FORM GST DRC-01A - Pre-notice intimation, taxpayer response and acceptance
A pre-notice ascertainment is communicated and the applicant reconciles payment and a specifically disputed balance.
Responsible actor: The proper officer may intimate; the taxpayer responds in Part B; the officer may accept in Part C. Provision: Section 73(5)–(7); section 17(5)(b)(i); section 50(3); rules 88B(3),142(1A),(2A).
Official source and completed example
Download official blank source extract PDF Download completed fictional sample PDF
The sample is a flowed model of the prescribed fields and selected paragraphs, not an official issued PDF. Names, references and facts are fictional. It contains no signature, stamp, DSC or simulated approval.
Current demand/payment rules checked 21 October 2026, including July/November 2024 amendments. Worked January 2024 credit issue is FY 2023–24 under section 73; fictional August/September 2026 proceedings. Every reference is educational, unsigned and not a portal ARN.
Worked facts and completed entries
The January 2024 catering invoice includes CGST 9000 and SGST 9000 for ordinary staff refreshments. Aster is not making outward catering supplies, has no applicable statutory employer obligation and does not meet the relevant section 17(5)(b) exception. In Branch A, only 5000 per head was actually availed and fully utilised on 20 February 2024;4000 per head was never availed. No self-assessed unpaid output tax or amount collected as tax is involved. No fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression is alleged. Part A dated 5 August 2026 initially treats all 9000 per head as availed. The taxpayer’s20 August Part B pays the actual 5000 per head plus 2249 interest each and substantiates the unavailed 4000 per head. On 24 August, Part C accepts both payment and the ledger evidence, leaving no unpaid ascertained amount in this selected branch.
Reference and identity
| Reference / date | ILLUSTRATION-DRC01A-A-2026-0805 / 5 August 2026 |
|---|---|
| GSTIN | 29AABCA0000A1ZT |
| Name | Aster Learning Supplies Private Limited (fictional) |
| Address | 12 Learning Park, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560001 (fictional) |
| Case / proceeding | ILLUSTRATION-CASE-A / ILLUSTRATION-PROC-A |
| Period / selected provision | January 2024, FY 2023–24 / section 73(5), non-fraud |
| Other statutory alternatives | Section 74(5) and section 74A(8)/(9) not selected; section 74A applies to FY 2024–25 onward, not this period |
Part A — initially ascertained amount, interest projected through 20 August
| Act / period | Tax INR | Interest INR | Penalty INR | Fee / other INR | Total INR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CGST / January 2024 | 9000 | 4048 | 0 | 0 /0 | 13048 |
| SGST / January 2024 | 9000 | 4048 | 0 | 0 /0 | 13048 |
| IGST / Cess | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 /0 | 0 |
| Total | 18000 | 8096 | 0 | 0 /0 | 26096 |
Part A grounds and response directions
The initial invoice-based view takes 18000 combined tax as wrongly availed and utilised. Interest on 9000 per Act through 20 August is 4047.78, rounded 4048. Pay the properly ascertained tax and applicable interest by 20 August 2026 or submit the contrary ledger evidence in Part B by that date. If a genuine shortfall remains, a section 73(1) notice may follow. DRC-01A is a pre-notice communication, not itself the detailed show-cause notice or adjudication order. Its use under rule 142(1A) is discretionary, not an invariably mandatory precondition.
Prescribed officer block
| Name / designation | N. Prakash, Assistant Commissioner, Bengaluru (fictional; unsigned teaching role) |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction / office address | Bengaluru Central Tax / Illustration Office,12 Learning Park, Bengaluru560001 |
| Date / signature | 5 August 2026 / not executed; no official approval is represented |
Part B — payment and submissions
| Intimation reference / date | ILLUSTRATION-DRC01A-A-2026-0805 /20 August 2026 response |
|---|---|
| Case ID | ILLUSTRATION-CASE-A |
| Selected alternative | A — liability discharged partially against the initial figure, with submissions on the remainder |
| DRC-03 / payment date | ILLUSTRATION-DRC03-A-2026-0820 /20 August 2026 |
| Paid tax / interest / penalty / combined total | CGST 5000 +2249 +0; SGST 5000 +2249 +0; total 14498 |
| Remaining initially intimated amount contested | CGST tax 4000 + interest 1799; same SGST; total 11598 |
| Specific submission | Invoice tax 9000 per head is not equal to credit availed 5000. Purchase register, January GSTR-3B/credit schedule and ledger prove 4000 per head was never availed. No tax/interest on that unavailed portion is payable. |
| Attachments | Invoice EDU-CAT-240115; availment reconciliation 5000/head; utilisation ledger 20 February 2024; DRC-03 payment and interest working |
| Signatory / status / signature | Meera Rao, authorised director (fictional; unsigned) / director / not executed |
Part B interest working
Section 50(3)/rule 88B(3) interest runs only on wrongly availed and utilised credit from utilisation to reversal/payment.20 February 2024 to 20 August 2026 is 912 days.5000 ×18% ×912/365 =2248.77, rounded under section 170 to 2249 per Act. Tax10000 + interest 4498 = total 14498. No interest is imposed on the 8000 combined invoice tax never availed.
