GSTN introduced an important portal change for appeals from 6 April 2026. While filing Form APL-01, the pre-deposit percentage that was earlier auto-populated at 10% and non-editable has now been made editable.

GSTN explained that the earlier restriction created practical difficulties where a taxpayer had already made a pre-deposit through another route or where the demand was not correctly reflected under the appropriate head. Taxpayers can now modify the percentage as applicable to their case and calculate the amount while filing the appeal; the appellate authority subsequently verifies the correctness of the pre-deposit and its mode of payment.

Business impact

This is particularly useful in GST litigation where payments may already have been made during investigation, adjudication or other stages.

Before filing APL-01, tax teams should reconcile the order, demand ledger, payments already made and proposed pre-deposit rather than automatically proceeding with the portal-generated amount.

Mardia Global | GST Insights for Businesses in India