There is no guaranteed number of days between a GST hearing and an adjudication order. For the older Central GST Act routes, the law sets an outside period for issuing a demand order: generally three years from the due date of the relevant annual return for a section 73 case, or five years for a section 74 case alleging fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression to evade tax. Those are statutory limits, not average turnaround times.
If you disagree with the order, the ordinary first appeal must generally be filed within three months from the date the order was communicated to you. A further period of up to one month may be allowed only when the appellate authority accepts that sufficient cause prevented timely filing. The exact provision, financial year, communication date, pre-deposit and any amendment affecting your case must be checked against the order and the current law.
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What “how long” means in a GST adjudication
Readers usually mean one of two different periods when they ask how long a GST adjudication order takes:
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- The legal outer limit: how long the department can take to issue the order under the provision cited in the case.
- The actual waiting time: the elapsed period from a reply or hearing until the officer signs and communicates the order.
The official materials for the Central GST framework establish the first question, but do not provide a representative statistic for the second. A hearing can therefore be followed by an order in a period that varies by authority, complexity, number of notices, adjournments and any stay or exclusion recognised by law. It would be misleading to promise that a routine order takes a particular number of weeks or months.
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This explanation concerns India and the CGST Act. Corresponding SGST or UTGST provisions, state-specific procedures and the exact version of the law in force for the relevant tax period can also affect the result.
Statutory outer limits for issuing the order
The starting point for the older section 73 and section 74 periods is important: it is the due date for filing the annual return for the relevant financial year, not automatically the date of the show-cause notice, reply or hearing.
| Route | Typical allegation in the older framework | Outer period for adjudication | Minimum notice lead time before the deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section 73 | Tax not paid, short-paid, wrongly refunded or input tax credit wrongly availed or utilised, without the fraud-based allegations in section 74 | Three years from the due date of the annual return for the relevant financial year | At least three months before the order deadline |
| Section 74 | Fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts to evade tax | Five years from the due date of the annual return for the relevant financial year | At least six months before the order deadline |
These periods describe when the adjudication order must be issued under the relevant statutory route. They are not service-level commitments and do not measure the usual time from a personal hearing to the order. The Act also provides that proceedings are treated as concluded if the order is not issued within the applicable period, subject to statutory rules on stays and other periods that may be excluded from computation.
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Do not choose the three-year or five-year rule from the amount demanded alone. Read the show-cause notice and order to identify the section, the financial year, the allegation and the tax, interest and penalty components. A notice alleging fraud or suppression may use section 74 even when the taxpayer disputes that characterisation; that dispute becomes part of the appeal.
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The GST Portal’s current appeal guidance refers to demand orders under sections 73, 74, 74A and 76. Because amendments can introduce or change a route and commencement dates can differ, older summaries of sections 73 and 74 should not be applied automatically to every current order. Check the operative provision and notifications for the relevant period. A GST Council recommendation or press release is context, not by itself proof that a legal amendment has commenced.
How to work out the deadline in your own case
- Identify the relevant financial year. Use the period to which the demand relates, as stated in the notice or order.
- Find the statutory annual-return due date. The section 73 or 74 clock is tied to that date, not to the day you received the notice.
- Apply the provision actually invoked. Use the applicable section and the law in force for that period, including any amendment or commencement notification.
- Check exclusions. Stays and other periods that the statute excludes can affect the computation.
- Compare the notice date with the lead-time rule. For the older section 73 route the notice is to be issued at least three months before the order deadline; for section 74, at least six months.
- Preserve the documents used for the calculation. Keep the notice, order, annual-return records, portal download history and proof of service together.
If the deadline is close or the dates are disputed, obtain a professional limitation calculation rather than relying on a calendar estimate. The consequence of a missed statutory date can depend on facts that are not visible from the order date alone.
When does the appeal period start?
The first-appeal limitation period generally starts when the decision or order is communicated to the taxpayer or unregistered person. It does not necessarily start when the officer signs the document, when an internal file is closed or when the taxpayer eventually opens a downloaded copy.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesSection 107 generally allows three months from communication. The Appellate Authority may allow a further period of up to one month when sufficient cause for the delay is established. This is not an automatic grace period and should not be treated as permission to file whenever convenient. Record the communication date carefully, including the portal timestamp, email or other delivery evidence used in your case.
How to file a first appeal against a GST demand order
1. Read the order and create a deadline file
Before drafting grounds, record the issuing authority, order number and date, date and mode of communication, statutory section, tax periods, tax, interest and penalty amounts, and each reason given for confirming the demand. Compare the final order with the show-cause notice and your reply. Mark findings that were not in the notice, evidence that was ignored and calculations that do not reconcile.
2. Start the online application
The GST Portal describes the process as “Filing an Appeal against Demand Order (FORM GST APL-01).” For a demand order, the stated navigation is:
- Sign in to the GST Portal.
