GST DRC forms explained: what DRC-01A, DRC-01, DRC-03, DRC-06 and DRC-07 mean, and what to do next

The GST DRC forms are the demand-stage forms of the CGST Rules, met in a fixed order: DRC-01A is the officer's pre-notice intimation of the tax thought to be due, DRC-01 the summary of the show cause notice (SCN), DRC-03 your payment, DRC-06 your reply and DRC-07 the summary of the final order. The law fixes the payment windows (30 days after the notice, 60 under section 74A; after the order too, in fraud cases) and the three months to appeal; for DRC-01A and DRC-06 the deadline is the date on the document.

Which GST DRC form comes when, and what do I do with it?

Rule 142 CGST Rules as held by Nira at 1 February 2026. DRC-02 (statements) and DRC-08 (rectification) are not covered here.

How has rule 142 been amended? The dates

• 1 April 2019: substituted (Notification 16/2019-Central Tax).
• 9 October 2019: (1A), (2A) and DRC-01A inserted, with "shall" (49/2019).
• 15 October 2020: in (1A), "shall" became "may" (79/2020, para 6).
• 10 July 2024: DRC-04 through the portal, DRC-01A Part C, (2B) and DRC-03A (12/2024).
• 1 November 2024: section 74A added (20/2024, para 13).
• 1 April 2027, not yet in force: revised forms DRC-01, DRC-01A and DRC-07; rule text untouched (05/2026, 26 October 2026).

What is DRC-01A, and must I reply to it?

FORM GST DRC-01A is an intimation sent before any notice. The notified form says to pay by a date and to send any submissions in Part B by a date; the officer fills both in, so your deadline is the date on the form (Notification 49/2019, 12/2024 para 45). Part B records a payment through DRC-03 and says why the rest is not accepted. Since 10 July 2024 the officer may answer in Part C, "accepting the payment or the submissions or both" (rule 142(2A)).

Reply with reasons. Karnataka (single judge, WP 25564/2023, 29 November 2023, para 18) quashed an SCN issued eight days after a DRC-01A and a detailed Part B reply, because the officer "must reason why the submissions filed cannot be accepted before assuming jurisdiction to issue notice". A DRC-01A is not itself a notice: Chhattisgarh (single judge, Jai Ambey Road Lines, 21 September 2026, paras 10, 12) dismissed writs against one as premature, as it "only talks about the ascertaining of the facts in terms of available information".

Is DRC-01A compulsory after the 2024 amendment of rule 142(1A)?

No, on the rule's words, and the 2024 amendment did not change that. Rule 142(1A) has said the proper officer "may" since 15 October 2020; Notification 20/2024 only added section 74A to it from 1 November 2024. Courts differ on a missed DRC-01A, mostly where the tax period (or, in the Delhi case, the notice) falls before 15 October 2020, when the rule said "shall" (history). We found no ruling on DRC-01A for a section 74A notice.

• Delhi (Division Bench, Gulati Enterprises, 18 May 2022, para 10): on an SCN of 21 May 2020, "pre-show cause notice consultation was mandatory under the unamended Rule 142 (1A)"; SCN set aside.
• Andhra Pradesh (Division Bench, SHR Marketing, 5 November 2025, paras 8, 9): assessment orders for a period before 15 October 2020 set aside although the notice came later, because "the un-amended Rule 142(1A) would be applicable". Satyanarayana Medical Distributors (12 February 2025) and Venkatrama Constructions (19 February 2025, period not stated) follow it.
• Telangana (Division Bench, Goldstone Infra, 27 January 2026, recorded by a three-judge Bench on 30 September 2026, para 124) tests prejudice, even for a period before 15 October 2020: "each case has to be decided on the test of 'prejudice' caused to the taxpayer on non-service of the intimation in Form GST DRC-01A".
• Calcutta (single judge, Expo Gas Containers, 21 July 2025, para 4): "it does not appear that the proper officer is obliged to serve notice in DRC-01A". Uttarakhand (single judge, WPMS 141/2023, 23 February 2023, para 6): a DRC-01A uploaded with the SCN denied "a valuable right" to reply to it.

Is the DRC-01 summary the show cause notice?

No. Rule 142(1)(a) has the officer serve the summary "along with" the notice, and CBIC Instruction 04/2023-GST of 23 November 2023 (CBIC portal, para 4) calls leaving it out "in clear violation of the explicit provisions of CGST Rules". The portal DRC-01 carries fields for the reply date, hearing date and venue (Biswajit Sutradhar, para 22).

• Gauhati (single judge, Biswajit Sutradhar, 16 March 2026, paras 13, 24): a section 74A order fell where only a DRC-01 with a tax computation had been uploaded, because "merely providing a summary in DRC-01 does not amount to valid initiation under Section 74 A".
• Gauhati, the other way (single judge, Ashika Business, 9 May 2024, para 26): notice and order had reached the taxpayer but the summaries were not uploaded; "It is only a case of non-uploading on the common portal in terms of Rule 142". No prejudice was pleaded, the reply had not raised the point, and the writ was refused.

