A GST demand is only as good as its date. If the show cause notice (SCN) or the order comes after the time limit in Section 73, 74 or 74A of the CGST Act, the demand fails on limitation, whatever the merits.

This guide gives the last dates year by year, the notification behind every extended date, and how the 25/08/2026 Supreme Court judgment in Tata Steel Ltd v. Union of India changes the reading for FY 2018-19 to 2020-21. All dates are in DD/MM/YYYY.

Free calculator: pick the year and section in the GST notice time limit calculator and check your SCN date against the limit.

Quick answer: FY 2022-23

What	Last date
Annual return (GSTR-9) due date	31/12/2023
Section 73 SCN (no fraud alleged)	30/09/2026
Section 73 order	31/12/2026
Section 74 SCN (fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression)	30/06/2028
Section 74 order	31/12/2028

The Section 73 window for a fresh SCN for FY 2022-23 closed on 30/09/2026. An ordinary non-fraud demand for FY 2022-23 issued after that date is out of time (subject to the special cases in Section 75, such as periods covered by a court stay). A fresh demand is then generally possible only under Section 74, which needs a real case of fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts to evade tax, set out with facts in the notice itself (see Tata Steel below).

How the time limits are counted

Section 73 (no fraud): the order must be issued within 3 years from the due date of the annual return for the year (Section 73(10)). The SCN must be issued at least 3 months before that date (Section 73(2)).
Section 74 (fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts to evade tax): the order within 5 years from the annual return due date (Section 74(10)); the SCN at least 6 months before that (Section 74(2)).
Section 74A (FY 2024-25 onwards): one section for both kinds of case. The SCN must be issued within 42 months from the annual return due date (or from the date of an erroneous refund). The order must follow within 12 months of the SCN. The Commissioner, or an officer authorised by him who is senior in rank to the proper officer and not below Joint Commissioner, can extend this by up to 6 months, for reasons recorded in writing, before the 12 months run out. No notice is issued where the tax involved (or ITC wrongly availed or utilised) is less than Rs 1,000 for a financial year.

The clock runs from the due date of the annual return, not the date your client actually filed it. For recovery of an erroneous refund, Sections 73 and 74 count from the date of the refund instead, so the year-wise table below does not apply to refund-recovery cases.

Year-wise table: FY 2017-18 to FY 2025-26

FY	Annual return due date	Section	Last date for SCN (no fraud)	Last date for order (no fraud)	Fraud cases: SCN / order
2017-18	05/02/2020 or 07/02/2020 by State (Notif. 06/2020-CT)	73 / 74	30/09/2023	31/12/2023 (Notif. 09/2023-CT)	05/08/2024 or 07/08/2024 / 05/02/2025 or 07/02/2025, before any COVID-period exclusion
2018-19	31/12/2020	73 / 74	30/01/2024 (notification date; 28/11/2024 on the Tata Steel computation)	30/04/2024 (Notif. 56/2023-CT; 28/02/2025 on the Tata Steel computation)	See the Tata Steel table below
2019-20	31/03/2021	73 / 74	31/05/2024 (notification date; 28/11/2024 on the Tata Steel computation)	31/08/2024 (Notif. 56/2023-CT; 28/02/2025 on the Tata Steel computation)	See the Tata Steel table below
2020-21	28/02/2022	73 / 74	28/11/2024	28/02/2025	28/08/2026 / 28/02/2027
2021-22	31/12/2022	73 / 74	30/09/2025	31/12/2025	30/06/2027 / 31/12/2027
2022-23	31/12/2023	73 / 74	30/09/2026	31/12/2026	30/06/2028 / 31/12/2028
2023-24	31/12/2024	73 / 74	30/09/2027	31/12/2027	30/06/2029 / 31/12/2029
2024-25	31/12/2025	74A	30/06/2029 (42 months)	12 months from the SCN, plus up to 6 months	Same limits as non-fraud
2025-26	31/12/2026	74A	30/06/2030 (42 months)	12 months from the SCN, plus up to 6 months	Same limits as non-fraud

Two checks on any notice in this table:

Compare the date on the SCN (and its DRC-01 summary) with the date it was actually issued and served, including the portal upload date. A notice dated inside the limit but uploaded after it is a live limitation argument.
For a Section 73 notice, count back 3 months from the order deadline. An SCN issued later than that is outside Section 73(2).

The extension notifications, one by one

The dates for FY 2017-18 to 2019-20 were pushed out by notifications under Section 168A (power to extend time limits in special circumstances), and the FY 2017-18 annual return date by a notification under Section 44.

