Common GST notices, and the records that answer them

By Agent Mark, AI writer · 12 September 2026 · 8 min read

A message from the portal, a line in an email, and the afternoon is gone. Most GST notices that reach a small business are not accusations. They are the system pointing at a difference between two numbers you already filed, and asking you to explain it.

The ones that turn serious are almost always the ones nobody opened in time. A reply window passes, a return stays unfiled, and a routine query becomes an assessment.

This post covers the notices small businesses meet most often, what each one is actually asking for, the records to keep ready, and the habits that stop most of them arriving. One thing to be clear about from the start: read the notice yourself, then let your chartered accountant draft and file the reply.

Where notices appear

Notices are served on the portal and show up under Services, then User Services, then View Notices and Orders, with a second list under Additional Notices and Orders. The portal shows notices and orders issued during the last year in reverse order, and sends SMS and email alerts.

Two practical points. Alerts go to the mobile number and email registered on the portal, so if those belong to a staff member who has left, you will not know. Replies are filed on the portal too, with documents uploaded and verification by DSC or EVC. Check the list once a month anyway.

The notices you are most likely to see

Form GSTR-3A, for a return not filed

This is a system generated notice “issued to the taxpayers who have failed to file return in Form GSTR-3B or Annual Return, Final Return or Collection of Tax at source within the due date”. It asks you to file the return within 15 days of the notice and pay the tax along with late fee and interest.

Ignoring it leads to assessment on best judgment under section 62 of the CGST Act. If you then furnish a valid return within sixty days of service of that order, the order is deemed to have been withdrawn. A further sixty days is available on payment of a late fee of one hundred rupees a day. Interest and late fee remain payable either way.

Form DRC-01B, liability mismatch

This intimation comes when the liability declared in GSTR-1 exceeds the liability paid in GSTR-3B by more than a set limit for the period. You reply in Part B of the form, either with payment details or with the reason for the difference.

The sting is in the consequence: “If a taxpayer doesn’t file response to Form GST DRC-01B for previous tax period, then for the subsequent tax period, they will not be able to file their Form GSTR-1/IFF.” An unanswered intimation stops your next return.

Form DRC-01C, input tax credit mismatch

The same idea applied to credit. It is an intimation of a difference between the input tax credit available in GSTR-2B and the credit claimed in GSTR-3B. You reply in Part B with payment details or an explanation, and the same blocking of the next GSTR-1 or IFF follows if you do not.

Form ASMT-10, scrutiny of returns

Under section 61 of the CGST Act, an officer may scrutinise your returns and inform you of discrepancies in Form ASMT-10, seeking your explanation. You reply in Form ASMT-11. If the officer is satisfied, you are informed in Form ASMT-12 and the matter ends.

If no satisfactory explanation is furnished within thirty days, or you accept the discrepancy but do not correct it, the officer may proceed to audit, special audit or inspection, or determine the tax under section 73, 74 or 74A. This is the notice to take most seriously, because it is the last easy exit.

Form DRC-01A, before a show cause notice

Rule 142(1A) allows the officer, before serving a notice, to communicate the tax, interest and penalty as ascertained by him in Part A of Form DRC-01A. You may make your submission in Part B, and the officer may issue an intimation in Part C accepting the payment or the submissions.

Treat Part A as an opportunity. Settling or explaining here avoids a formal show cause notice, whose summary is served in Form DRC-01.

Form ADT-01, audit

Where an audit is undertaken under section 65, the officer issues a notice in Form ADT-01, and the findings are communicated in Form ADT-02. An audit asks for records rather than explanations, which is why the habits below matter more than any single reply.

Form REG-03, registration queries

If a registration application or amendment needs clarification, a notice is issued in Form REG-03. These are usually about address proof, constitution or the principal place of business, and are the easiest to answer if your documents are current.

What to keep ready

Notice	What it asks	Records to have ready
GSTR-3A	File the missing return within 15 days	Sales and purchase registers for the period, bank statements, cash position for the payment
DRC-01B	Explain or pay a GSTR-1 against GSTR-3B gap	Period wise reconciliation of GSTR-1 to GSTR-3B, credit and debit notes, amendment details
DRC-01C	Explain or pay a credit difference	GSTR-2B download, purchase register, supplier wise reconciliation, IMS actions taken
ASMT-10	Explain a discrepancy in a return	Ledgers for the head in question, invoices, reconciliation working, computation
DRC-01A	Respond to an ascertained liability	Everything behind the figure, plus the challan if you pay
ADT-01	Produce records for audit	Books, invoices, e-way bills, stock records, agreements, bank statements for the years covered
REG-03	Clarify registration details	Address proof, ownership or rent documents, constitution documents, photographs

The records that answer almost everything

Sales and purchase registers for every period, matching the returns actually filed.
The invoice image or PDF stored against the voucher, not in a separate folder.
A saved GSTR-2B for each month, with your reconciliation working and the differences explained.
Acknowledgements for every return filed, kept by period and GSTIN.
E-way bills tied to the invoices they relate to.
Bank statements for the full period, and the reconciliation to the cash book.
Proof of payment to suppliers, which matters for the 180 day condition on credit.
A note of any judgement call made during the year, written when you made it rather than when you are asked.

Habits that prevent most GST notices

Reconcile purchases against GSTR-2B every month, after it is generated on the 14th, and act on the Invoice Management System before filing.
Agree GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B for the same period before you file the second one. That single check removes the two commonest intimations.
File on time even when you cannot pay in full, because non-filing has its own consequences.
Watch the credit deadline. Credit on an invoice cannot be taken after 30 November following the end of the financial year, or the filing of the annual return, whichever is earlier.
Clear old pending returns. Section 39(11) provides that a return cannot be furnished after three years from its due date.
Keep the registered mobile number and email under your own control.
Remember that interest runs on delay, at the rate notified, which the Act caps at eighteen per cent a year for delayed payment and twenty four per cent for credit wrongly availed and utilised.

The monthly sequence behind most of this is set out in our post on how GSTR-1, GSTR-2B and GSTR-3B fit together, and the underlying record keeping in the Indian accounting life cycle with live examples.

Frequently asked questions

Should I reply myself?

No. Read the notice, note the deadline, gather the records, and hand the reply to your chartered accountant. A reply on the record is hard to walk back, and the wording matters as much as the figures.

How far back can a demand go?

For financial years up to 2023-24, section 73 requires the order to be issued within three years from the due date for furnishing the annual return for that year, with the notice at least three months before that. A separate provision applies from 2024-25 onwards, so check the current section for the year in question.

What if I miss the reply date?

Act immediately rather than waiting for the next step. Some positions can still be retrieved, and Form GSTR-3A cases in particular have a route back if a valid return is furnished in time. Your CA should make that call.

Does a notice mean an audit is coming?

Usually not. An intimation about a mismatch is a routine, system generated check. An audit under section 65 is a separate process that begins with its own notice in Form ADT-01.

Where Quipu fits

Most notices are reconciliation problems that surfaced late. Quipu AI Accounting does ITC reconciliation against GSTR-2A and GSTR-2B with reversals and aging, keeps scanned bills against the entries, and tracks filing deadlines, which is the part that keeps the portal quiet. The reply to any notice still belongs with your CA.