GST notices online sellers get most, and how to reply

Most GST notices to online sellers come from a mismatch the system has spotted or a return that was not filed. Each one has its own form number, its own reply form and its own clock, from seven days to thirty. Read the form number first. It tells you what is being asked and how long you have.

Which notice have you received?

The forms and time limits are from the CGST Rules and the CGST Act as read on 12 Nov 2026.

Why do marketplace sellers get these?

Your data reaches the department from three sides. You file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B. Your suppliers' returns build your GSTR-2B. And each marketplace files GSTR-8, a monthly statement of what you sold through it and the TCS (tax collected at source) it held back. The system compares them. A notice is usually a question about a gap. It becomes a demand only when the gap is left unexplained.

The usual gaps for sellers: returns and cancellations netted off in one return and not the other, sales of one marketplace left out, and credit claimed on an invoice the supplier has not reported. See GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B differences.

What about a TCS or GSTR-8 mismatch?

We did not find a separate form in the rules for a gap between the marketplace's GSTR-8 and your GSTR-1. In practice such a gap is likely to arrive as a scrutiny notice in ASMT-10 or a DRC-01A intimation, so reply in the form that matches what you received. First compare the notice figures with your TCS credit on the portal. TCS credit not reflecting explains that screen.

How do you reply, step by step?

1. Log in to the GST portal and find the notice there. Do not act on an email or SMS alone. DRC-01B sits under Services, Returns, Return Compliance.
2. Note the form number, the period and the date. Count your days from that date.
3. Rebuild the figure. Put your marketplace reports, GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B for that period side by side.
4. Decide: is the gap real, partly real or explained?
5. If tax is due, pay it with interest through Form DRC-03 and keep the reference number (ARN).
6. File the reply in the right form, with the ARN and a short, factual explanation. Attach workings where the form allows.
7. Save the acknowledgement.

A worked example

Dev's June GSTR-1 shows tax of Rs 1,80,000. His June GSTR-3B paid Rs 1,20,000. He gets DRC-01B, Part A, for the gap of Rs 60,000.

He checks. Rs 20,000 of June tax was paid in his July GSTR-3B, and he can show that. Rs 40,000 was never paid. He pays Rs 40,000 through DRC-03, choosing the cause that names the GSTR-1 to GSTR-3B liability mismatch. Interest at 18% for 45 days is Rs 40,000 x 18% x 45/365, about Rs 888. In Part B he enters the DRC-03 reference and explains the Rs 20,000. His GSTR-1 for the next period opens again once Part B is filed.

What happens if you do not reply?

• DRC-01B: the amount can be recovered directly, and the next GSTR-1 stays blocked.
• DRC-01C: a demand notice can follow, and the next GSTR-1 stays blocked.
• GSTR-3A: the officer can assess your tax on a best judgment basis. That order is withdrawn if you file the return within 60 days of it.
• REG-17: registration is cancelled. A cancelled GSTIN stops your marketplace listings. If the reason was unfiled returns, filing them all with tax, interest and late fee gets the proceedings dropped.
• DRC-01: an order follows, with penalty. In a case without fraud, paying the tax and interest within 30 days of the notice (60 days for 2024-25 onward) closes it without penalty.

What a late return costs is in GST late fees and interest.

What mistake do sellers usually make?

They pay whatever the notice says to make it go away, or they ignore it because it came by email. Both cost money. Check the figure first. Many DRC-01B gaps are timing differences that need an explanation and no payment.

Should you reply yourself?

A DRC-01B or GSTR-3A with a clear cause is something you can handle. Take a Chartered Accountant's help for ASMT-10, REG-17 and DRC-01. The reply there becomes the record that any later order is judged against.

Frequently asked questions

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