Act immediately, but do not assume a late reply will automatically be accepted. First identify the notice, statutory section, service date, stated deadline and current portal status. Preserve the notice and proof of service, prepare a complete evidence-backed response, file it through the route that applies to that notice, and send the proper officer a written explanation asking that the late response be taken on record. Request a personal hearing and, where necessary, an adjournment. If an order has already been communicated, deal with the separate appeal deadline at once.
GST notices do not all follow the same form or procedure. The steps below are general Indian GST information based on the CGST framework; state and Union Territory provisions, the notice itself and later amendments can change what is available in a particular case.
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1. Stop and establish exactly what you missed
“GST show-cause notice” is a description, not one uniform document. A tax-demand notice under sections 73 or 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is different from notices concerning registration, composition, detention or seizure, cancellation, refunds or other proceedings. The form, authority, response channel and legal consequences can differ.
Before drafting anything, make a one-page record of:
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- notice number, issue date and the statutory section cited;
- the issuing officer, office, state or Union Territory jurisdiction and any portal reference;
- how and when the notice was served, including the email, portal alert or other delivery record;
- the exact reply deadline and any separately stated hearing date;
- the tax period, allegations, proposed tax, interest and penalty; and
- any later hearing communication, reminder, order or recovery message.
Download the original notice from the GST portal and retain the file in its original format. Save emails, SMS messages, portal screenshots and delivery records showing when you could access it. Do not calculate your deadline from another taxpayer’s notice or from a different GST form.
2. Check whether an order has already been issued
A missed reply deadline does not by itself tell you what stage the case has reached. Log in to the GST portal and inspect the notices, additional communications, hearing notices, orders and filing status for the relevant registration and tax period.
If no order is visible
Prepare and submit the response without waiting for permission. Immediately afterward, send the proper officer a separate written request explaining why it was late and asking that it be taken on record. Include a hearing request and, if a hearing is pending or has been missed, an adjournment request supported by evidence.
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Attend if possible, even if the written reply is late. Carry the filed response, attachments, proof of filing and your explanation for the delay. If attendance is impossible, request an adjournment in writing before the hearing and keep proof of delivery. A hearing request is not a guarantee that every late document will be accepted.
If an order is already communicated
Obtain the complete order and case record immediately. A late show-cause reply request does not replace or automatically suspend the order-appeal period. Assess the appeal route and limitation separately with a qualified GST practitioner, chartered accountant or tax lawyer.
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3. Prepare a response that an officer can evaluate
A late, incomplete or unsupported submission is harder to consider than a structured one. Address every allegation in the notice in the same order in which it appears.
Use a fact-and-document schedule
- State the relevant transaction, return period or event in plain language.
- Reconcile figures to returns, invoices, ledgers, e-way bills, payment records and correspondence.
- Identify the legal ground for each objection, including why a proposed tax, interest or penalty is incorrect.
- List every attachment by a stable name and number, and refer to that number in the text.
- Separate facts you can prove from matters that require the officer to verify records.
Do not make an unsupported admission merely to close the matter, and do not issue a blanket denial that ignores an allegation. If some amount appears payable, obtain advice on the consequences of acknowledging or paying it before filing.
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Write a truthful delay chronology
The request to accept the late reply should explain the actual cause, dates and supporting evidence. For example, identify a documented portal-access failure, illness, change in authorised signatory, disaster, records problem or other event that genuinely prevented timely action. Explain when the obstacle ended and how quickly you acted afterward. Avoid vague statements such as “due to unavoidable circumstances” without dates or proof.
4. Use the correct GST form and filing route
For the demand-notice procedure covered by Rule 142 of the CGST Rules, the officer uploads a summary in Form GST DRC-01 and the person chargeable with tax furnishes a reply in Form GST DRC-06. The official DRC-06 form asks for the notice reference and date, financial year, the reply and uploaded documents, and whether a personal hearing is desired.
That does not mean DRC-06 applies to every GST notice. Read the notice’s statutory section and portal instructions first. A registration, cancellation, detention, refund or other proceeding may use a different form or channel.
- Open the notice from the registration’s GST portal account and confirm the response option displayed for that proceeding.
- Complete the applicable form with the notice reference, period, grounds and document list.
- Upload legible files within the portal’s size and format limits. Keep the exact files that were submitted.
- Select the personal-hearing option where you want a hearing, and state that request again in the accompanying letter if appropriate.
- Submit, record the acknowledgement or reference number, and capture a screenshot showing the submission date and status.
Where the portal does not provide a late-submission option, use the available official route shown for the proceeding and send the proper officer a signed written request with the submission reference. Keep delivery proof.
5. Ask for the late reply to be taken on record
Send the request to the proper officer named in the notice, using the channel specified there. Attach the filed reply, acknowledgement, delay chronology and evidence. The request should state:
- the notice number, section, tax period and service date;
- the original deadline and the date of your actual submission;
- the specific reason for delay and documents supporting it;
- that the reply is complete and addresses each allegation; and
- that you request the reply be taken on record and a personal hearing be granted before an adverse decision.