Part C — separate acceptance intimation
| Reference / date | ILLUSTRATION-DRC01AC-A-2026-0824 /24 August 2026 |
|---|---|
| Part A reference | ILLUSTRATION-DRC01A-A-2026-0805 /5 August 2026 |
| Part B reference / date | ILLUSTRATION-DRC01AB-A-2026-0820 /20 August 2026 |
| DRC-03 payment reference / date | ILLUSTRATION-DRC03-A-2026-0820 /20 August 2026 |
| Selected acceptance alternative | Submission and payment both found satisfactory on the assumed evidence |
| Accepted payable / paid | Tax10000 + interest 4498 + penalty 0 =14498, fully paid |
| Initially proposed balance not payable | 11598 attributable to invoice credit never availed; accepted ledger submission |
| Remaining payable on these stated facts | Nil; no finding of a shortfall under section 73(7) |
| Attachment | Ledger-based invoice-to-credit and interest reconciliation described above |
Prescribed officer block
| Name / designation | N. Prakash, Assistant Commissioner, Bengaluru (fictional; unsigned teaching role) |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction / office address | Bengaluru Central Tax / Illustration Office,12 Learning Park, Bengaluru560001 |
| Date / signature | 24 August 2026 / not executed; no official approval is represented |
How this form moves the matter forward
- Select the correct FY/provision and state the factual basis and payment/submission date in Part A.
- Use Part B to reconcile actual credit availed/utilised, any payment and the quantified disputed remainder.
- The officer may accept payment/submissions in current Part C; any actual unpaid shortfall needs its own lawful notice process.
Evidence supporting these entries
- Catering invoice and proof of inapplicable employer/outward-supply exception
- Actual availment/utilisation ledgers and January return
- DRC-03 debit references, interest working and Part B/Part C record
Additional primary authority: Notification 12/2024-Central Tax,10 July 2024, paragraph 25, PDF page 10:electronic DRC-04 and new Part C; paragraph 45, PDF pages 37–39:substituted DRC-01A; paragraph 47, PDF pages 39–40:DRC-03 fields.
Additional primary authority: Notification 20/2024-Central Tax,8 October 2024, paragraph 13 and 21, PDF pages 2–3 and 9–10:rule 142 and DRC-01A section 74A changes effective 1 November 2024.
Additional primary authority: Government of West Bengal GST Policy Planning Unit, GST Updates July 2022, PDF page 3:Finance Act2022 section 116 amends notification 13/2017 to 18% for section 50(3), retrospectively 1 July 2017; pages 8–9:utilisation basis.
Period and legal consequences
July 2024 replaced DRC-01A and added Part C; November 2024 added section 74A alternatives. A complete current model therefore cannot stop at the old two-part source. The section 73 gate is based on the January 2024 period, not the 2026 date on the intimation.
Primary source and exact locator
Official notified form source: PDF pages 37-39; printed pages 31-33.
CGST Act and government-hosted Act and Rules compilation - Section 73(5)–(7); section 17(5)(b)(i); section 50(3); rules 88B(3),142(1A),(2A). Source and example revision: 21 October 2026.
Questions answered by this example
Who prepares or issues this form?
The proper officer may intimate; the taxpayer responds in Part B; the officer may accept in Part C. A pre-notice ascertainment is communicated and the applicant reconciles payment and a specifically disputed balance.
Can this sample be filed or treated as an issued document?
No. It is a completed fictional teaching example. Use the notified form and the authenticated portal/proceeding record for an actual matter. The example contains no executed signature or official approval.
What must reconcile before the next step?
Catering invoice and proof of inapplicable employer/outward-supply exception; Actual availment/utilisation ledgers and January return; DRC-03 debit references, interest working and Part B/Part C record.