GSTR-3A Notice Reply Format 2026
PART A — REPLY TO NOTICE IN FORM GSTR-3A (NOTICE TO RETURN DEFAULTER UNDER SECTION 46)
To,
{{officer_designation}}
Date: 1 October 2026
Subject: Reply to notice in FORM GSTR-3A, reference {{notice_ref}} dated {{notice_date}}, for non-furnishing of {{return_type}} for the tax period {{tax_period}}
Registered person: {{client_name}} | GSTIN: {{client_gstin}}
Sir / Madam,
1. We refer to the above notice issued under section 46 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 read with Rule 68 of the CGST Rules, 2017, requiring us to furnish the return(s) mentioned in it within fifteen days.
[Use whichever of paragraphs 2A, 2B or 2C applies and delete the others.]
2A. Return(s) since furnished. The return(s) have been furnished within the fifteen days allowed by the notice, and the tax, interest under section 50 and late fee under section 47 have been paid. The details are:
| Return | Tax period | Date of filing | ARN | Tax paid (₹) | Interest paid (₹) | Late fee paid (₹) |
|---|
| {{return_type}} | {{tax_period}} | ____________ | ____________ | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
The delay was caused by ____________ [state the reason briefly and factually — e.g. illness of the proprietor, change of accountant, funds constraint, technical difficulty on the portal with ticket no. ____]. It was not intended to evade or defer tax.
2B. Return was not due / notice not applicable. The return referred to in the notice was not required to be furnished because ____________ [e.g. the return was in fact filed on ____________ vide ARN ____________ before the notice; the registration stood suspended from ____________ under Rule 21A, and a person whose registration is suspended is not required to furnish returns under section 39 during the suspension (Rule 21A(3)); the registration was cancelled with effect from ____________ by order in FORM GST REG-19 no. ____________ and the final return in FORM GSTR-10 was filed on ____________]. Copies are enclosed.
2C. Return could not be furnished within fifteen days. The return could not be furnished within the period allowed because ____________ [state the reason]. The outward supplies for the period were ₹ ____________ and the tax payable, after input tax credit of ₹ ____________, is ₹ ____________, as per the working enclosed with the books and invoices for the period. The return will be furnished with tax, interest and late fee on or before ____________.
3. In view of the above, it is requested that the notice be treated as complied with and that no assessment under section 62 be made. [Where paragraph 2C applies: it is requested that, should an assessment under section 62 be considered, the working enclosed be taken into account as the relevant material on the liability for the period.]
Yours faithfully,
Place: __________________
Date: 1 October 2026
For {{client_name}}
_______________________________
{{signatory_name}}
{{signatory_designation}} — Authorised Signatory
Encl.: Filed return(s) and acknowledgement(s) / challans / working of liability, as applicable
PART B — INTIMATION AFTER BEST-JUDGMENT ASSESSMENT: RETURN FURNISHED, ORDER DEEMED WITHDRAWN UNDER SECTION 62(2)
[Use where an assessment order in FORM GST ASMT-13 has already been passed under section 62(1) and the return is filed afterwards.]
To,
{{officer_designation}}
Subject: Assessment order in FORM GST ASMT-13 no. ____________ dated ____________ (summary in FORM GST DRC-07 no. ____________) for the tax period {{tax_period}} — valid return furnished — request to record deemed withdrawal under section 62(2)
Registered person: {{client_name}} | GSTIN: {{client_gstin}}
Sir / Madam,
1. By the above order, served on us on ____________, our tax liability for the tax period {{tax_period}} was assessed under section 62(1) at ₹ ____________ on best-judgment basis for non-furnishing of {{return_type}}.
2. We have since furnished a valid return for the said period on ____________ vide ARN ____________, and have paid the tax of ₹ ____________ declared in it, interest of ₹ ____________ under section 50(1) and late fee of ₹ ____________ under section 47 [and additional late fee of ₹ ____________ under the proviso to section 62(2)].
3. The return has been furnished within ____________ days of service of the assessment order — that is, within the sixty days allowed by section 62(2) [or: within the further period of sixty days allowed by the proviso to section 62(2), on payment of the additional late fee of one hundred rupees for each day of delay beyond the first sixty days]. The assessment order is accordingly deemed to have been withdrawn by operation of law.
4. It is requested that the deemed withdrawal be recorded, that the demand created in the electronic liability register by the summary in FORM GST DRC-07 be dropped, and that no recovery be made in pursuance of the said order.
Yours faithfully,
Place: __________________
Date: 1 October 2026
For {{client_name}}
_______________________________
{{signatory_name}}
{{signatory_designation}} — Authorised Signatory
Encl.: Copy of FORM GST ASMT-13 / DRC-07; filed return and acknowledgement; challans
- Drafting hint: the real reply to a GSTR-3A is the return. FORM GSTR-3A is system-generated and has no reply form; file the return first and use Part A only to put the ARN, or the reason the notice is wrong, on record.
- Drafting hint: count the days from service of the ASMT-13, not from its date. Sixty days gives withdrawal on ordinary late fee; day 61 to day 120 gives withdrawal on additional late fee; after that the order stands and the remedy is an appeal under section 107 within three months of the order.
- Drafting hint: a "valid return" means the tax declared in it is paid. A return filed with liability left unpaid does not trigger the deemed withdrawal.
- Drafting hint: returns cannot be furnished after three years from their due date (section 39(11)). For a very old period, check that the portal still accepts the return before relying on section 62(2).