Use a professional subject line and retain the sent message, delivery receipt, portal reference and any response. If the notice gives a physical address, an electronic submission alone may not be sufficient; follow the stated method as well.
6. Understand the hearing and adjournment provisions
Section 75 of the CGST Act contains the principal hearing safeguards for tax proceedings. Section 75(4) states that an opportunity of hearing is to be granted when a written request is received from the person chargeable with tax or penalty, or when an adverse decision is contemplated. Make the request explicit rather than assuming that a late form automatically creates one.
Section 75(5) addresses time and adjournment when sufficient cause is shown. The statutory text states: The proper officer shall, if sufficient cause is shown by the person chargeable with tax, grant time to the said person and adjourn the hearing for reasons to be recorded in writing:
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The provision permits an adjournment for sufficient cause and limits the number of adjournments to no more than three for a person during the proceedings. It does not expressly create a universal automatic extension of every written-reply deadline, and it does not guarantee that a late reply will be accepted. The officer’s decision, the notice stage and the evidence for the delay remain important.
7. Know what payment can and cannot do
Rule 142 describes payment routes in specified demand proceedings, including Form GST DRC-03 and a 30-day period tied to certain payments after service of notice. That rule is not a universal cure for a missed reply. Paying without reviewing the section, computation, interest, penalty and legal effect can prejudice your position.
Before making a payment, reconcile the amount with the notice and obtain case-specific advice. If payment is made, preserve the challan, DRC-03 details and any accompanying statement, and still respond to issues that remain disputed or procedurally relevant.
8. If the department has passed an order, protect the appeal period
Section 107(1) provides a general three-month period to appeal an adjudicating order, counted from the date the decision or order is communicated. Section 107(4) permits the Appellate Authority to allow presentation within a further period of one month when satisfied that sufficient cause prevented timely filing.
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9. Choose the next procedural route by stage
| Current position | Primary action | Evidence to preserve | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reply deadline passed; no order visible | File the applicable response, then request in writing that it be taken on record and ask for a hearing. | Notice, service proof, filed form, attachments, acknowledgement and delay evidence. | The officer may proceed despite the late submission. |
| Hearing notice issued | Attend or request an adjournment for sufficient cause before the hearing; submit the complete reply. | Hearing notice, attendance or delivery proof, written adjournment request and supporting documents. | Missing the hearing can remove a practical opportunity to explain the case. |
| Order communicated | Obtain the order and evaluate the statutory appeal route immediately; also decide whether a late-reply request remains useful. | Order, communication date, case record, prior reply and all filing receipts. | The separate appeal limitation may expire while you wait for a response to the late-reply request. |
| Notice type is unclear | Confirm the section, form, authority and portal workflow before filing. | Downloaded notice and portal page showing the available action. | Using DRC-06 or another form that does not apply can leave the submission ineffective. |
10. Avoid the mistakes that make a late case worse
- Assuming every GST notice has the same deadline: the statutory section and form control the procedure.
- Relying on an email without portal filing: use the route the notice and current portal specify, then send a written request through any additional channel required.
- Submitting a bare apology: explain the delay, but also answer the tax allegations with records and legal grounds.
- Ignoring service evidence: the actual date and method of communication can matter to limitation and fairness arguments.
- Waiting for an acceptance message: continue monitoring the portal for a hearing, order or recovery communication.
- Treating a payment as a complete defence: payment provisions and reply rights address different issues and depend on the notice.
- Confusing the appeal period with the reply period: an appeal clock begins from communication of the order and must be tracked separately.
11. Maintain a case file after submission
Create a chronological folder containing the notice, service evidence, portal downloads, filed form, attachments, delay explanation, hearing requests, acknowledgements, payment records and every later communication. Use filenames that include the date and document type. Record the next follow-up date and check the portal regularly until the proceeding is closed or an order is challenged.
If the portal rejects an upload, save the error message and screenshot, note the time, retry through the permitted route and report the technical problem to the appropriate official support channel. A technical complaint does not itself extend a statutory deadline, so continue the written submission effort and preserve proof.
12. When professional advice is urgent
General instructions cannot determine whether a particular notice is valid, whether service was effective, whether a limitation defence applies or whether payment is advantageous. Prompt advice from a qualified GST practitioner, chartered accountant or tax lawyer is especially important when an order has issued, the proposed demand is material, fraud or suppression is alleged, input tax credit is disputed, records are incomplete, recovery has begun or an appeal deadline is close.
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What the law does—and does not—promise
The CGST provisions support a prompt written hearing request and, where sufficient cause is shown, a request for time or adjournment. They do not say that every late written reply must be accepted, that an officer must grant an automatic extension, or that filing DRC-06 prevents an order. The practical objective is to create a timely, documented record while preserving every distinct remedy that remains available.
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