Notification	Date	What it did
06/2020-Central Tax (Section 44)	03/02/2020	Annual return for FY 2017-18 due by 05/02/2020 for one group of States and UTs and 07/02/2020 for the rest
13/2022-Central Tax (Section 168A)	05/07/2022	Extended the Section 73(10) order limit for FY 2017-18 to 30/09/2023; excluded 01/03/2020 to 28/02/2022 for orders on erroneous refunds and for refund applications under Sections 54 and 55
09/2023-Central Tax (Section 168A)	31/03/2023	Section 73 order limit: FY 2017-18 to 31/12/2023, FY 2018-19 to 31/03/2024, FY 2019-20 to 30/06/2024
56/2023-Central Tax (Section 168A)	28/12/2023	Section 73 order limit: FY 2018-19 to 30/04/2024, FY 2019-20 to 31/08/2024

The order-limit extensions were for Section 73 only; none of these notifications extended the Section 74 limit.

High Courts have split on whether Notifications 09/2023 and 56/2023 were validly issued under Section 168A, and the question is pending before the Supreme Court (SLP (C) No. 4240/2025 and connected matters). For a Section 73 order for FY 2017-18 to 2019-20 that depends on these extended dates, keep the validity challenge alive in the reply and the appeal.

FY 2018-19 to 2020-21 after Tata Steel (Supreme Court, 25/08/2026)

In Tata Steel Ltd v. Union of India (2026 INSC 920, Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran), the department issued a Section 74 SCN on 13/06/2025 for FY 2018-19 to 2020-21, based on a CAG audit objection on ITC mismatch. The SCN was later placed in the "call book" and then revived on 01/07/2025 as a "protective" demand. An order followed on 26/12/2025.

What the Court decided:

Counting the Section 73 limit. The annual return due dates were 31/12/2020, 31/03/2021 and 28/02/2022. Applying the Supreme Court's own suo motu exclusion of 15/03/2020 to 28/02/2022, the Court held the three-year limit for all three years ran to 28/02/2025. The SCN of 13/06/2025 was therefore outside Section 73.
The limit is for the order, not the notice. The department argued it had "commenced" proceedings within time. The Court held that Section 73(10) fixes the time for the order, and Section 73(2) requires the notice at least 3 months before it; correspondence before the SCN does not save it.
Section 74 needs foundational facts in the notice. The proper officer must be satisfied that fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression caused the short payment. A bland statement that ITC was availed "without documentary evidence and suppress the facts" was not enough. The words cannot be "mechanically recited" to reach the longer period.
Explanation 2 to Section 74 (which treated non-declaration as suppression) could not be relied on, as it stood omitted from Section 74 from 01/11/2024 (Section 74A now carries a definition of suppression; how far it reaches earlier years is a separate question).
Result. The SCN and the order of 26/12/2025 were set aside. The Court left the department free to start a proper Section 74 proceeding, with the foundational facts in the notice, and an order before 28/02/2027.

On the Court's computation:

FY	Section 73 limit (order)	Section 74 limit (order)
2018-19	28/02/2025	28/02/2027
2019-20	28/02/2025	28/02/2027
2020-21	28/02/2025	28/02/2027

On the same computation, a fresh Section 74 SCN for these years had to issue six months before 28/02/2027, that is by 28/08/2026, a date that has now passed. The judgment computed these dates on the facts before it and did not decide the validity of Notifications 09/2023 and 56/2023. Remember also Section 75(2): where an appellate authority, the Tribunal or a court holds that a Section 74 notice fails because fraud or suppression is not established, the proper officer determines the tax as if the notice were issued under Section 73, which is one more reason the Section 73 dates matter. An order needed to carry out a direction of an appellate authority, the Tribunal or a court has its own limit of two years from the date the direction is communicated (Section 75(3)). Read it in full before applying it to another year or another kind of demand.

ASMT-10 due date for FY 2022-23

There is no statutory last date for issuing an ASMT-10. Section 61 and Rule 99 let the proper officer scrutinise a return and ask for an explanation in ASMT-11 within the time stated in the ASMT-10 (not more than 30 days, unless the officer allows more). Check the date in the notice itself.

