The compliance reminders — GSTR-3A (Section 46)
If you miss filing GSTR-3B, the annual return or the final return, the first notice is Form GSTR-3A giving you fifteen days to file. It looks harmless, but it is legally significant: it is the mandatory precondition for the department to assess you on ‘best judgment’ under Section 62. File within the window and the matter ends there. Ignore it, and the officer may estimate your turnover from e-way bills, GSTR-1 and bank data and raise a demand in Form ASMT-13 — often for multiples of your real liability.
Even then, the law gives you a second chance: file the actual return within sixty days of the ASMT-13 order (extendable by another sixty days with additional late fee) and the assessment order is deemed withdrawn — only interest and late fee survive. Diarise that window from the date of service, not the date of the order.
The desk-check — ASMT-10 scrutiny notice (Section 61)
When the system spots mismatches — GSTR-1 versus GSTR-3B, GSTR-2B versus the ITC you claimed, e-way bills versus declared turnover — the officer issues Form ASMT-10 quantifying the discrepancy. You have thirty days to explain in ASMT-11 or pay through DRC-03. A complete, document-backed explanation legally terminates the proceeding: the officer must issue ASMT-12 accepting it. This is the single best opportunity to stop a reconciliation issue from becoming a formal demand. Courts have held that a Section 73 notice issued without even dealing with your ASMT-11 reply reflects non-application of mind.
Audit and investigation notices — ADT-01, ADT-03, INS-01, summons
A departmental audit begins with Form ADT-01 giving at least fifteen working days' notice; the audit must conclude within three months (extendable to nine) and findings must be shared in ADT-02. A special audit by a CA or CMA nominated by the Commissioner (Form ADT-03) requires the Commissioner's prior approval, and the department bears the cost. Search and inspection under Section 67 requires a written authorisation (INS-01) from an officer not below Joint Commissioner based on ‘reasons to believe’ — and if goods are seized, a notice must follow within six months or the goods must be returned. Summons under Section 70 are governed by CBIC guidelines: they should be a last resort, and senior management should not be summoned in the first instance.
The main event — the show cause notice (Sections 73, 74 and 74A)
The formal demand begins with a show cause notice, summarised electronically in Form DRC-01. For periods up to FY 2023-24, Section 73 covers non-fraud cases (order within three years of the annual return due date) and Section 74 covers fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression (five years, 100% penalty). From FY 2024-25, the new Section 74A merges both into a single notice with one 42-month timeline, keeping the penalty differential. Crucially, the amount and grounds in the final order can never exceed those in the notice — the SCN defines the battlefield.
The specialised notices
Goods detained in transit trigger Form MOV-07 (notice within seven days of detention, order within seven days thereafter). Registration cancellation requires a reasoned notice in REG-17 with seven working days to reply. Refund rejection requires RFD-08 with fifteen days to reply and a mandatory hearing. Each has its own tight clock — and each has been quashed by High Courts where the notice was cryptic or the timeline breached.
The one rule that matters most
Every GST notice is cheapest to resolve at the node where it arrives. A GSTR-3A costs you a late fee; an ignored GSTR-3A becomes an ASMT-13 demand. An ASMT-10 costs you a reconciliation; an ignored ASMT-10 becomes a DRC-01 with penalty. Check the portal — including the ‘Additional Notices and Orders’ tab — every week, and never let a notice age.
How DSRV & Co. LLP can help: our GST litigation and advisory team handles the entire notice life-cycle — scrutiny replies, audit representation, show cause notice replies, adjudication hearings and appeals before the Appellate Authority and GSTAT. If a notice has landed on your portal, reach out before the clock runs out.
