Classify the filing before calculating its fee
Rule 110(5) of the CGST Rules provides the fee for an appeal or restoration of an appeal before the Appellate Tribunal. The amount-based fee is ₹1,000 for every ₹1 lakh of the specified tax or input tax credit involved, difference involved, or fine, fee or penalty determined in the order appealed against, subject to a ₹5,000 minimum and ₹25,000 maximum. This guide was checked on 28 October 2026 against the current rule reproduced in ICAI's April 2026 bare-law compilation. The six models calculate the identified Rule 110 fee, not every payment in a complete litigation filing packet. ICAI GST Act(s) and Rule(s), April 2026: operative CGST Rule 110(5)–(6).
Read the operative rule rather than its superseded footnote
A practitioner using an older quotation that mentions only the maximum can understate a small appeal's fee. Read the operative substituted Rule 110 text, including its minimum, rather than extracting a historical footnote from the same compilation. Start with the actual order and identify the relevant amount and statutory category. A ledger balance, turnover total, professional fee or unrelated demand should not be substituted for that supported base. These examples deliberately use exact whole-lakh amounts, so they do not invent a rule for fractional-lakh rounding. ICAI GST Act(s) and Rule(s), April 2026: operative CGST Rule 110(5)–(6).
Apply the floor and cap once to the identified fee calculation
For the whole-lakh models, compute the amount-based result, compare it with ₹5,000, and then apply the ₹25,000 upper limit. Retain all three numbers in the filing working. Showing only the final fee hides whether the minimum or maximum actually operated. The base must be legally reviewed where an order contains multiple components, tax enactments, issues or several challenged orders. Do not automatically multiply or aggregate fees across separate CGST and State GST filings without verifying the applicable statutory and filing requirements for that case. ICAI GST Act(s) and Rule(s), April 2026: operative CGST Rule 110(5)–(6).
No-demand orders have a specific fee provision
The proviso to Rule 110(5) specifies ₹5,000 for an appeal against an order not involving any demand of tax, interest, fine, fee or penalty. An appeal about a procedural or status issue therefore needs classification against the actual order. A zero current tax balance does not, by itself, prove that the order falls within the proviso: it might still determine a penalty or another covered amount. Preserve the operative portion of the order alongside the fee classification rather than relying only on the prayer drafted for the appeal. ICAI GST Act(s) and Rule(s), April 2026: operative CGST Rule 110(5)–(6).
Restoration and error rectification are different applications
Rule 110(5) expressly includes restoration of an appeal. Rule 110(6), separately, provides no fee for an application before the Tribunal for rectification of the errors referred to in section 112(10). A restoration application cannot obtain that exception simply by being labelled a correction. Conversely, a qualifying section 112(10) rectification application should not mechanically inherit the appeal fee. Establish the relief sought, the statutory power invoked and the order concerned before selecting the payment treatment. Fee treatment alone does not determine whether the substantive remedy is available or in time. ICAI GST Act(s) and Rule(s), April 2026: operative CGST Rule 110(5)–(6).
Keep filing fee separate from pre-deposit and filing completion
A fee receipt does not prove compliance with the separate pre-deposit, limitation, verification or document requirements. Maintain separate rows for the Rule 110 fee, any legally required pre-deposit and other supported payments, with their own evidence. Reconcile the actual filing demand and payment reference to the reviewed statutory working before submission. If they differ, preserve the discrepancy and resolve the applicable basis; do not silently change the legal calculation to match an unexplained portal figure. Retain the filed application and acknowledgement as well as the payment record. ICAI GST Act(s) and Rule(s), April 2026: operative CGST Rule 110(5)–(6).
Applicable primary references
ICAI GST Act(s) and Rule(s), April 2026: operative CGST Rule 110(5)–(6)
Six worked illustrations
All facts and amounts below are fictional. Assumptions describe the model, not additional statutory rules.
Illustrative example 1: Small amount reaches the minimum
Assume a corporate appellant's legally reviewed Rule 110 base is exactly ₹1,00,000. The amount-based result is 1 × ₹1,000 = ₹1,000. Applying the ₹5,000 minimum produces a ₹5,000 fee, before considering any separate filing obligations.
Illustrative example 2: Intermediate amount stays within both limits
Assume the relevant base is exactly ₹8,00,000. Eight whole lakh units × ₹1,000 gives ₹8,000. It exceeds the ₹5,000 floor and is below the ₹25,000 cap, so the identified fee is ₹8,000.