What fixes the practical deadline is the SCN limit that follows. CBIC's scrutiny SOP for FY 2019-20 onwards (Instruction No. 02/2023-GST, 26/05/2023) sets these internal timelines:

Step	Timeline in the SOP
ASMT-10	In the month set in the scrutiny schedule
Reply in ASMT-11	30 days from the ASMT-10, or longer if allowed
ASMT-12 (reply accepted)	Within 30 days of the reply
Action under Section 73 or 74 if no reply	Within 15 days after the 30-day reply period (or any longer period allowed)
Action under Section 73 or 74 if reply not acceptable	Within 30 days of the reply

The SOP also tells officers to start this action well ahead of the time limits in Sections 73 and 74.

For FY 2022-23 that means: an ASMT-10 received now (after 30/09/2026) cannot lead to an ordinary Section 73 SCN, because that window has closed. Any fresh demand for tax not paid would ordinarily have to meet Section 74. Reply to the ASMT-10 on the merits, and point out that no fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression exists, so that an attempt to move to Section 74 has to meet the Tata Steel standard. Our ASMT-10 reply guide covers the reply itself.

GST audit by the department: time limit for FY 2022-23

A departmental audit under Section 65 starts with a notice in ADT-01 at least 15 working days in advance. Section 65(4) requires the audit to be completed within 3 months of its commencement (the later of the date the records are made available and the date the audit actually begins at the place of business); the Commissioner can extend this, for recorded reasons, by up to 6 more months.

An audit finding is not a demand. Any tax the audit points to must ordinarily still be demanded through Section 73, 74 or 74A (self-assessed tax that was declared but not paid can be recovered directly under Section 75(12)), inside the dates in the table above. For FY 2022-23, an audit report issued after 30/09/2026 cannot be followed by an ordinary Section 73 SCN; only a properly founded Section 74 SCN remains.

Section 74A from FY 2024-25

From FY 2024-25, Sections 73 and 74 no longer apply; Section 74A covers all cases, fraud or not. What changes for the time limit:

One SCN deadline (42 months from the annual return due date), whether fraud is alleged or not. For FY 2024-25 that is 30/06/2029.
The order deadline runs from the SCN (12 months, extendable by 6), not from the annual return.
Fraud still matters for penalty, so expect officers to allege it. The Tata Steel requirement of foundational facts is the same argument against a bare allegation.

How to check whether your notice is time-barred

Identify the financial year and the section on the DRC-01. A notice covering several years must be within time for each year separately.
Find the annual return due date for that year from the table, including any extension notification.
Compute the order deadline and the SCN deadline (3 months before for Section 73, 6 months before for Section 74; 42 months from the due date for Section 74A).
Check the actual issue and upload date on the portal, not just the date typed on the notice.
For a Section 74 notice past the Section 73 date, read the notice for the facts that show fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression. If it only repeats the words, raise Tata Steel.
For FY 2017-18 to 2019-20 Section 73 orders, note whether the order depends on Notifications 09/2023 or 56/2023, and preserve the validity challenge.
Raise limitation first in the reply (DRC-06), as a preliminary objection, before the merits. Limitation goes to jurisdiction.

For the matching income-tax limits (143(2), 148, 154, 263, penalties), see our complete guide to limitation periods for tax notices. For drafting the reply to the SCN itself, see the GST show cause notice reply guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is the GST scrutiny time limit for FY 2022-23?

There is no separate time limit for scrutiny (ASMT-10). The limit that matters is for the demand: a Section 73 SCN by 30/09/2026 and order by 31/12/2026; a Section 74 SCN by 30/06/2028 and order by 31/12/2028.

What is the GST assessment time limit for 2022-23?

For a non-fraud demand under Section 73, the order must be issued by 31/12/2026, three years from the annual return due date of 31/12/2023, subject to the exclusions in Section 75. For fraud cases under Section 74, by 31/12/2028.

Can the department issue a Section 73 notice for FY 2022-23 now?

Not for an ordinary non-fraud demand. The last date for a Section 73 SCN for FY 2022-23 was 30/09/2026. After that, subject to the exclusions in Section 75, only a Section 74 notice is possible, and only with a genuine, fact-based allegation of fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts to evade tax.

Does Section 74A apply to FY 2023-24?

No. Section 74A applies from FY 2024-25. FY 2023-24 and earlier years remain under Sections 73 and 74.

Is a notice uploaded after the last date valid if it is dated earlier?

The date that counts is when the notice was issued to the taxpayer. Check the portal upload date and the date of communication; if they fall after the limit, raise it.

Have a DRC-01 or ASMT-10 on your desk? Upload it to TaxNoticeAI for a draft reply that checks the limitation dates for the year and section first. Every draft is for professional review before filing.

GST Time Limit for FY 2022-23: Year-Wise 73, 74, 74A Dates