GST show cause notice time limits under Section 73 and 74: extension notifications and Section 128A amnesty

Receiving a summary show cause notice in Form GST DRC-01 creates immediate financial exposure. Before examining the merits of the allegations, every tax professional must verify the statutory limitation date. If the proper officer failed to issue the notice or final order within the strict time limits fixed by Parliament, the demand fails on jurisdictional grounds alone.

Statutory limitation framework under Section 73 and Section 74

The Central Goods and Services Tax Act establishes distinct limitation clocks based on whether the case involves intentional evasion or non-fraud discrepancies:

• Non-fraud cases (Section 73): Applies to tax not paid, short paid, or input tax credit wrongly availed or utilised for any reason other than fraud, wilful misstatement, or suppression of facts. Under Section 73(10) of the CGST Act, the proper officer must issue the adjudication order under Section 73(9) within three years from the statutory due date for furnishing the annual return for the relevant financial year, or within three years from the date of an erroneous refund. Under Section 73(2), the show cause notice must be issued at least three months prior to this order deadline, giving the officer an effective notice window of two years and nine months.
• Fraud cases (Section 74): Applies where tax non-payment or excess credit availment involves fraud, wilful misstatement, or suppression of facts to evade tax. Under Section 74(10) of the CGST Act, the adjudication order must be passed within five years from the annual return due date or erroneous refund date. Under Section 74(2), the notice must be issued at least six months prior to the order deadline, creating a notice issuance window of four years and six months.

Section 168A extension notifications for FY 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20

Exercising conditional emergency powers under Section 168A of the CGST Act, the Central Government issued successive notifications extending the Section 73(10) order issuance deadlines for the initial years of GST:

• Notification No. 09/2023-Central Tax (dated 31 March 2023): The Government extended the Section 73(10) order deadline for FY 2017-18 up to 31 December 2023, for FY 2018-19 up to 31 March 2024, and for FY 2019-20 up to 30 June 2024 as published on the GST Council Notification Portal.
• Notification No. 56/2023-Central Tax (dated 28 December 2023): In partial modification of earlier notifications, the CBIC further extended the order deadlines under Section 73(10) for FY 2018-19 up to 30 April 2024, and for FY 2019-20 up to 31 August 2024 as verified in Notification No. 56/2023-Central Tax.

Because Section 73(2) mandates that the show cause notice must be issued at least three months prior to the order issuance deadline, these notifications created corresponding cutoff dates for issuing notices:

Bar of limitation: when a demand order is void ab initio

The time limits under Section 73 and 74 are mandatory statutory deadlines, not administrative guidelines. The statutory consequence of missing these dates is explicitly laid down in law:

“The adjudication proceedings shall be deemed to be concluded, if the order is not issued within the period specified in sub-section (10) of section 73 or in sub-section (10) of section 74 or in sub-section (7) of section 74A.” Section 75(10), CGST Act, official text on CBIC Tax Information Portal

When an adjudicating authority issues an order under Section 73(9) after the notified date, or issues a notice under Section 73(1) less than three months before the order deadline, the proceedings lapse by operation of law. Taxpayers can challenge such time-barred orders in appellate proceedings under Section 107 or through writ petitions before High Courts on the following grounds:

1. Late notice service: If the SCN was served on 15 February 2024 for FY 2018-19, it violated the Section 73(2) cutoff of 31 January 2024. Any subsequent order passed on 28 April 2024 is invalid because the statutory notice window was breached.
2. Late order passing: If an order for FY 2018-19 was uploaded on 5 May 2024, it exceeded the extended deadline of 30 April 2024. Adjudication automatically stood deemed concluded on 30 April 2024 under Section 75(10).
3. Illegal invocation of Section 74: Officers frequently invoke Section 74 to escape Section 73 expiry. If the dispute involves routine interpretation differences, such as GSTR-2A versus GSTR-3B reconciliation, without deliberate fraud, higher courts routinely set aside the notice as time-barred.

When an order is void for limitation, any subsequent recovery actions under Section 78 and Section 79, such as bank account attachments under Form DRC-13 or recovery notices in Form GST DRC-07, become unsustainable.

Relief mechanism under Section 128A amnesty scheme

Recognising the immense volume of litigation created by delayed reconciliations and Section 168A extensions, Parliament enacted Section 128A of the CGST Act through Section 146 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2024, effective from 1 November 2024.

Section 128A provides a statutory conditional waiver of interest under Section 50 and penalties levied under the Act for demand proceedings initiated under Section 73 covering FY 2017-18, FY 2018-19, and FY 2019-20. The relief applies across three distinct procedural stages:

• Where notice or statement is issued: SCN issued under Section 73(1) or statement under Section 73(3), but no order has been passed under Section 73(9).
• Where order is issued: Adjudication order passed under Section 73(9), but no order has been passed by the First Appellate Authority under Section 107(11) or Revisional Authority under Section 108(1).
• Where appellate order is issued: Order passed under Section 107(11) or Section 108(1), but no order has been passed by the Appellate Tribunal under Section 113(1).

Section 128A explicitly excludes cases involving erroneous refunds. In addition, if an appeal or writ petition filed by the taxpayer is pending before an appellate authority, tribunal, or court, it must be withdrawn before seeking amnesty. If interest and penalty were already deposited prior to applying, no refund of such payments is permitted under Section 128A(1).

Worked example: limitation analysis and Section 128A savings

Consider Om Logistics Private Limited, an Indian transport company facing a departmental demand for FY 2018-19 arising from an unverified ITC mismatch between books and portal records:

In this case, discharging the basic tax demand of ₹4,50,000 before the notified cutoff date saved Om Logistics Private Limited ₹5,31,000 in accumulated interest and statutory penalty. If the underlying notice was served after 31 January 2024, the taxpayer could alternatively challenge the entire demand of ₹9,81,000 as time-barred under Section 73(2) and Section 75(10).

Step-by-step checklist to handle Section 73 notices

1. Verify date of service on portal: Navigate to Services → User Services → View Additional Notices and Orders. Check the actual date when Form GST DRC-01 was uploaded, not the internal date printed on the letterhead.
2. Map the financial year to limitation tables: For FY 2017-18, check if notice was issued on or before 30 September 2023. For FY 2018-19, verify if notice was served on or before 31 January 2024. For FY 2019-20, verify if notice was served on or before 31 May 2024.
3. Inspect allegations of suppression: If the officer issued notice under Section 74 to bypass Section 73 limitation, verify whether the facts were already disclosed in GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, or audited financial statements. Without positive deliberate fraud, Section 74 is invalid.
4. File limitation preliminary objection: Submit Form GST DRC-06 challenging jurisdiction and limitation under Section 75(10). Request personal hearing on limitation as a preliminary issue.
5. Assess Section 128A benefit: Where the tax demand represents genuine errors and limitation grounds are weak, calculate interest waiver under Section 128A and pay basic tax before the notified cutoff.

Related guides

• GST departmental audit under Section 65 notice Form GST ADT-01 procedure, records checklist, and findings ADT-02
• GST notice Form DRC-01D: recovery under Rule 142B and how to file reply
• GST notice ASMT 14 best judgment assessment non filer defence

Frequently asked questions

Last checked: 18 October 2026. Sources: CBIC CGST Act Section 73, Notification No. 56/2023-Central Tax, CBIC CGST Act Section 128A, Notification No. 21/2024-Central Tax.