How does DRC-03 work, and can I get the money back?

FORM GST DRC-03 is how you tell the officer you have paid. Paying before the notice stops a notice for that tax (sections 73(5), (6), 74(5), (6), 74A(8)(i), (9)(i)), with 15 per cent penalty in fraud cases. Paying inside the window after the notice concludes the case, and the officer issues DRC-05 (rule 142(3)): no penalty under sections 73(8) and 74A(8)(ii), 25 per cent under sections 74(8) and 74A(9)(ii). Costs: our cost table.

DRC-03A. A DRC-03 payment meant for a demand can be applied to it by DRC-03A "as if the said payment was made towards the said demand on the date of such intimation" (rule 142(2B)), but not after a DRC-05 (Circular 224/18/2024-GST, para 7.3). The circular (paras 7.2, 8.2) and the Delhi High Court (AB Players Exports, 19 May 2025, paras 6 to 8) let it count towards an appeal pre-deposit.

Protest and refund. In a section 129 detention case the Supreme Court noted that the portal "permits payments only through Form GST DRC-03, which is automatically classified as a voluntary payment, and does not provide any mechanism for an assessee to indicate that the payment is being made under protest" (ASP Traders, 24 July 2025, para 16). CBIC Instruction 01/2022-23 (CBIC portal, para 4) says there "may not be any circumstance necessitating 'recovery' of tax dues during the course of search or inspection or investigation proceedings". High Courts turn on the facts:

• Karnataka (single judge, KUM Internationals, 13 October 2025, paras 8, 9, 11, applying J. Ramesh Chand, WP 9890/2023): sums collected during a search, tax and then interest and penalty on different days, were "not voluntary or by way of self-ascertainment"; refund with interest.
• Gujarat (Division Bench, Hirenkumar Valjibhai Sankhalava, 25 June 2026, paras 5.9, 6, 11): no refund where the panchnama and statements showed voluntary payment and the claim came two years later; section 54 "will only come into play, if it is established that the amount of tax was either not payable or it was paid in excess".

The difference is evidence: object in a dated letter when you pay.

How do I reply in DRC-06, and by when?

FORM GST DRC-06 is the reply to an SCN whose summary was uploaded in DRC-01 (rule 142(4)). Neither the Act nor the Rules give a number of days; the notice does (a Gauhati notice asked for a reply "within thirty days of the receipt of the notice", Ashika Business, para 27). The payment window runs from the notice and may close first.

1. Find the section and year (guide, calculator), answer every ground with documents, and take the lower section in the alternative.
2. Ask for a hearing in the box and in writing. Section 75(4): "An opportunity of hearing shall be granted where a request is received in writing from the person chargeable with tax or penalty, or where any adverse decision is contemplated against such person."

If you do not reply, the officer decides "after considering the representation, if any" (sections 73(9), 74(9), 74A(6)); in JVS Agencies (Madras, 4 February 2026, para 2) the order was passed that way. If you do reply, the order must deal with it: the Delhi Division Bench (Abhishek Jain, 23 October 2024, para 3) quashed one where "the final order neither alludes to nor takes into consideration the reply which had been submitted by the writ petitioner".

Is the DRC-07 summary the order, and how long do I have to appeal?

Rule 142(5) makes the officer upload a summary of the order in DRC-07 with the tax, interest and penalty; rule 142(6) says "The order referred to in sub-rule (5) shall be treated as the Notice for recovery." We found no ruling that treats a bare DRC-07 as the order.

• Gauhati (Biswajit Sutradhar, para 25): "The summaries issued in GST DRC-01, and DRC-07 are merely supplementary and cannot override or replace the requirement of issuing proper and authenticated primary documents." On the signature reasoning behind it (Rule 26(3)), the Telangana three-judge Bench (30 September 2026, paras 116, 121) takes the contrary view: "Presence of digital signatures is not a requirement on the documents covered under Chapter XVIII of the CGST Rules."
• Supreme Court (ASP Traders, para 18, a section 129 case): "An appeal can lie only against an 'order', and in the absence of a reasoned order passed under Section 129(3) of the Act, the taxpayer is effectively deprived of the statutory remedy of appeal."
• Madras (single judge, JVS Agencies, paras 12 to 15): a speaking order existed but DRC-07 was not uploaded; recovery was held back until it was.

An appeal goes to the Appellate Authority named in rule 109A (the Commissioner (Appeals) for an order of an Additional or Joint Commissioner; an officer not below the rank of Joint Commissioner (Appeals) for an order of a Deputy or Assistant Commissioner or Superintendent), in FORM GST APL-01 filed electronically (rule 108(1)), within three months of communication of the order, plus one month on sufficient cause (section 107(1), (4)). You must first pay the admitted amount in full and ten per cent of the tax in dispute, up to the cap in the section; recovery of the balance is then deemed stayed (section 107(6), (7)). Second appeal: GSTAT guide.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Statute CGST Act s.73, s.74, s.74A, s.75, s.107; rule 142, rule 108, rule 109A.
• CBIC Circular 224/18/2024-GST; Instructions 04/2023-GST and 01/2022-23.