For its first seven years, GST ran demands on two tracks: Section 73 for honest errors and Section 74 for fraud, each with its own clock. The Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024 collapsed that fork into a single provision — Section 74A — for the financial year 2024-25 and every year after. The distinction between a clerical slip and deliberate suppression has not vanished. It has simply moved out of the limitation period and into the penalty column.
Under the old architecture, the very first thing a proper officer had to decide was which door to use. Section 73 covered tax short-paid, not paid, erroneously refunded, or input tax credit wrongly availed for any reason other than fraud, wilful misstatement, or suppression of facts. Section 74 covered exactly those aggravating reasons — and rewarded the department with a longer leash and a heavier penalty.
That fork created two recurring problems. First, the choice of section was itself litigable: invoking Section 74 without genuinely establishing fraud became a favourite ground of challenge, and courts routinely struck down notices where suppression was alleged but never proved. Second, the two sections carried different time limits, so the department's deadline depended on a characterisation it had not yet had to justify.
Section 74A removes the front-door decision. From FY 2024-25 onward, every demand — fraudulent or not — is raised under the same provision, on the same timeline. Fraud now only changes how much penalty attaches, not how long the department has.
Both the notice and the order run from the due date for furnishing the annual return (Form GSTR-9) for the relevant financial year — which is 31 December following the close of that year. Get that anchor wrong and every downstream deadline is wrong.
Section 74A(2) bars any notice issued more than 42 months from the due date of the annual return (or from the date of the erroneous refund). The adjudicating authority must then pass its order within 12 months of the notice, extendable by the Commissioner by a further 6 months for reasons recorded in writing. There is also a de-minimis floor: no notice at all where the amount in a financial year is less than ₹1,000.
Because the notice deadline is now fixed to a calendar anchor, the limitation date for a given year is fully knowable in advance. Use the calculator below to see where the line falls.
When does the department run out of time?
The 12-month order window runs from the actual date the notice is served, not from the last permissible notice date — the figures above illustrate the worst-case calendar, where the notice issues on the final day. Dates assume the standard 31 December GSTR-9 due date and ignore any year-specific CBIC extension of that due date.
The intent question did not disappear; it was relocated to Section 74A(5). For non-fraud demands the penalty is the higher of 10% of the tax or ₹10,000. For fraud, wilful misstatement, or suppression, it is 100% of the tax. What makes the section genuinely taxpayer-friendly is the reduced-penalty ladder — and the fact that its payment windows were widened from the old 30 days to 60 days.
| When you pay tax + interest | Non-fraud demand | Fraud / suppression |
|---|---|---|
| Before the notice is issued | Nil penalty | 15% of tax |
| Within 60 days of the notice | Nil penalty | 25% of tax |
| Within 60 days of the order | 10% / ₹10,000 (on adjudication) | 50% of tax |
| Penalty if it runs to a contested order | 10% / ₹10,000 | 100% of tax |
For a genuine error, voluntary payment of tax and interest — before a notice, or within 60 days of one — closes the matter with no penalty. Voluntary correction has never been cheaper relative to waiting for adjudication.
Old Sections 73 and 74 are not repealed; they continue to govern demands up to FY 2023-24. Section 74A takes over from FY 2024-25. For a few years, practitioners will run all three in parallel depending on the year under dispute.
| Feature | §73 (≤ FY 23-24) | §74 (≤ FY 23-24) | §74A (≥ FY 24-25) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Covers | Non-fraud | Fraud / suppression | Both |
| Notice deadline | 2 yr 9 mo from annual-return due date | 4 yr 6 mo from annual-return due date | 42 months from annual-return due date |
| Order deadline | 3 years from due date | 5 years from due date | 12 months from notice (+6) |
| Standard penalty | 10% / ₹10,000 | 100% of tax | 10% (non-fraud) · 100% (fraud) |
| Penalty-free payment window | 30 days of notice | — | 60 days of notice (non-fraud) |
Under old Section 74, the department had up to five years to pass an order in suppression cases. Under Section 74A, even fraud must be noticed within 42 months and adjudicated within 12 (plus 6). For an assessee in a genuine suppression dispute, the limitation clock now runs materially shorter — but the flip side is a compressed calendar in which the department will move faster and ex-parte orders become a real risk if a notice is ignored.
- Diarise the anchor, not the notice. The day GSTR-9 is due for a year, you already know the outer limit for any 74A demand on it. Calendar it.
- Triage on intent early. Since limitation no longer turns on the section, the live fight is whether the demand is a 10% matter or a 100% matter. Build the no-suppression record from day one.
- Use the 60-day window. On a defensible error, paying tax and interest within 60 days of a DRC-01 extinguishes the penalty entirely — often cheaper and faster than contesting.
- Never let a notice lapse. A 12-month adjudication clock means the authority is incentivised to pass orders quickly; an unanswered DRC-01 can become an ex-parte order that is far harder to unwind on appeal.
- Check the year. A demand for FY 2023-24 or earlier is still a 73/74 matter — different deadlines, different strategy. Don't apply 74A timelines to legacy years.
If a show-cause notice has landed — under Section 74A or the legacy 73/74 regime — the response window is short and the procedure unforgiving. See how I approach GST show-cause & adjudication work, or get in touch.
References: Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — Section 74A (inserted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024, w.e.f. 1 November 2024); Sections 44, 73 & 74, CGST Act; Rule 142, CGST Rules (Form GST DRC-01). This article reflects the law as it stands on the date of publication and is general information, not advice on any specific matter — please consult a professional on your own facts.