Published 13 October 2026
Most GST demands arrive slowly: a scrutiny notice, a show cause notice, a reply, a hearing, then an order. A summary assessment does not. It is an order of assessment passed at once, without any prior show cause notice required by the section. It is typically made after officers find goods in a godown or vehicle that nobody can account for, or after a search turns up evidence of a liability the officer believes may disappear. The person assessed learns of it when the order arrives, with a date for payment. What the Act gives in return is a short, specific remedy: an application, within thirty days, to have the order withdrawn and the matter decided in the ordinary way.
This guide covers section 64 of the CGST Act and rule 100(3) to (5): the conditions for the order, the senior officer’s approval, the order in FORM GST ASMT-16, the withdrawal application in ASMT-17, the decision in ASMT-18, and what follows each outcome. The other kinds of assessment are compared in Assessment under GST: the Kinds, and Who Does It.
Three conditions before the order
Section 64(1) provides:
The proper officer may, on any evidence showing a tax liability of a person coming to his notice, with the previous permission of Additional Commissioner or Joint Commissioner, proceed to assess the tax liability of such person to protect the interest of revenue and issue an assessment order, if he has sufficient grounds to believe that any delay in doing so may adversely affect the interest of revenue.
Read closely, the power depends on three things existing before the order is passed:
- Evidence showing a tax liability. Suspicion is not enough; the section speaks of “evidence”.
- Grounds to believe that delay may harm the revenue. The officer must have “sufficient grounds to believe” that waiting, for a show cause notice and an adjudication, “may adversely affect the interest of revenue”.
- Previous permission. The approval of an Additional Commissioner or Joint Commissioner must come before the order, not after it. The portal’s FAQ puts it this way: the assessing authority “cannot frame the Summary Assessment u/s 64 without prior approval”.
When the taxable person cannot be found
The proviso to section 64(1) deals with goods whose owner is unknown:
Provided that where the taxable person to whom the liability pertains is not ascertainable and such liability pertains to supply of goods, the person in charge of such goods shall be deemed to be the taxable person liable to be assessed and liable to pay tax and any other amount due under this section.
The proviso applies only to goods, not services, and only where the taxable person “is not ascertainable”. The person in charge, typically a driver, a godown keeper or a carrier, is then treated as the taxable person for the assessment. Goods in transit without proper documents are more commonly detained under section 129, which has its own procedure.
The order: ASMT-16
Rule 100(3) requires the order to be issued in FORM GST ASMT-16, with a summary uploaded in FORM GST DRC-07. The form’s opening paragraph, as substituted by Notification No. 79/2020-Central Tax, contemplates the typical case. It records that “un-accounted for goods are lying in stock at godown” or “in a vehicle stationed at” a stated address, and that the person was “not able to, account for these goods or produce any document showing the detail of the goods”. It continues: “Therefore, I proceed to assess the tax due on such goods”. Sections follow for introduction, discussion and finding, and conclusion.
The amount is set out in a table with columns for tax, interest, penalty, fee and others. As with other assessment orders, interest is calculated up to the date of the order, and the person is told to add interest to the date of payment. The order directs payment by a stated date “failing which proceedings shall be initiated against you to recover the outstanding dues”.
The portal’s FAQ says the person receives two documents, the ASMT-16 generated by the system and an annexure uploaded by the officer. It also says the order appears under Services > User Services > View Notices and Orders, with an email and SMS sent when it issues.
Is there a hearing before the order?
Section 64(1) does not itself require a notice or a hearing before the order. That is what makes it summary. The section’s safeguards are the three conditions above and the withdrawal remedy in sub-section (2). But where the officer does give notice, the opportunity must be a real one.
In M/s TRA and Company v Additional Chief Secretary to Government (Karnataka High Court, W.P. No. 4872 of 2021, 31 March 2022), State officers searched the petitioner’s premises on 14 August 2020 and seized records. They processed the seized records for four months, during which the petitioner appeared and gave clarifications. A summary assessment notice dated 21 December 2020 was served on 28 December 2020 with seven days to respond. Orders under section 64(1) and penalty orders followed on 5 January 2021, and the application for withdrawal was rejected in ASMT-18. The Court held that the petitioner “ought to have been given a reasonable opportunity [not mere seven days]”. It quashed the orders, including the ASMT-18, and restored the proceedings to the officer. The petitioner had furnished a bank guarantee for ten per cent of the demand and offered immovable property as security for the rest, and the Court made those terms of the remand.
Withdrawal: the thirty-day remedy
Section 64(2) provides:
On an application made by the taxable person within thirty days from the date of receipt of order passed under sub-section (1) or on his own motion, if the Additional Commissioner or Joint Commissioner considers that such order is erroneous, he may withdraw such order and follow the procedure laid down in section 73 or section 74 or section 74A.
Four features matter.
- The clock runs from “the date of receipt of order”, not from its date.
