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A limitation objection is a procedural defence. It can end adjudication without deciding the underlying tax merits, but only if the chronology supports it. A court stay, appeal-related exclusion, or a valid period-specific notification can change the calculation. Build a date-by-date record before responding.
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Which GST limitation rule applies?
The first question is the tax period. Sections 73 and 74 govern tax determination for periods up to financial year (FY) 2023-24, while section 74A creates a common demand framework for FY 2024-25 onward. The relevant period is the year in which the tax, interest or penalty is alleged to have arisen—not necessarily the year in which the notice arrives.
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| Tax period and route | Statutory trigger | Notice deadline or lead time | Order deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to FY 2023-24, section 73 (no fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression alleged) | Due date for the annual return for the relevant financial year, or the date of an erroneous refund | Notice at least three months before the section 73 order deadline | Three years from the applicable trigger date |
| Up to FY 2023-24, section 74 (fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression alleged) | Due date for the annual return for the relevant financial year, or the date of an erroneous refund | Notice at least six months before the section 74 order deadline | Five years from the applicable trigger date |
| FY 2024-25 onward, section 74A | Due date for the annual return for the relevant financial year, or the date of an erroneous refund | Generally within 42 months from the applicable trigger date | Generally within 12 months from the notice, with a possible extension of up to six months by the senior officer specified in the provision, for recorded reasons |
These are statutory periods, not average processing times. The wording and transitional amendments must be read for the exact year and circumstance. An annual-return due date may have been changed by notification, so do not substitute a familiar calendar date without checking the notification that applied to your year.
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How sections 73 and 74 work for older tax periods
Section 73: the non-fraud route
For tax periods up to FY 2023-24, section 73 generally applies where tax was not paid, was short-paid, was erroneously refunded, or input tax credit was wrongly availed or utilised for reasons other than fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts. Section 73(10) gives the proper officer three years from the relevant annual-return due date or erroneous-refund date to issue the adjudication order.
The notice must come earlier. Section 73(2) says the proper officer shall issue the notice under section 73(1) at least three months before the section 73(10) time limit for the order. A notice served with less than that lead time can therefore create a limitation objection even if the proposed order date would otherwise fall inside the three-year period.
Section 74: the fraud-related route
Section 74 covers the same broad kinds of tax determination where the department alleges fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts to evade tax. The order deadline is five years from the annual-return due date or erroneous-refund date, and the notice must be issued at least six months before that deadline.
The longer period is not automatic. The department must plead and establish the stated fraud-related ground. A label in the notice is not a substitute for facts showing why section 74 applies. If an appellate authority, tribunal or court finds that the allegation of fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression was not established, section 75(2) directs the proper officer to determine the tax as if the notice had been issued under section 73. That can make the shorter three-year framework decisive.
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What changed for FY 2024-25 onward?
Section 74A, inserted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024, establishes a common demand framework whether or not fraud is alleged. For these periods, the notice is generally due within 42 months from the annual-return due date for the relevant year or from the date of an erroneous refund.
The order is generally due within 12 months from the notice. The provision permits an extension of up to six months by the senior officer specified there, but the extension requires recorded reasons and must fit the statutory conditions. The 42-month notice period and the 12-month order period are different clocks: a notice can be timely while the later order is late, or a notice can be late even though an order follows quickly.
Because section 74A is new, check the enacted text, commencement provisions and amendments for the period in dispute. Do not apply the older five-year fraud formula to FY 2024-25 or later merely because the notice uses fraud language.
How to calculate whether a notice is time-barred
- Fix the tax period. Identify the month, quarter or financial year to which each proposed demand relates. If one notice covers several years, calculate each year separately.
- Select the provision. For periods through FY 2023-24, determine whether the notice invokes section 73 or section 74. For FY 2024-25 onward, start with section 74A and examine any transitional wording.
- Find the statutory trigger. Use the legally applicable due date for the annual return, not simply 31 March. If the allegation concerns an erroneous refund, use the refund date instead. Keep the notification or record that establishes any revised due date.
- Compute the order deadline. Add three years under section 73, five years under section 74, or apply the section 74A notice-and-order clocks. Treat the resulting date as the unadjusted deadline.
- Test the notice lead time. For section 73, count back at least three months from the order deadline. For section 74, count back at least six months. Section 74A uses its own 42-month notice limit.
- Adjust for exclusions and extensions. Identify every court or Appellate Tribunal stay, appeal-related statutory exclusion and period-specific notification. Record start and end dates rather than assuming the entire proceeding is excluded.
- Compare actual dates. Use the date of issue and the legally effective date of service for the notice, and the date the adjudication order was issued. A portal upload, dispatch entry and actual service may show different dates; preserve each record.
Write the calculation as an exhibit: trigger date, unadjusted deadline, excluded days, notified extension, adjusted deadline, notice date, service date and order date. This lets the officer or appellate forum see the alleged defect without reconstructing your arithmetic.
Worked examples (illustrative arithmetic)
Section 73 notice issued too close to the deadline
Assume an annual-return due date of 30 September 2022 for a particular year, with no stay or extension. The three-year order deadline would be 30 September 2025. A section 73 notice would need to be issued at least three months before that deadline. A notice issued on 15 July 2025 would leave less than three months and could be challenged on the notice-lead-time requirement, even though 15 July is before 30 September.
