•Payments via FORM GST DRC-03:
oTaxpayers who have paid amounts through FORM GST DRC-03 can have these amounts adjusted against the pre-deposit required for appeals.
oSubmit an application in FORM GST DRC-03A on the GST portal once available, and these payments will be considered as made towards the demand on the date of intimation.
•Interim Procedure for FORM GST DRC-03A:
oUntil the portal functionality is available, taxpayers should inform the proper officer if they have made inadvertent payments via FORM GST DRC-03.
oThe officer should not insist on recovery until the FORM GST DRC-03A functionality is operational.
oOnce operational, file FORM GST DRC-03A to adjust these payments against pre-deposits. If not filed, recovery will proceed under Section 78 and 79 of the CGST Act.
These guidelines aim to ensure uniform implementation of the law and provide clarity on handling outstanding dues and pre-deposit adjustments until the GST Appellate Tribunal is constituted.
[Circular No. 224/18/2024 – GST]
