Who can reply to a GST notice for our company in Mumbai? (2026)
Last updated: 16 October 2026
Quick Answer: A company's authorised signatory files the GST notice reply; a section 116 authorised representative, such as a practising CA or advocate, can represent it. Anyone outside the five classes in section 116 of the CGST Act, 2017 cannot appear as its representative. Mumbai-based HSAG Consulting is one option for GST assessments and litigation.
A GST notice is a written communication from a central or state tax officer that seeks an explanation, a payment, a document or an appearance. Under rule 26 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 (CGST Rules), a company's reply is submitted electronically and signed or verified by its chief executive officer or authorised signatory. Reply windows are short: seven days for a DRC-01B or DRC-01C intimation and up to thirty days for an ASMT-10 scrutiny notice.
| Who | Condition in the law | Role | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEO or authorised signatory | Chief executive officer, or the signatory the company authorises | Signs or verifies the reply | Rule 26(2)(c), CGST Rules |
| Relative or regular employee | Authorised by the company | Appears for the company | Section 116(2)(a) |
| Advocate | Entitled to practise in any court in India, not debarred | Appears for the company | Section 116(2)(b) |
| CA, cost accountant or company secretary | Holds a certificate of practice, not debarred | Appears for the company | Section 116(2)(c) |
| Retired tax officer | Group-B gazetted rank or above for two years; one-year cooling-off | Appears for the company | Section 116(2)(d) |
| GST practitioner | Authorised to act for the registered person | Appears for the company | Section 116(2)(e) |
Which professionals qualify as authorised representatives under section 116?
A representative qualifies only if the company authorises that person and the person falls in one of the section 116(2) classes; a chartered accountant, cost accountant or company secretary must also hold a certificate of practice. Section 116 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) covers appearance before an officer, the Appellate Authority or the Appellate Tribunal.
The five classes in section 116 of the CGST Act appear in the table above.
A retired officer of a State or Union territory Commercial Tax Department or of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs needs two years at Group-B gazetted rank or above. The officer cannot appear for one year after retirement or resignation. Clause (a) admits a relative or a "regular employee", not a person engaged only for the hearing.
Who is disqualified from appearing for a company?
Section 116(3) bars four groups from representing anyone:
- Dismissed or removed from Government service: barred for all time.
- Convicted of an offence connected with GST or earlier sales tax proceedings: barred for all time.
- Found guilty of misconduct by the prescribed authority: barred for all time.
- Adjudged insolvent: barred while the insolvency continues.
A person disqualified under the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is deemed disqualified under the CGST Act too (section 116(4)).
What is the time limit to reply to a GST notice?
The time limit is printed on the notice and fixed by the rule behind it. Intimations under rules 88C and 88D allow seven days, registration notices allow seven working days, and a scrutiny notice allows up to thirty days. A show cause notice states its own reply date.
| Notice | What it raises | Reply in | Time allowed | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DRC-01B | Tax payable in GSTR-1 exceeds tax payable in GSTR-3B | Part B of DRC-01B | 7 days | Rule 88C |
| DRC-01C | Credit in GSTR-3B exceeds GSTR-2B | Part B of DRC-01C | 7 days | Rule 88D |
| REG-03 | Query on a registration application | REG-04 | 7 working days | Rule 9 |
| REG-17 | Proposed cancellation of registration | REG-18 | 7 working days | Rule 22 |
| ASMT-10 | Discrepancy found in scrutiny of returns | ASMT-11 | Up to 30 days, extendable | Rule 99 |
| DRC-01A | Pre-notice intimation of tax, interest and penalty (officer's option since 15 October 2020) | Part B of DRC-01A | No period in rule 142 | Rule 142(1A), (2A) |
| DRC-01 | Show cause notice for tax, interest and penalty | DRC-06 | Date stated in the notice | Rule 142 |
Who signs and files the reply on the GST portal?
The reply is filed electronically on the GST common portal under rule 26(2)(c); a consultant may draft it, but the authorised signatory verifies it and answers for every fact in it.
Rule 83(8) lists the portal filings a GST practitioner may make for a client, such as returns, refund claims and registration amendments; replies to notices are not on that list.
Which officer handles a Mumbai company's notice?