Section 74 allegation that cannot obtain the five-year period
Assume the same 30 September 2022 trigger and a notice issued under section 74. The unadjusted order deadline would be 30 September 2027, and the notice would need to be issued at least six months before then. If the adjudicating or appellate authority finds that fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression was not established, section 75(2) requires determination as under section 73. The relevant order deadline could then move back to 30 September 2025, subject to exclusions.
Section 74A has separate notice and order clocks
Assume a section 74A trigger date of 31 December 2025. The general 42-month notice limit would be calculated from that date. Once a timely notice is issued, the ordinary order period is 12 months from the notice, not 12 months from the annual-return due date. A documented senior-officer extension can add up to six months when the statutory requirements are met.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThese examples show the method only. The actual annual-return due date, erroneous-refund date, service date and any notification must come from the records for your case.
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Which periods can be excluded from the calculation?
Court or Appellate Tribunal stays
Section 75(1) excludes the period during which service of the notice or issuance of the order is stayed by a court or Appellate Tribunal when computing the applicable section 73 or 74 period; the amended text also refers to section 74A. Match the stay order to the exact act restrained and the exact dates. A stay of recovery is not automatically a stay of issuing the order, and a stay affecting one issue may not suspend every issue in a multi-year notice.
Appeal-related periods
Section 75(11) addresses certain periods spent while an appeal is pending on an issue decided in other proceedings and prejudicial to revenue. Whether it applies depends on the issue, the proceedings and the statutory conditions. Ask the department to identify the subsection and show its date calculation; do not accept a generic reference to “appeal time.”
Special notifications and amendments
Notifications can extend or alter a deadline for a defined class of years, taxpayers or proceedings. Their scope, start date and end date matter. An extension issued for one financial year or one procedural step cannot be assumed to apply to another. Keep a copy of every notification relied on by either side and check whether it was legally in force for the relevant date.
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If you have received a show-cause notice
- Read the “tax period,” section number and stated allegation line by line. A notice covering non-fraud and fraud grounds may require separate calculations.
- Prepare a chronology with the annual-return due date or erroneous-refund date, the statutory deadline, notice issue and service dates, and every claimed exclusion.
- State the objection expressly in your written reply. Explain why the notice fails the applicable 42-month limit or the three- or six-month lead-time rule, and attach the supporting records.
- Challenge an unsupported fraud allegation on its facts as well as on limitation. If section 74 is not established, explain the consequence under section 75(2).
- Attend the hearing or use the available electronic hearing process, preserving proof of submission and attendance.
If an adjudication order has already been issued
Check the order date against the adjusted statutory deadline and review whether the order explains any exclusion or extension. Use the appeal or other challenge mechanism available at that stage and within its deadline; the correct forum and filing period depend on the order, the amount and the governing procedural provision. Include the complete calculation rather than raising limitation as a bare assertion.
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If the deadline has already expired without an order
Section 75 provides that adjudication is deemed to be concluded if the order is not issued within the applicable statutory period, subject to the exclusions and extensions that legally apply. Preserve evidence of the expiry and respond promptly if the department later attempts to proceed. A deemed-conclusion argument still requires an accurate adjusted deadline.
Documents that establish the chronology
- The notice, annexures, digital reference number and portal download showing issue and service.
- Annual-return filing acknowledgements, the statutory due-date rule and any notification that changed it.
- Refund application, sanction and payment records when the department relies on an erroneous refund date.
- Adjudication order, hearing notices and proof of communication.
- Court or Appellate Tribunal pleadings and stay orders, including the exact operative dates.
- Appeal orders or other proceedings that the department cites for an exclusion under section 75(11).
- Any departmental notification or written order extending time, with its stated scope.
Keep originals and downloaded electronic records. Portal data can change, and a screenshot without the reference number or timestamp may be difficult to authenticate later.
Common mistakes that weaken a time-bar argument
- Counting from 31 March automatically. The statutory trigger is generally the annual-return due date or erroneous-refund date, not the end of the financial year.
- Using the five-year period because “fraud” appears in the notice. The department must establish the fraud-related ground, and failure can bring section 75(2) into play.
- Ignoring the notice lead time. A notice can precede the order deadline yet still violate the three-month section 73 or six-month section 74 requirement.
- Confusing issue with service. Identify what the applicable provision and facts treat as the operative date, and preserve evidence for both events.
- Applying sections 73 or 74 to a FY 2024-25 period. Start with section 74A and check transitional text.
- Subtracting every period connected with litigation. Only a period that meets the statutory exclusion, such as a stay on service or issuance, should be removed.
- Relying on limitation alone. Preserve substantive objections on tax, classification, valuation, input tax credit and interest; a limitation ruling may not resolve those issues if the authority or court disagrees with your calculation.
When professional advice is appropriate
Consider obtaining advice from a GST practitioner or tax-litigation lawyer when a notice covers multiple financial years, alleges suppression, relies on an erroneous-refund date, cites several notifications, or follows a court or tribunal stay. The professional should be able to show the arithmetic, identify the legal route, and explain the filing deadline for the stage you are in. No single response route applies to every notice or order.
The practical test is straightforward: identify the correct statutory clock, prove the trigger date, add only lawful exclusions and extensions, and compare the adjusted deadline with the notice and order records. If the department cannot fit its action within that calculation, raise the time-bar objection promptly and preserve it through the available proceedings.
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