Best judgment assessment under Section 62, and how to get it withdrawn
A non filer assessment is reversible. The window is thirty days, and most taxpayers discover the order after it has closed.
Where a registered person fails to furnish a return under Section 39 or 45 despite a notice under Section 46, the proper officer may assess the tax liability to the best of his judgment under Section 62 and issue an order in ASMT-13. If the person furnishes a valid return within thirty days of service of the assessment order, the order is deemed to have been withdrawn, although the liability for interest and late fee continues.
The mechanism, and the thirty day escape
A notice in GSTR-3A under Section 46 requires the return to be filed within fifteen days. Failure permits assessment under Section 62.
The assessment is made on the basis of the material available or gathered — GSTR-1 data, e-way bill data, earlier returns, third party information. It is frequently high, because it must be a best judgment and not a computation.
Filing a valid return within thirty days of service of ASMT-13 causes the order to be deemed withdrawn. This is the single most valuable provision in this cluster and it is time bound.
Interest under Section 50 and late fee under Section 47 survive the withdrawal. The tax computed in the assessment does not.
When the thirty days have passed
The appeal under Section 107 lies against the assessment order, with the pre deposit. On appeal, the assessment can be challenged for absence of material, for an arbitrary basis, or for failure to consider available returns.
Where the return was filed but not processed, or the portal prevented filing, a writ is available and the courts have extended the thirty day benefit in appropriate cases, particularly where the registration was cancelled in the interim.
Section 161 rectification is available where the order contains an error apparent on the record, such as a computation based on a period that was already filed.
The strongest practical route in many files is a writ seeking permission to file the return and consequential withdrawal, supported by the reason for the delay and the payment of admitted tax.
Why these orders arise, and the control
Almost always a cancelled or dormant registration, a change of email and mobile number, or a branch registration nobody monitors. The order is served on the portal and never seen.
The control is a monthly portal check for every registration, including dormant ones, by a named person, and a policy that email and mobile changes are updated on the portal the same week.
For registrations no longer required, apply for cancellation properly and file the final return in GSTR-10, rather than leaving them dormant.
What to do on Monday
Check the portal monthly for every registration, including dormant ones, under a named owner.
Diarise the thirty day date the moment an ASMT-13 is discovered, and file the return within it whatever else is pending.
Keep portal contact details current, since service is on the portal.
Cancel registrations that are no longer required and file GSTR-10, rather than leaving them dormant.
This page states the general position. A reader with a specific question on their own facts may write to the GST practice at AMLEGALS.
Write to the GST practiceQuestions we are asked on this
Does filing the return remove the interest as well?
No. The order is deemed withdrawn but interest and late fee continue to be payable.
What if we file on the thirty first day?
The deeming provision no longer applies and the route becomes an appeal or a writ. Courts have granted relief in individual cases, but the statutory benefit is lost.
Can the assessment be challenged as excessive?
Yes, on appeal, for absence of material or an arbitrary basis. A best judgment must still be based on something.
Our registration was cancelled so we could not file. What then?
Seek revocation and, in parallel, relief permitting the return to be filed. This fact pattern has attracted sympathetic orders.
Does Section 62 apply to non filing of the annual return?
Section 62 refers to returns under Sections 39 and 45. The annual return has its own consequences, including late fee under Section 47.
In this cluster
- GST show cause notice: how to read it, and how to answer it
- Section 73 versus Section 74: where the department overreaches, and how to prove it
- Section 74A: the unified limitation regime from FY 2024-25
- DRC-01A pre notice intimation: reply, pay, or wait?
- From DRC-01 to DRC-07: the adjudication chain in one page
- Vague and omnibus notices: how Amrit Foods, Brindavan Beverages and Oryx Fisheries decide GST demands
- Suppression of facts under Section 74: what the department must actually prove
- Personal hearing under Section 75(4): the right, and the consequence of denying it
- Orders that travel beyond the notice: Section 75(7) in practice
- Limitation for GST demands: the year by year table you should keep in every file
GST Insights is published by AMLEGALS for general information. Law stated as on 3 September 2026. Not advice on any particular set of facts; not an advertisement or a solicitation under Rule 36 of the Bar Council of India Rules. Readers with a question on their own facts may write to the GST practice of their own accord.