Section 74A GST: Time Limit for Notice and Order (FY 2024-25 Onwards)

For tax periods from FY 2024-25 onwards, section 74A of the CGST Act requires a show cause notice within 42 months from the due date of the annual return (GSTR-9) for the financial year concerned, and the order within 12 months of the notice, which a senior officer may extend by up to 6 months. The same limits apply whether or not fraud is alleged. For FY 2024-25 the GSTR-9 was due on 31 December 2025, so on our arithmetic the last date for a notice is 30 June 2029. Periods up to FY 2023-24 stay under sections 73 and 74, which work differently.

Sources checked: 29 October 2026

Facts checked on 24 October 2026 against sections 73, 74, 74A and 75 of the CGST Act, rule 80 of the CGST Rules and the Central Tax notifications on the CBIC tax information portal; sections 73 and 74A re-read on 29 October 2026.

This is general information, not legal advice. The dates on your own notice, and our expert team's reading of them, decide your case.

Key facts

Point	What applies	Where it comes from
Periods covered	Tax for FY 2024-25 onwards	Section 74A(12)
In force	1 November 2024	Finance (No. 2) Act 2024 s.138; Notification 17/2024-CT
Notice deadline	42 months from the annual return due date for the year (or from an erroneous refund)	Section 74A(2)
Order deadline	12 months from the date of issue of the notice	Section 74A(7)
Extension of the order deadline	Up to 6 months, by the Commissioner or an officer not below Joint Commissioner, reasons in writing, before expiry	Proviso to section 74A(7)
Fraud and non-fraud	Same time limits; different penalties	Section 74A(2), (5)
Minimum amount	No notice if the tax in a financial year is under ₹1,000	Proviso to section 74A(1)
Order not in time	Proceedings deemed concluded	Section 75(10)
Anchor for FY 2024-25	GSTR-9 due 31 December 2025 (no extension found)	Rule 80(1)

What does "due date for furnishing of annual return" mean?

It is the date the annual return (GSTR-9) was due, not the date you filed it. Since 1 August 2021, rule 80(1) sets it as 31 December following the end of the financial year. For FY 2024-25 that was 31 December 2025, and no notification extending it was found. For FY 2025-26 the rule gives 31 December 2026, unless that date is extended.

Two points are open and are left to our expert team for each notice:

• Small taxpayers excused from filing GSTR-9. Notifications have made the return optional for small taxpayers year by year. Whether the 42 months still run from the rule 80 date for an exempted person is not stated in any text we have read.
• Counting. Whether "within 42 months from" a date ends on the same calendar day or the day before is a counting convention no text settles. The dates in this guide add whole months to the same calendar day.

How is section 74A different from sections 73 and 74?

Sections 73 (non-fraud) and 74 (fraud or suppression) fixed an order deadline and required the notice a set time before it. Section 74A fixes the notice deadline and gives the order its own clock from the notice. Section 74A has no "minimum gap" rule like section 73(2) or 74(2).

	Section 73 (up to FY 2023-24)	Section 74 (up to FY 2023-24)	Section 74A (FY 2024-25 on)
Order deadline	3 years from the annual return due date (73(10))	5 years from that date (74(10))	12 months from the notice, +6 (74A(7))
Notice deadline	At least 3 months before the order deadline (73(2))	At least 6 months before it (74(2))	42 months from the annual return due date (74A(2))
Fraud alleged?	No	Yes	Either; the penalty differs

On the same arithmetic (anchor plus the period, same calendar day), the latest dates by year are:

Financial year	Annual return due	Latest notice	Latest order
2022-23 (s.73)	31 Dec 2023	30 Sep 2026	31 Dec 2026
2023-24 (s.73)	31 Dec 2024	30 Sep 2027	31 Dec 2027
2023-24 (s.74)	31 Dec 2024	30 Jun 2029	31 Dec 2029
2024-25 (s.74A)	31 Dec 2025	30 Jun 2029	12 months from the notice, +6

The figures are derived, not notified; nine districts of Tamil Nadu had a later FY 2022-23 due date (10 January 2024). Our guide to section 73 show cause notices covers the earlier years in detail.

How do I check the dates on my own notice?

1. Find the financial year (or years) the notice covers. The anchor is the annual return of the year to which the tax relates, so on our reading of section 74A(2) a notice covering two years has two limits.
2. Confirm the section. A notice for FY 2024-25 or later should cite section 74A; one citing section 73 or 74 for those years is worth showing to our expert team.
3. Find that year's GSTR-9 due date (31 December after the year, unless extended) and add 42 months.
4. Compare it with the date of issue printed on the notice and its summary in Form DRC-01.
5. Diarise the order deadline: 12 months from the date of issue. If an extension is granted, it must be granted before those 12 months end, by an officer of the rank in the proviso. The order's summary is uploaded in Form DRC-07, and its date is the one to compare.
6. Note any stay. Time for which a court or the Tribunal stayed the notice is excluded (section 75(1)), and so is the time a revenue appeal on the same issue is pending (section 75(11)).

Our GST time limit checker works through these steps for each financial year and section; it shows a date only where the rule behind it has been approved by our expert team. Our notice decoder helps you read the notice itself, and the DRC-01 guide sets out what the summary contains.

Who issues a section 74A notice?

For CBIC officers, Circular 254/11/2025-GST assigns section 74A cases by amount: a Superintendent up to ₹10 lakh CGST, a Deputy or Assistant Commissioner above ₹10 lakh and up to ₹1 crore, and an Additional or Joint Commissioner above ₹1 crore (₹20 lakh and ₹2 crore where IGST or combined amounts are concerned). The same officers may send the optional pre-notice intimation in Form DRC-01A.

What does paying early save under section 74A?

The time limits sit next to the penalty windows in sections 74A(5), (8) and (9):

When you pay tax and interest	Non-fraud	Fraud or suppression
Before the notice, informing the officer in writing	No notice, no penalty (8)(i)	With a 15% penalty: no notice (9)(i)
Within 60 days of the notice	No penalty, proceedings concluded (8)(ii)	With a 25% penalty, proceedings concluded (9)(ii)
Within 60 days of communication of the order	—	With a 50% penalty, proceedings concluded (9)(iii)
Otherwise, on the order	10% of the tax or ₹10,000, whichever is higher (5)(i)	Equal to the tax (5)(ii)

The "before the notice" and "within 60 days" relief in a non-fraud case does not apply where self-assessed tax, or tax collected, was not paid within 30 days of its due date (section 74A(11)). Payment is reported in Form DRC-03 (rule 142(2)). Our DRC-01A response kit sets out the choices at the pre-notice stage, and our guide to the DRC-01A intimation explains it in full.

What may change?

On 8 October 2026 the GST Council recommended, among other things, a 5% penalty in non-fraud cases where tax and interest are paid within 60 days of a section 74A order, and a minimum threshold of ₹10,000 for show cause notices. These are recommendations only until the Act is amended and notified; the limits above are unaffected.

Getting help

A notice issued after its time limit may be open to challenge at the threshold, but whether it is late depends on the year, the section and the counting, so get the dates read before you reply. Our GST audit and litigation support team checks limitation, reconciles the demand and prepares the reply; book a consultation to ask our expert team about your notice. For the order and appeal stage, see GST notices explained and our guide to the GSTAT appeal.