The relaxed system was first introduced in January 2026 to make the appeal process easier during the early stages of the new e filing system. It was originally planned to remain in place for six months, but GSTAT has now decided to continue it for the rest of the year.
Under these guidelines, officials reviewing appeals will take a more practical approach during scrutiny. Instead of rejecting or delaying applications over small technical mistakes or missing formalities, they will mainly focus on serious issues that might affect the case.
It also gives taxpayers and tax professionals more time to adjust to the online filing system while ensuring that important cases continue to move forward.
According to the guidelines, if an appeal includes soft copies of important documents such as the “Show Cause Notice (SCN), Order in Original (o1O), Order in Appeal (OIA), Statement of Facts, grounds of appeal, pre deposit and Court fees,” where required, “Registrar / Joint Registrars / Deputy Registrars / Assistant Registrars” should not raise objections. The same applies if a higher court has exempted the appellant from paying “Court Fee / Pre Deposit.”
They also explained that if a taxpayer files an appeal “Under Sub-Section (1) of Section 112 by attaching a scanned copy certified OIO, OIA and if the Scrutiny officer is satisfied from the endorsement,” it should be accepted without raising a defect. Taxpayers must upload a copy of the authorisation letter for their tax professional or a Vakalatnama if they are represented by an advocate.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
