GST notice response checklist

Read the complete notice and attachments

Download the communication from the official portal and retain the notice, annexures, reference number, GSTIN, issuing authority and service details. Check both the notice and any linked case documents. An email alert or summary is not a substitute for the complete grounds and computation.

Distinguish registration clarification, return scrutiny, information requests, show-cause proceedings, demand orders and appeals. They do not all use the same form or deadline. Confirm the provision applicable to the tax period rather than relying on an older response template.

Make a deadline and action register

Record the response date, hearing date, issue owner and evidence owners. Review the applicable legal limits alongside the dates displayed in the portal. If more time is needed, use the relevant procedure and keep the request and decision; do not assume that an unanswered request extends the deadline.

Check which GSTIN and period the notice concerns. A business with several registrations should not combine all state figures into one response unless that matches the actual inquiry.

Build the reconciliation around the allegation

• For output-tax differences, compare books, invoices, credit notes and the relevant filed returns.
• For input-credit queries, reconcile purchase records, supplier documents, statement data and the eligibility basis.
• For export or refund issues, collect the relevant supply, receipt, shipping or service evidence and refund history.
• For reverse-charge issues, identify the underlying transaction, applicable treatment and payment record.
• Separate tax, interest and penalty calculations and preserve the authority’s original computation.

Explain timing and classification differences with evidence

For example, a credit note may appear in books and a return in different periods. Prepare an invoice-level bridge showing both dates, the reporting treatment and the supporting documents. A general statement that the difference is “only reconciliation” does not establish its cause or legal treatment.

Do not treat a portal statement match as conclusive proof of credit eligibility, or a mismatch as automatic proof of ineligibility. Address the actual statutory conditions and evidence relevant to the transaction and period.

Prepare an indexed, issue-by-issue reply

Answer the notice in its order, state the facts and connect each explanation to a numbered annexure. Keep legal submissions distinct from the accounting reconciliation. Explain unresolved gaps openly and identify any evidence requested from third parties.

Review any proposed payment separately from the reply. Establish what liability is accepted, the relevant period and how the payment should be linked to the proceeding. A payment acknowledgement should not be described as automatic closure or an appeal against the order.

Submit through the correct workflow

The GST portal provides case and reply facilities through its notices and orders workflows. Use the form appropriate to the proceeding; DRC-06 is not a universal answer to every GST communication. Check current attachment limits, authorisation and verification requirements in the live service.

Retain the final signed or verified reply, attachments, filing acknowledgement and submission date. A saved draft or uploaded file is not necessarily a completed filing. Track further notices, hearing communications and the eventual order separately.

Review the outcome and next step

Compare any order with the notice, reply and evidence, and identify the issues accepted or disputed. Assess payment, correction, appeal or other available remedies and their own deadlines. Do not assume that continuing correspondence suspends a recovery or appeal time limit.

Bring the complete notice history, returns, reconciliations, ledgers, supporting transaction records and earlier submissions to Kosha.Services. We can help organise the evidence and response workflow; contested legal positions require assessment against the actual proceeding and applicable law.