Illustrative example 3: Amount exactly at the cap threshold
Assume a reviewed base of exactly ₹25,00,000. The amount-based fee is 25 × ₹1,000 = ₹25,000. The final fee is ₹25,000, equal to the upper limit rather than an additional cap charge.
Illustrative example 4: Large amount is capped
Assume a reviewed base of exactly ₹40,00,000. The uncapped amount-based result is ₹40,000. Rule 110(5)'s maximum reduces the identified fee to ₹25,000, a ₹15,000 difference from the uncapped working.
Illustrative example 5: Order satisfies the no-demand proviso
Assume the company appeals an order that has been reviewed and involves no demand of tax, interest, fine, fee or penalty. The proviso specifies ₹5,000. A zero tax-demand figure does not produce a zero fee under this assumption.
Illustrative example 6: Qualifying rectification differs from restoration
Assume the application is genuinely the Tribunal error rectification referred to in section 112(10). Rule 110(6) fee is ₹0. If, instead, it is restoration of an appeal with an otherwise established ₹8,00,000 fee base, the model under Rule 110(5) gives ₹8,000. The ₹8,000 difference arises from remedy classification, not an optional fee concession.
Ten-step verification table
| Step | Action | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Identify the actual remedy | Appeal, restoration or qualifying section 112(10) rectification |
| 2 | Read the challenged order | Operative demand and relief, not only the ledger |
| 3 | Select the applicable enactment and filing | CGST and any relevant State law requirements |
| 4 | Record the fee-base classification | Specified tax, credit, difference, fine, fee or penalty |
| 5 | Check the no-demand proviso | Absence of every category listed in that proviso |
| 6 | Calculate the amount-based result | Supported units and arithmetic; resolve fractional amounts separately |
| 7 | Apply both limits | ₹5,000 minimum and ₹25,000 maximum for the identified calculation |
| 8 | Keep pre-deposit separate | Independent statutory calculation and payment evidence |
| 9 | Reconcile the actual payment requirement | Reviewed rule, filing demand and payment reference |
| 10 | Preserve completion evidence | Filed application, attachments, acknowledgement and fee working |
Sixteen practitioner FAQs
1. Which filing does this fee guide concern?
An appeal or restoration before GSTAT under Rule 110, with a separate rectification exception.
2. Is the minimum fee currently ₹5,000 under the cited rule?
Yes. The operative Rule 110(5) text includes that minimum.
3. Is the maximum ₹25,000?
Yes, for the identified Rule 110(5) calculation.
4. Does a ₹1 lakh base produce only ₹1,000 payable?
The raw result is ₹1,000, but the minimum increases the fee to ₹5,000.
5. Does the cap create another amount to add?
No. It limits the identified calculated fee.
6. Can a historical footnote substitute for the operative text?
No. Check the substituted current rule and distinguish the earlier wording.
7. Does this guide prescribe fractional-lakh rounding?
No. Its examples use exact whole-lakh bases; resolve the applicable treatment before filing other amounts.
8. Can turnover be used as the fee base?
Not merely because it is readily available; identify the amount specified by the rule and order.
9. Is a no-demand appeal free?
The Rule 110(5) proviso specifies ₹5,000 for an order satisfying its description.
10. Does nil outstanding tax prove the no-demand exception?
No. The actual order may still involve interest, fine, fee or penalty.
11. Is restoration covered by the appeal-fee rule?
Rule 110(5) expressly includes restoration of an appeal.
12. Which rectification application has no fee here?
The application before the Tribunal for the errors referred to in section 112(10), under Rule 110(6).
13. Can restoration be relabelled rectification to avoid the fee?
The legal remedy and facts must support the classification; a label does not create the exception.
14. Does this fee discharge a pre-deposit requirement?
No. Analyse and evidence pre-deposit separately.
15. Should the illustrated fee automatically be doubled for every CGST and SGST dispute?
No automatic total is asserted here. Verify the relevant enactments and actual filing structure.
16. What closes the payment reconciliation?
The reviewed statutory working, actual payment reference and completed filing acknowledgement together.
Conclusion
Calculate GSTAT filing fees using Rule 110’s minimum and maximum, distinguish no-demand orders and keep the rectification exception separate from restoration.