“Notices” in GST
IMA v. Union of India: Mutuality Survives GST
Parliament tried to end the mutuality debate by definition — inserting a deeming provision with retrospective effect to 1 July 2017. The Kerala High Court held that a definition cannot do what only a constitutional amendment could.
GSTR-9 Annual Return: Due Date, Applicability, Turnover Limit & Late Fee (2024-25)
GSTR-9 is the GST annual return mandatory for regular taxpayers with aggregate turnover above ₹2 crore. The due date is 31 December after the end of the financial year. Learn who must file, the turnover limit for GSTR-9C, late fee, and the step-by-step filing process for FY 2024-25.
Section 107 Pre-Deposit: Credit Ledger and Duplicated Demands
The 10% pre-deposit is the price of admission to an appeal. Three rulings answer three different questions about it — where the money may come from, what it is calculated on, and what happens if it is missed.
Section 61 Scrutiny Limits and Improper Notice on the GST Portal
Two rulings about how a proceeding begins. One holds that scrutiny may look only inside the return; the other, that a notice put in the wrong place on the portal was never served. Both end with the proceedings quashed before any merits were reached.
GST Penalty Guide — Every Fine, How to Avoid It
Every GST penalty, interest rate, and section reference for 2026–27. Late return filing, ITC fraud, non-registration, e-invoicing violations, and more — with exact section numbers.
GST Registration Cancelled by the Officer — REG-17 and REG-19 Response
What to do when the GST officer cancels your registration suo-motu — understanding the REG-17 show-cause notice, replying in REG-18, and the cancellation order in REG-19, plus how to seek revocation.
Section 79 of CGST Act 2017 — Recovery of Tax
Section 79 lists the modes available to the department to recover confirmed dues — deduction, detention and sale of goods, garnishee notices, distraint, and recovery as an arrear of land revenue.
Section 75 of CGST Act 2017 — General Provisions Relating to Determination of Tax
Section 75 lays down the procedural safeguards for tax determination — no demand beyond SCN grounds, a maximum of three adjournments, mandatory personal hearing, exclusion of stay periods and automatic interest.
Section 169 of CGST Act 2017 — Service of Notice in Certain Circumstances
Section 169 of the CGST Act prescribes the valid modes of serving any notice, order or communication — including hand delivery, registered post, email, the common portal, and publication.
Section 146 of CGST Act 2017 — Common Goods and Services Tax Electronic Portal
Section 146 empowers the Government to notify a Common GST Electronic Portal (the GSTN portal) for registration, payment of tax, furnishing of returns, computation and settlement of IGST, generation of e-way bills, e-invoicing and other prescribed functions.
Section 102 of CGST Act 2017 — Rectification of Advance Ruling
Section 102 lets the AAR, AAAR or NAAAR rectify any error apparent on the face of the record in an advance ruling within six months, on its own motion or on request, after hearing the affected party where the rectification enhances liability.
GST Input Tax Credit: Conditions, Restrictions, Reversal and ITC Rules 2025
Input Tax Credit (ITC) under GST allows setting off GST paid on inputs against output tax liability. Learn the conditions under Section 16, blocked credits under Section 17(5), GSTR-2B matching, and reversal rules.
Section 128A of CGST Act 2017 — Waiver of Interest or Penalty (GST Amnesty Scheme)
Section 128A introduces the GST Amnesty Scheme: for demands under Section 73 for FY 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20, if the full tax is paid by the notified date, the interest and penalty are waived. Governed by Rule 164 and Forms SPL-01/SPL-02.
Section 85 of CGST Act 2017 — Liability in Case of Transfer of Business
Section 85 of the CGST Act makes the transferor and transferee jointly and severally liable for GST dues relating to a business that is transferred, up to the time of transfer.
Section 4 of IGST Act 2017 — Authorisation of officers of State tax or Union territory tax as proper officer in certain circumstances
Section 4 lets the Government authorise State tax or Union territory tax officers to act as proper officers for the IGST Act, subject to conditions, enabling shared enforcement.
Section 174 of CGST Act 2017 — Repeal and Saving
Section 174 repeals the central excise and related pre-GST laws while saving accrued duties, pending proceedings, rights and obligations under those repealed statutes.
Section 160 of CGST Act 2017 — Assessment Proceedings, etc., Not to be Invalid on Certain Grounds
Section 160 of the CGST Act protects assessments, notices and other proceedings from being invalidated for minor mistakes, defects or omissions if they are in substance in conformity with the Act.
Section 74A of CGST Act 2017 — Determination of Tax Not Paid, Short Paid, Erroneously Refunded or ITC Wrongly Availed
Section 74A is the single common demand provision applicable from FY 2024-25, merging the erstwhile Sections 73 and 74 with a uniform 42-month limitation and a graded penalty structure.
GST DRC-01 and DRC-01A Explained
DRC-01A and DRC-01 are GST notices relating to a tax demand. Here is what each means and how to handle them.
Section 98(2): "Already Pending or Decided" — the Admission Bar
The proviso that stops most applications. It bars admission where the question is already pending in the applicant's own proceedings — and "proceedings" is read widely.
Section 87: Amalgamation and the Retrospective Order Problem
A merger order effective from an earlier date does not erase the supplies the companies made to each other in between. Section 87 says they remain taxable.
Section 90: Partners, Retirement and the One-Month Notice
Every partner is jointly and severally liable, and a retiring partner stays liable until the Commissioner is told — a notice with a one-month deadline.
Seizure Is to Secure and Identify, Not to Recover
Seizure preserves evidence and secures goods liable to confiscation. It is not a collection device, and it must not be used to deny a business its own records.
Section 163 of CGST Act 2017 — Levy of Fee
Section 163 of the CGST Act provides that wherever a copy of any order or document is to be supplied under the Act, a fee at the prescribed rate shall be payable for it.