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Freedom251 › Blog › GST

How to Verify a GST Show-Cause Notice’s Issuing Officer and Jurisdiction

By Freedom251 Team · · 4 min read

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Verify the notice’s Reference Number (RFN) on the GST Portal, then check the officer’s legal authority separately. A successful RFN check can help confirm that a communication and its issuer details are recorded in the GST system; it does not, by itself, establish that the officer had the right territorial, subject-matter or monetary jurisdiction to issue that notice.

Verify the notice on the GST Portal

  1. Record the details on the notice. Note the RFN or reference number, date, GSTIN, officer’s name and designation, office or formation, legal provision, tax period and any stated amount. Work from the complete notice, not just a forwarded screenshot.
  2. Open Verify RFN. You can use the facility before logging in. The documented post-login route is Dashboard > Services > User Services > Verify RFN.
  3. Compare the portal result with the document. Check that the returned issuer and purpose details correspond to the notice. Save the result and the notice, including any portal copy or download, for your records.

GSTN’s advisory dated 25 September 2024 says that communications initiated through the GST system can be checked using Verify RFN. If a purported notice cannot be verified, or arrived through a route other than the portal, do not assume the result either way: contact the relevant department through an independently confirmed official channel.

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Does a downloaded PDF need to show a digital signature?

Not necessarily. GSTN’s 25 September 2024 advisory explains that certain system-generated documents may be issued after the officer logs in to the common portal using a digital signature. The system stores the document and issuing-officer details with the officer’s digital signature, so a downloaded PDF may not display a visible signature. The advisory directs taxpayers to verify the RFN.

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This is not a blanket assurance that every unsigned PDF is authentic. Use the portal check for a system-generated communication; if the RFN does not verify or the document came through a different route, seek confirmation from the department before relying on it.

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Check the officer’s legal authority separately

Authentication and jurisdiction answer different questions. The RFN check concerns whether the communication and issuer details are recorded in the GST system. Legal competence concerns whether that officer was empowered to perform the relevant function for this notice, under the applicable law and assignment instruments.

  1. Identify the legal basis. Read the notice for the enactment (such as CGST, SGST/UTGST or IGST), section or rule, type of notice, tax period, issuing designation and office. Note the amount if the relevant assignment depends on a monetary limit.
  2. Find the applicable proper-officer assignment. The CGST Act provides the officer framework; the relevant statutory authorisation and administrative instruments determine assignments. For Central Tax notices under sections 73 or 74, CBIC Circular 31/05/2018-GST explains proper-officer assignments and monetary limits. Check the instrument applicable to the notice, including later amendments, rather than assuming this circular is the only or latest authority.
  3. Match the actual case and formation. Compare the officer’s designation and office with the relevant territorial formation and assigned function. Check whether a case-specific order or common-adjudicating-authority order assigns the matter elsewhere. A designation alone does not prove jurisdiction.
  4. Account for State or UT officers and overlapping proceedings. CGST Act section 6 provides for State/UT officers to be authorised as proper officers subject to conditions. It also addresses parallel proceedings on the same subject matter when a State/UT proper officer has initiated proceedings. Consider those provisions alongside the notice and applicable assignment instruments.

The answer depends on the notice, the law in force for its tax period, the officer’s assignment and jurisdictional facts, and any case-specific orders. A portal match cannot resolve those questions on its own.

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Use the notice summary and portal record as cross-checks

For demand notices within its scope, Rule 142(1) requires an electronic summary in Form GST DRC-01 to accompany the notice. GSTN identifies DRC-01 as the summary of a show-cause notice and DRC-06 as the taxpayer reply form; portal workflow information places DRC-01 under Additional Notices & Orders.

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Compare the notice with the corresponding portal record and forms. A missing or inconsistent item is a reason to investigate with the department, not a complete finding on jurisdiction or the merits of the notice. The form number alone does not establish that the issuing officer was competent.

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What to compare when checking a notice

Question What to inspect What the check can establish
Is the communication recorded in the GST system? RFN lookup and returned issuer and purpose details Whether the portal record corresponds to the communication; it does not settle legal jurisdiction.
What authority does the notice invoke? Enactment, section or rule, notice type and tax period The legal function the notice claims to exercise and which law must be considered.
Was this officer assigned that function? Designation, applicable proper-officer assignment and any later amendment Whether the officer’s assigned role appears to cover the function; verify the instrument applicable to the case.
Does the assignment cover this case? Territorial formation, any relevant monetary limit, and case-specific or common-adjudicating-authority orders Whether the assignment appears to fit the location, amount and case; the answer may depend on facts beyond the notice’s designation.
Do the summary and portal record correspond? Applicable DRC-01 summary and portal entry A cross-check for covered demand notices, not a decision on jurisdiction or merits.

Preserve the record and protect the response deadline

  • Keep the full notice, the RFN result, portal screenshots or downloads, and correspondence with the department.
  • Record when and how the notice reached you, along with any portal dates or response deadlines shown.
  • Do not assume that raising a jurisdiction concern pauses the deadline to reply. Seek prompt advice from a qualified GST professional about the response and any challenge.

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