- Open Services.
- Select User Services.
- Open My Applications.
- Choose Appeal to Appellate Authority.
- Select New Application.
- Choose Demand Order.
The taxpayer or an unregistered person aggrieved by an adjudicating authority’s decision or order can use this first-appeal route, subject to the statutory conditions.
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Enter the order details exactly as they appear in the demand order. Explain the grounds of appeal in numbered form: jurisdiction or limitation objections, factual errors, breach of hearing or notice requirements, incorrect classification or rate, unsupported rejection of documents, computation errors and the legal relief requested. Separate factual grounds from legal grounds so the authority can match each point to the record.
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4. Upload the order and supporting evidence
Attach the appealed order and the material needed to decide the grounds, such as returns, invoices, reconciliations, contracts, payment records, correspondence and proof of earlier submissions. The appeal rules describe the certified appealed order and supporting documents, along with a document-submission and acknowledgement procedure stated as seven days. Portal workflows can change, so verify the live filing screen and current instructions rather than relying on an old saved checklist.
5. Satisfy the payment and pre-deposit condition
The Act requires payment of admitted dues and the prescribed pre-deposit for a first appeal. The percentage and the amount treated as disputed must be calculated from the actual order and the current statutory text; do not insert a figure from an unrelated article or an older version of the law. Keep challans, electronic liability-ledger entries and the calculation worksheet with the appeal record.
Once the statutory condition is met, recovery of the balance is treated as stayed while the appeal is pending, subject to the conditions in the Act. That protection does not erase the demand, waive interest or decide the merits. Confirm that the payment has been credited correctly and retain the acknowledgement.
6. File within three months and preserve proof
Submit APL-01 before the three-month period expires. Save the application reference number, acknowledgement, uploaded files, payment evidence and the communication record. If filing late, include a clear explanation and evidence of sufficient cause, but remember that the ordinary first appellate authority’s additional window is limited to up to one month.
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7. Track the appeal and respond to hearing notices
Monitor the portal and the registered contact details for defect notices, hearing notices and requests for documents. The Act says the Appellate Authority should, where possible, hear and decide an appeal within one year of filing. That is a qualified statutory direction, not a guaranteed resolution date. A request for further documents or an adjournment should be answered promptly and kept in the appeal file.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What to check before relying on recovery protection
- Correct order: the payment and appeal should relate to the same demand order and tax periods.
- Admitted versus disputed amount: document how each amount was classified.
- Pre-deposit calculation: use the current provision and the figures in the order.
- Payment posting: confirm the amount appears in the appropriate electronic ledger or acknowledgement.
- Communication evidence: retain portal, email or other proof because it controls the appeal clock.
- State or territory overlay: check whether a corresponding SGST or UTGST demand or appeal step must also be addressed.
Common mistakes that cause avoidable problems
Confusing the maximum period with the expected wait
A three-year or five-year outer limit does not mean an officer normally takes that long, and it does not prove that an order should arrive within a predictable number of days after a hearing. The official material does not establish an average hearing-to-order period.
Counting from the wrong date
For the adjudication outer limit, begin with the relevant annual-return due date. For the appeal, begin with communication of the order. Notice date, hearing date and download date may be different and should not be substituted without checking the applicable rule.
Using an outdated section or percentage
Current portal guidance includes section 74A alongside sections 73, 74 and 76. Amendments and commencement notifications can change which provision applies. Read the order and verify the operative law for the relevant financial year.
Assuming late filing is freely condonable
The additional period is up to one month and depends on sufficient cause. A general workload explanation or a belief that the order would be revised internally should not be treated as a guaranteed extension.
Submitting an appeal without a usable record
An appeal that omits the order, communication proof, payment evidence or documents supporting a factual ground can create defects and delay. Name files clearly, number the grounds and keep an offline copy of every upload.
A practical document checklist
- Show-cause notice and all annexures
- Reply, written submissions and hearing notes
- Final adjudication order and demand summary
- Proof of communication and portal download or email records
- Returns, ledgers, invoices, contracts and reconciliations relevant to each ground
- Challans and electronic ledger proof for admitted dues and pre-deposit
- Calculation of the section 73, 74 or other applicable statutory deadline
- Board resolutions, authorisations or professional-representative documents where required
- APL-01 acknowledgement and application reference
Bottom line for a live GST case
There is no reliable universal answer such as “an adjudication order takes 30 days.” Under the older CGST section 73 and section 74 framework, the legal outer periods are generally three and five years respectively from the relevant annual-return due date, with different notice lead times. Your appeal clock is separate: generally three months from communication, with at most one additional month for sufficient cause. Identify the exact section and financial year, calculate both clocks from the correct dates, complete APL-01 through the GST Portal, attach the record, satisfy the current payment condition and preserve proof of filing. For a disputed limitation date, amendment or recovery action, have the complete file reviewed promptly by a qualified GST professional.
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