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GST Amnesty Scheme update: Now you can file appeal against GST Amnesty Scheme order issued in SPL 07 form

Economic Times

The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has issued a new important advisory relevant for those goods and services tax (GST) registered taxpayers who applied for the GST Amnesty Scheme under Section 128A and their application was rejected. Through this advisory GSTN said that now the GST portal is enabled with the functionality for filing an appeal against the GST Amnesty Scheme order issued in SPL-07 form. 

For those uninitiated, under GST Amnesty Scheme if a taxpayer applies, either of the following can happen:


  • Acceptance Order in SPL 05 or
  • Rejection Order in SPL-07.

This means that if a GST registered taxpayer has applied for GST Amnesty Scheme and got an order in SPL-07 form then the application is rejected i.e. the taxpayer can’t use the Amnesty Scheme to get full waiver of penalty and interest. The present advisory tells that you can file an online appeal against this rejection order and request the authorities to reconsider your GST Amnesty Scheme application under Section 128A.


What did GSTN say in the advisory?

In an advisory dated June 16, 2025, GSTN said:

  1. 1.Taxpayers who have filed waiver applications in Forms SPL 01/SPL 02 are receiving orders from the jurisdictional authorities: Acceptance Order in SPL 05 or Rejection Order in SPL-07. 
  2. The GST Portal has now been enabled to allow taxpayers to file Appeal applications(APL 01) against SPL 07 (Rejection) Order.
  3. Please use the Navigation below to file Appeal Application against SPL-07 orders: Go to: Services → User Services → My Application. Select Application Type as: “Appeal to Appellate Authority”. Click on New Application
  4. In the application form, under Order Type, select: “Waiver Application Rejection Order” and enter all the relevant details. After entering the details, Please proceed with filing of appeal.

GSTN said: “It may be noted that the option to withdraw appeal applications filed under the waiver scheme is not available on the GST portal. Taxpayers are therefore advised to exercise due caution while filing such appeals.”


GSTN further added: “Also, if any taxpayer does not want to file an appeal against “waiver application rejection order” but wants to restore the appeal application (filed against original demand order) which was withdrawn for filing a waiver application can do so by filing undertaking. The option for filing of undertaking is available under the “Orders” section in the “Waiver Application” case folder.”


Chartered Accountant Bimal Jain, founder of A2Z Taxcorp LLP explains: “There can be only two outcomes of filing an GST Amnesty scheme application- accepted or rejected. The acceptance comes in GST SPL-05 form and the rejection in SPL-07. Now a GST registered taxpayer has the legal right to file an appeal against the rejection order (SPL-07) within three months of receiving the order. Until today there was no mechanism to file an appeal against a GST Amnesty scheme rejection order (SPL-07) on GST Portal. This issue has now been fixed by GSTN and now an online appeal can be filed against such rejection orders.”


Chartered Accountant Himank Singla, partner, SBHS & Associates, says: “In a welcome move for GST taxpayers, especially those stuck in limbo after their waiver applications were rejected, the GSTN has now enabled the option to file appeals online against SPL-07 orders. This update brings much-needed procedural relief, particularly for small businesses, consultants, and compliance-focused taxpayers who had no direct remedy so far and were left staring at demand notices despite having tried the waiver route in good faith.”


GST registered taxpayers should note this

Chartered Accountant Deep Koradia explains: 


  • The Advisory Dated 16th Jul 2025 says "option to withdraw appeal applications filed under the waiver scheme is not available on the GST portal. Taxpayers are therefore advised to exercise due caution while filing such appeals", but a Tax payer shall not get anxious, as A Tax payer can very well restore the ORIGINAL Appeal, after rejection of Appeal against Amnesty Order. So right to restore the original appeal as per Rule 164(15)(b)(ii)).
  • Also the undertaking part at this stage is not required as per the law. When SPL-07 has been received, the Rule 164(15)(a) does not give any power to file the declaration (to restore the original appeal). The Original Appeal has to be restored AUTOMATICALLY if appeal against SPL-07 has not been filled within time as per 107.
  • Such Declaration is required only when Appellate Authority Rejects the appeal against SPL-07 and Tax payer wants to Restore the ORIGINAL APPEAL (See Rule 164(15)(b)(ii))

What is the GST Amnesty Scheme?

Samsuddha Majumder, Tax Partner, Trilegal, said to ET Wealth Online said: The Amnesty scheme under section 128A grants waiver of interest and penalty liabilities relating to the period July 1, 2017 to March 31, 2020, in cases that do not involve fraud or wilful misstatement or suppression of facts.


Majumder explains:


  • “The GST waiver scheme covers notices or statements issued under Section 73, and the proceedings following thereafter till the order of the first appellate authority, against which no appeal has been filed before the appellate tribunal.
  • It also covers situations where the proceedings that were initiated under Section 74 as involving fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts, but were ordered to not be involving these ingredients subsequently pursuant to Section 75(2).
  • For context, Section 75(2) provides that where any appellate authority, appellate tribunal, court concludes that a case, which was initiated under Section 74 as involving fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression, did not involve such elements, the liabilities in such a case will be determined by deeming it be proceedings under Section 73.
  • Notably, the situations where any interest or penalty liabilities on account of late fee, redemption fine etc. are not covered under the scheme,” says Majumder.

How does the GST Amnesty application acceptance or rejection process work?

Jain explains:

SPL-01/SPL-02: At first eligible GST registered taxpayers had to make payment of pending tax for GST Amnesty Application by March 31, 2025. The deadline to apply for GST Amnesty Application using GST SPL-01/02 form was June 30, 2025.

SPL-03: Within three months of filing SPL-01/02 form, a taxpayer can get a showcause notice in SPL-03 form. This showcause notice will ask for explanation about why this taxpayer’s GST Amnesty scheme application should not be rejected.

SPL-04: The taxpayer has to reply to the SPL-03 notice within one month of receiving SPL-03. 

SPL-05: If the GST officer accepts the reply and explanations of the taxpayer and decides to accept the taxpayer’s GST Amnesty scheme application then, he/she will issue an acceptance order in SPL-05 form.

SPL-06: If the taxpayer files an appeal against SPL-07 order and the appeal is accepted in favour of the taxpayer then, the order will be issued in SPL-06 form.

SPL-07: If the GST officer rejects the reply filed by the taxpayer in SPL-04 and thus rejects the taxpayer’s GST Amnesty scheme application then he/she will issue a rejection order in SPL-07 form.

SPL-08: It is issued/used as an undertaking to confirm no further appeal will be filed in cases where the appellate authority has rejected the waiver application under Section 128A.