CBIC has released Instruction 4/2023 regarding the serving of summaries of notices and orders against taxpayers under GST to bring more transparency and accountability in proceedings against taxpayers.
As per various sections of the Central GST Act 2017, proper officers are empowered to issue notices to taxpayers to demand unpaid taxes, wrongly claimed input credits or erroneous refunds along with interest and penalties. Now, they have to compulsorily serve an electronic summary of such notices in FORM GST DRC-01 via the GST portal.
Similarly, when an order is passed against a taxpayer, its summary must be uploaded on the portal in FORM GST DRC-07 providing details of tax, interest, penalties etc. imposed.
However, CBIC found some field officers were not adhering to these mandatory requirements which was impacting transparency.
Issuing notice/order summaries on the portal benefits taxpayers as they can directly access them. It enables tax authorities to keep better record of proceedings, aids in further actions like appeals and recovery and allows taxpayers to track a case more easily. Non-compliance defeats these objectives envisaged in the law.
To ensure strict compliance, CBIC has clearly directed field officers to serve notice summaries and upload order summaries electronically going forward. Nodal CBIC officers will monitor the implementation by their respective field formations.
Steps like these lend more transparency and streamline indirect tax administration in India, bringing it at par with global standards. Technology is further enabling accountability in governance processes. As GST filings hit new records on the portal, using it further for notices and orders empower taxpayers with the latest tools.
Continued efforts to enhance digital infrastructure and compliance not just improves India’s ease of doing business but also makes exercising of the state’s authority fairer and simpler for citizens. The instruction marks one more milestone in that direction within the GST system.
CBIC GST Instructions 4/2023 dated 23/11/2023: Serving summary of notice in FORM GST DRC-01 and uploading order in FORM GST DRC-07 electronically on the GST portal by the proper officers