Section 62 - Assessment of non-filers of returns
Reviewed by CA Nikhil Gupta and Kajri Singh · Last reviewed 30 August 2026
Finin2min Summary - Section in 2 Minutes
Permits best-judgment assessment of registered non-filers after notice and provides automatic withdrawal on filing a valid return within the statutory cure window. Order may be issued within five years from annual-return due date. Valid return within 60 days withdraws the order; a further 60 days is available with additional late fee of 100 rupees per day, subject to statutory amount. Interest and late fee continue.
Why Section 62 matters
Section 62 (Assessment of non-filers of returns) is the section-level control point within Chapter XII — Assessment. Assessment provisions govern self-assessment, provisional treatment, scrutiny and officer-determined liabilities when normal compliance breaks down.
Current-law and amendment control
validation 1 — controlling consolidated Act
India Code — Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Used for the current chapter/section inventory and consolidated provision status.
validation 2 — independent official cross-check
CBIC Tax Information Portal. Use the Act HTML/PDF and amendment history together with current notifications/circulars.
Transaction-date rule: Never treat today’s consolidated wording, a portal screen or an enacted-but-uncommenced amendment as proof of the law that applied on another date. Fix the relevant tax period first.
Official statutory text
The authoritative provision, footnotes and amendment notes are maintained in the official consolidated Act. This analytical page does not re-typeset amendment markers into the running statutory sentence.
- Open the India Code consolidated CGST Act PDF - as on 11 June 2026
- Open the India Code CGST Act register
- Open the CBIC Tax Information Act explorer
Official-source reference reviewed on 2026-07-28. Apply the version and commencement position relevant to the transaction period.
Clause-by-clause / paragraph-wise decode
Permits best-judgment assessment of registered non-filers after notice and provides automatic withdrawal on filing a valid return within the statutory cure window. Order may be issued within five years from annual-return due date. Valid return within 60 days withdraws the order; a further 60 days is available with additional late fee of 100 rupees per day, subject to statutory amount. Interest and late fee continue.
Section–Rule–Form–Notification–Circular bridge
The mapping is a legal concordance, not a round-robin related-link list. It is limited to instruments listed in this repository.
Practical example
ASMT-13 is served. Taxpayer files valid return on day 72, pays normal dues plus additional statutory late fee; the order is deemed withdrawn.
Professional alert
Withdrawal does not erase interest, late fee or separate offences/misstatements.
Finin2min decision path
- Identify the assessment route actually invoked.
- Fix the tax period, notice/order and statutory prerequisites.
- Reconcile books and returns to the issue raised.
- Respond with evidence within the prescribed procedure.
- Track whether the matter closes, escalates to demand or requires appeal.
Practical case studies
Accounting, ERP & portal touchpoints
Assessment workflows should lock the relevant tax-period data snapshot and preserve every notice, reply, reconciliation and order.
Control: keep the legal conclusion separate from system configuration; document every tax-code/master change and its effective date.
Notice, litigation & evidence risk
Missed replies can escalate a correctable mismatch into an order. Evidence should be organised issue-by-issue and linked to the statutory provision.
Evidence hierarchy: source transaction → books/ERP → statutory return/form → portal acknowledgement → legal working → correspondence/order.
Judicial position — how to read precedent
Start with binding Supreme Court authority, then the jurisdictional High Court, other High Courts and GSTAT where applicable. AAR/AAAR rulings are fact- and jurisdiction-sensitive and should not be presented as universal law. Always check whether a decision has been stayed, reviewed, distinguished or overtaken by amendment.
Open the Finin2min provision citator · Open the connected GST case-law module
Common mistakes to avoid
- Treating every GST notice as a demand notice.
- Replying to scrutiny without reconciling source data.
- Ignoring procedural differences between non-filer, unregistered and summary assessment.
- Missing response deadlines.
Questions professionals actually ask
- What should I do after receiving ASMT-10?
- Apply section 62 to the exact facts and period, then verify the linked delegated law and official implementation material before concluding.
- Can GST be provisionally assessed if the value or rate is uncertain?
- Fix the transaction date first, then follow the applicable rate/exemption notification chain. GST rates are effective-date driven, not timeless slabs.
- What happens if I do not file GST returns?
- Apply section 62 to the exact facts and period, then verify the linked delegated law and official implementation material before concluding.
- When can a GST officer make a summary assessment?
- Apply section 62 to the exact facts and period, then verify the linked delegated law and official implementation material before concluding.
Related law and practical resources
Implementation checklist
- Fix the transaction, taxable period and jurisdiction.
- Read every subsection, proviso, explanation and omission marker.
- Open the mapped Rule, form, notification and circular.
- Test State/UT variation and portal version.
- Preserve evidence, approvals, working papers and acknowledgements.
- Record the conclusion, assumptions, source date and reviewer.
Evidence and retention checklist
- Contract, purchase order, invoice or underlying transaction document.
- Registration, return, ledger, challan and portal acknowledgement.
- Official Act/Rule/notification version used and effective date.
- Internal tax position paper, computation and management approval.
- Correspondence, notices, replies, orders and appeal papers where applicable.
Practical Q&A
- What does section 62 regulate?
- It regulates assessment of non-filers of returns. Read the exact text, conditions, exceptions and transaction date together.
- Which subordinate law should be checked?
- Rule 100. Notifications, circulars, forms and the corresponding SGST/UTGST layer may also apply.
- What evidence should be retained?
- Preserve the contract or transaction record, invoice or form, portal acknowledgement, payment/ledger evidence, correspondence, legal working and the official source version used.
- Can portal behaviour override the statute?
- No. Portal functionality is operational evidence; legal entitlement and liability remain controlled by the Act, Rules, notifications and binding decisions.