Withdrawal is a procedural choice with its own cut-off
Rule 109C permits an application to withdraw an APL-01 or APL-03 appeal before issuance of the section 107(11) show-cause notice or the order under that subsection, whichever occurs earlier. The specified withdrawal form is GST APL-01/03W. This guide, checked on 28 October 2026, concerns that first-appeal decision and its records, not withdrawal before GSTAT. CGST Rule 109C: main provision and both provisos.
Identify the specific notice and actual issue sequence
The rule refers to the show-cause notice under section 107(11), not indiscriminately to every earlier notice in the dispute. Obtain the actual notice, order and issue evidence. If that notice precedes the order, the order's later date is not the cut-off. The models use dates only to demonstrate sequencing and do not decide disputed service, upload or timestamp facts. CGST Rule 109C: main provision and both provisos.
Final acknowledgement changes the approval requirement
Where final acknowledgement in APL-02 has been issued, withdrawal is subject to approval of the Appellate Authority. The application must be decided within seven days of its filing under the first proviso. Preserve the acknowledgement status at the actual withdrawal-application time and retain the resulting decision. Passage of seven days is not stated here to create deemed approval. CGST Rule 109C: main provision and both provisos.
A fresh appeal does not receive a new original limitation period
The second proviso says a fresh appeal pursuant to withdrawal must be filed within the section 107(1) or (2) time limit, as applicable. Do not calculate a new appeal period from withdrawal approval. Determine the original applicable limitation and any legally available condonation independently. The examples stipulate a previously verified last date rather than pretending that every case has the same number of calendar days. CGST Rule 109C: main provision and both provisos.
Reconcile litigation and payment records separately
Record the reason for withdrawal, the proceeding affected and the actual status after the decision. A withdrawal application is not a revised tax computation, an automatic cancellation of the original demand or an automatic refund of a pre-deposit. Determine any later appeal, payment, stay or refund treatment from the applicable law and actual orders. Do not combine withdrawal of one appeal with closure of a separate proceeding merely because the tax period matches. CGST Rule 109C: main provision and both provisos.
Preserve a reviewable instruction file
Before filing, compare continuing the existing appeal with the supported reason for withdrawal and any fresh-appeal plan. Preserve authority to act, the selected form, acknowledgement, issued decision and original limitation working. Portal labels and a planned filing are not substitutes for the actual procedural result. If the cut-off has passed or the time-limit plan is uncertain, resolve the available lawful route rather than promising routine withdrawal and refiling. CGST Rule 109C: main provision and both provisos.
Applicable primary references
CGST Rule 109C: main provision and both provisos
Six worked illustrations
All facts and amounts below are fictional. Assumptions describe the model, not additional statutory rules.
Illustrative example 1: The notice is earlier
Assume the relevant section 107(11) notice is issued on 15 October 2026 and the order on 20 October. A withdrawal application on 14 October precedes both; the model cut-off event is the notice on 15 October, five days before the order.
Illustrative example 2: The later order does not preserve the window
On those same issue dates, an application on 16 October is one day after the earlier notice even though it is four days before the order. It does not meet the rule's before-the-earlier-event condition on these stipulated facts.
Illustrative example 3: Decision period is not deemed approval
Assume final APL-02 already exists and a valid withdrawal application is filed on 1 October. A decision on 6 October is five elapsed days later. The example measures the stated seven-day decision control; absence of a decision is not represented as automatic approval.
Illustrative example 4: Refiling within an independently verified last date
Assume the applicable original fresh-appeal last date has been legally established as 30 November 2026. Withdrawal is approved on 5 November and a valid fresh appeal is filed on 20 November. The model filing is ten days before that stipulated endpoint; withdrawal did not create it.
Illustrative example 5: Approval does not restart the clock
Using the same independently verified 30 November endpoint, a proposed fresh filing on 2 December is two days beyond it. The calculation cannot be repaired merely by counting a new period from the 5 November withdrawal approval; assess any legally available route separately.
Illustrative example 6: Keep separate appeal populations separate
Assume a company has four independent first appeals and obtains approved withdrawal of one. Three remain pending unless separately disposed of. A common GSTIN or overlapping tax period does not make the single withdrawal close all four.
Ten-step verification table
| Step | Action | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Identify the proceeding | APL-01 or APL-03 first appeal |
| 2 | Confirm authority to withdraw | Approved instruction and representative authority |
| 3 | Identify the relevant notice | Actual section 107(11) notice, if any |
| 4 | Check order issuance | Actual subsection (11) order and date |
| 5 | Determine the earlier event | Supported cut-off sequence |
| 6 | Inspect final acknowledgement | Whether APL-02 has already issued |
| 7 | File the specified application | APL-01/03W and actual submission evidence |
| 8 | Track required approval | Decision and seven-day control without deemed-approval assumptions |
| 9 | Retain original limitation working | Applicable section 107(1) or (2) route for any fresh appeal |
| 10 | Reconcile the outcome | Separate demand, pre-deposit, other appeals and subsequent steps |
Sixteen practitioner FAQs
1. Which rule governs this first-appeal withdrawal?
CGST Rule 109C.
2. Which original forms does it cover?
APL-01 and APL-03 on the stated statutory routes.
3. Which withdrawal form is specified?
FORM GST APL-01/03W.
4. Is this the GSTAT withdrawal procedure?
No. Tribunal proceedings have a separate rule and forms.
5. Does any notice in the history automatically end the window?
Identify the specific section 107(11) notice stated in Rule 109C.
6. Which event controls if that notice precedes the order?
The earlier notice issuance.
7. Can a later order date automatically preserve the window?
No. The rule says whichever is earlier.
8. When is withdrawal subject to Appellate Authority approval?
Where final acknowledgement in APL-02 has issued.
9. What decision period does the first proviso specify?
Seven days from filing the withdrawal application.
10. Does silence after that period mean deemed approval?
No such automatic approval is asserted.
11. Does withdrawal approval restart original appeal limitation?
No. The second proviso preserves the applicable original section 107 time limit.
12. Is the taxpayer and departmental appeal time limit necessarily identical?
No. Identify whether section 107(1) or (2) applies.
13. Do these examples establish the last appeal day for every company?
No. The refiling endpoint is an explicit independently verified assumption.
14. Does withdrawal automatically cancel the original demand?
No. Determine the substantive and procedural effect separately.
15. Does it automatically refund a pre-deposit?
No. Verify the applicable entitlement and process.
16. What proves the procedural result?
Actual application, acknowledgement status, required approval and final recorded outcome.
Conclusion
Check the earlier statutory cut-off, final-acknowledgement approval requirement and original appeal time limit before withdrawing and considering a fresh first appeal.