You’ve received a GST notice. Here’s exactly what to do — and what not to.

By CA Rahul Khurana · R Khurana & Associates · August 2026

The email lands, or the accountant forwards a scan, and the day changes: “Notice under Section…”. In our practice, the calls we get in that first hour are rarely about the notice itself — they are about the fear. So let me say the most important thing first: a GST notice is a question, not a verdict. The department has found something it cannot reconcile, and it is asking you to explain. Handled early and completely, most notices close at the reply stage.

First, do these three things

1. Note the deadline. Every notice carries a reply date. The single worst response is silence — it converts a question into a demand, often with interest and penalty added.
2. Identify the type. A mismatch intimation, a scrutiny notice, a show-cause notice, and an audit intimation are very different animals with different stakes. The section number on the notice tells you which one you are holding.
3. Send it to your CA the same day. Not a summary of it — the notice itself, every page. Details you might consider boilerplate often decide the reply strategy.

What the notice is usually about

In our experience, the overwhelming majority of GST notices trace back to a reconciliation gap: GSTR-1 not matching GSTR-3B, ITC claimed in 3B exceeding what GSTR-2B supports, e-way bills without corresponding invoices, or a vendor who did not file and quietly broke your credit chain. These are precisely the gaps a quarterly reconciliation habit prevents — it is why we published our GST Health Checklist.

What a good reply looks like

• It answers the specific question asked — no more, no less.
• It is built on a reconciliation working: return figures tied to books, with each difference explained and documented.
• Every claim is supported by an annexure: invoices, ledgers, bank proofs, agreements.
• It is filed on the portal within the deadline, with an acknowledgement preserved.

What not to do

• Don’t ignore it — deadlines don’t extend themselves, and ex-parte orders are hard to unwind.
• Don’t reply casually — an incomplete or contradictory reply becomes evidence later.
• Don’t pay in panic — some demands are simply wrong, and a well-documented reply can close them at zero. Assess first.

This article is general information, not professional advice. Provisions, thresholds, and due dates are amended from time to time — please confirm the current position or consult us before acting. © 2026 R Khurana & Associates, Chartered Accountants, Delhi.