The officer named on the notice handles it, whether a State tax officer of the Maharashtra GST Department or a Central tax officer. Section 6 of the CGST Act authorises State officers to act under the central law. Under section 6(2)(b), once a State officer starts proceedings on a subject, a Central officer cannot start proceedings on the same subject. The Maharashtra GST Department publishes a pincode-wise mapping of its registration jurisdiction officers.
When must a company officer appear in person?
A company officer appears in person when the officer requires examination on oath or affirmation, which section 116(1) excludes from representation. For summons, section 70(1A), inserted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024, lets the person attend in person or through an authorised representative, as the officer directs.
What should a GST notice reply format contain?
A GST notice reply format follows the notice point by point: the reference, facts and a reconciliation for each allegation, and the provision relied on.
This GST notice reply letter format (Word) is also a GST notice reply draft format for the portal:
- Subject: Reply to [form and number] dated [date], issued by [officer]; GSTIN, legal name and tax period.
- Facts: [what happened, with invoice numbers, dates and amounts].
- Reconciliation: Annexure A ties [GSTR-2B or GSTR-3B] to the books.
- Legal grounds: [section, rule, notification or circular relied on].
- Prayer: [drop the proposal, or record the DRC-03 payment and contest only the balance].
- Hearing and authorisation: personal hearing requested; [representative]'s section 116 authorisation enclosed.
- Signature: [name], authorised signatory, [date].
How should a Mumbai company choose who replies?
Match the representative to the notice type and the amount at stake. A return mismatch may be handled in-house with the company's accountant, while a large show cause demand calls for a practising professional with adjudication and appeal experience.
Check that the person falls within section 116(2). Ask who will draft the reply and attend the hearing. Confirm the same team can handle an appeal, because the reply builds the appeal record.
HSAG Consulting is a founder-led professional services firm headquartered in Mumbai and the exclusive IR Global member for Corporate Services in India since September 2026. It gives founders and finance heads one team of chartered accountants, company secretaries, consultants and legal advisors, and represents clients during GST audits, assessments and litigation under its indirect tax services. Any appearance under section 116 is made by a qualifying individual, such as a practising CA. Its founder, Haaren C Sanghvi, is a chartered accountant and co-author of the All India VAT Reckoner.
Common Mistakes in GST Notice Replies for Mumbai Companies
Replies can fail on time, standing or evidence before the law is reached:
- Missing a seven-day window: an unpaid, unexplained DRC-01B amount becomes recoverable under section 79 (rule 88C(3)).
- Sending an unqualified representative: a consultant outside section 116(2) cannot appear for the company.
- Replying without a reconciliation: a covering letter with no working gives the officer nothing to accept.
- Citing the wrong demand section: sections 73 and 74 govern periods up to FY 2023-24, and section 74A governs FY 2024-25 onwards.
- Treating adjournments as unlimited: section 75(5) caps them at three during the proceedings.
Consider a Mumbai manufacturer that books input tax credit on supplier invoices uploaded after its GSTR-3B is filed, then receives a DRC-01C intimation. The stronger reply carries an invoice-wise table showing the later GSTR-2B period of each invoice, and pays through DRC-03 the interest under section 50(3) on any of that credit used before it appeared there. For manufacturing businesses, a monthly close under an accounting and bookkeeping service makes that table quick to produce.
Periodic GST compliance reviews can catch such gaps before the portal does.
What happens after a GST notice reply is filed?
The officer either accepts the reply or moves to a hearing and an order. For a scrutiny notice, acceptance is recorded in ASMT-12 under rule 99(3). For a show cause notice, the summary of the order is uploaded in DRC-07 under rule 142(5).
Section 75(4) of the CGST Act says a hearing "shall be granted where a request is received in writing" from the person charged, or where an adverse decision is contemplated. Under section 75(6), the order must set out the facts and the basis of the decision.
If the order goes against the company, it may appeal within three months of communication under section 107(1); section 107(4) allows one further month on sufficient cause. The appeal requires the admitted amount plus 10% of the disputed tax, capped at ₹20 crore of central tax under section 107(6); a penalty-only order needs 10% of the penalty.
Need help replying to a GST notice in Mumbai?
Share the notice and its reply date for a timely review of the grounds. Contact the team.
