Appeal to the High Court :
Any person aggrieved by any order passed by the State Bench or Area Benches of the Appellate Tribunal may file an appeal to the High Court and the High Court may admit such appeal, if it is satisfied that the case involves a substantial question of law – section 117(1) of CGST Act.
Time limit for filing appeal – An appeal under section 117(1) shall be filed within one hundred and eighty days from the date on which the order appealed against is received by the aggrieved person. It should be in form and manner as prescribed – section 117(2) of CGST Act.
The High Court may admit an appeal after the expiry of the period of one hundred and eighty days, if it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not filing the same within that period – proviso to section 117(2) of CGST Act.
High Court can formulate the question – Where the High Court is satisfied that a substantial question of law is involved in any case, it shall formulate that question.
The appeal shall be heard only on the question so formulated, and the respondents shall, at the hearing of the appeal, be allowed to argue that the case does not involve such question.
Court can hear, for reasons to be recorded, the appeal on any other substantial question of law not formulated by it, if it is satisfied that the case involves such question – section 117(3) of CGST Act.
Judgment by High Court on question of law – The High Court shall decide the question of law so formulated and deliver such judgment thereon containing the grounds on which such decision is founded and may award such cost as it deems fit – section 117(4) of CGST Act.
High Court can determine any other issue – The High Court may determine any issue which – (a) has not been determined by the State Bench or Area Benches; or (b) has been wrongly determined by the State Bench or Area Benches, by reason of a decision on such question of law as herein referred to in section 117(3) of CGST Act – section 117(5) of CGST Act.
Appeal to be heard by bench of at least two judges – When an appeal has been filed before the High Court, it shall be heard by a bench of not less than two Judges of the High Court, and shall be decided in accordance with the opinion of such Judges or of the majority, if any, of such Judges – section 1117(6) of CGST Act.
Where there is no such majority, the Judges shall state the point of law upon which they differ and the case shall, then, be heard upon that point only, by one or more of the other Judges of the High Court and such point shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority of the Judges who have heard the case including those who first heard it – section 117(7) of CGST Act.
Code of Civil Procedure applies – Except aforesaid specific provisions, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, relating to appeals to the High Court shall, as far as may be, apply in the case of appeals under this section – section 117(9) of CGST Act.
Action on basis of certified copy of High Court – Where the High Court delivers a judgment in an appeal filed before it under this section, effect shall be given to such judgment by either side on the basis of a certified copy of the judgment – section 117(8) of CGST Act.