- The decision-maker is the Additional Commissioner or Joint Commissioner, the same rank that gave the prior permission.
- The test is whether the order “is erroneous”. The application’s grounds are directed at that.
- The consequence of withdrawal is not that the liability disappears. The matter goes to the ordinary procedure under section 73, section 74 or, for 2024-25 onwards, section 74A, with a show cause notice, a reply and a hearing. The words “or section 74A” were inserted by section 132 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024, from 1 November 2024.
The senior officer may also withdraw the order “on his own motion”, without an application.
What to have ready for the application
| Item | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| The ASMT-16, its annexure and the DRC-07 summary, with the date of receipt | Portal: View Notices and Orders |
| Invoices, delivery challans and e-way bills for the goods assessed | The books; the e-way bill portal |
| Stock records showing the goods in the person’s accounts | Stock register under rule 56 |
| Evidence that the godown or premises is declared in the registration | Registration certificate |
| Evidence of the identity of the owner, where the person in charge was assessed | Consignment documents, contracts |
| Valuation evidence, where the value adopted is disputed | Purchase invoices, price lists |
| Any panchnama, statement or inventory prepared by the officers | Copies given at the time |
The application: ASMT-17
Rule 100(4) prescribes FORM GST ASMT-17. The form is short: GSTIN or ID, name, the reference and date of the order, the tax period, the grounds for withdrawal, and a verification that “the information given hereinabove is true and correct”. It is signed by the authorised signatory, with name and designation or status.
The portal’s user manual for filing the application describes these steps:
- Go to Services > User Services > View Notices and Orders, and open the case for the summary assessment order.
- On the Case Details page, select the WITHDRAWAL APPLICATIONS tab, click APPLY FOR WITHDRAWAL and choose the application for withdrawal of summary assessment order.
- The type, order reference number and date of order are filled in automatically. Enter the grounds for withdrawal and, optionally, upload supporting documents.
- Tick the declaration, select the authorised signatory and enter the place.
- Preview, then file, choosing SUBMIT WITH DSC or SUBMIT WITH EVC.
The portal generates an ARN and the case status changes to “Pending for Processing by AC/JC”.
Holders of a Temporary ID cannot file ASMT-17 on the portal. The FAQ states that they “can file the Form GST-ASMT-17 offline and send it to the concerned AC/JC”. The thirty days still apply.
The decision: ASMT-18
Rule 100(5) requires the order of withdrawal, or of rejection, in FORM GST ASMT-18. The form has two alternatives:
- the application “has been considered and found to be in order and the assessment order … stands withdrawn”
- the application “has not been found to be in order for the following reasons”, followed by the reasons, and “the application filed by you for withdrawal of the order is hereby rejected”
The portal’s FAQ describes the two outcomes, which the portal labels ASMT-18(A) and ASMT-18®:
- On acceptance, the original order “will stand withdrawn”. A credit entry reverses the demand in the electronic liability register. The status becomes “Order withdrawn, Recommended for action u/s 73/74”.
- On rejection, “the matter will remain adjudicated” and the order for creation of demand is confirmed, with no change to the demand.
For a Temporary ID holder who applied offline, a rejection is communicated offline and nothing changes on the portal.
Rights and duties at each step
| Stage | The department | The person |
|---|---|---|
| Before the order | Must have evidence of liability, grounds to believe delay harms revenue, and prior permission of an Additional or Joint Commissioner | No statutory notice; where notice is given, a reasonable opportunity to respond |
| ASMT-16 | Must issue the order with reasons and upload DRC-07 | Must pay by the date stated, or contest |
| ASMT-17 | Considers the application | May apply within thirty days of receipt of the order |
| ASMT-18 | Must accept or reject with reasons; on acceptance, proceeds under section 73, 74 or 74A | On rejection, the order stands and is appealable |
Payment, recovery and appeal
Paying the demand. The amount can be paid against the demand through the portal, and the payment is reflected in the liability register.
Recovery. Under section 78, an amount due under an order is payable within three months of service, “failing which recovery proceedings shall be initiated”. The proviso allows the officer, “for reasons to be recorded in writing”, to require payment within a shorter period. A summary assessment, made because delay would harm the revenue, is the kind of case in which that proviso is likely to be used. Section 83 also allows provisional attachment once a proceeding under Chapter XII, which includes section 64, has been initiated. Recovery is covered in Recovery, and Paying in Instalments.
Appeal. An order under section 64(1) is an order passed under the Act, and section 107 allows an appeal within three months of its communication, with the pre-deposit. Section 107 does not say that an application under section 64(2) stops that period running. Appeals and Pre-Deposit explains the procedure.
What can still be put right
- Within thirty days of receipt, the withdrawal application is the remedy the section provides, and the documents that show the order is erroneous go with it.
- After withdrawal, the matter is decided afresh under section 73, 74 or 74A. The person may pay before the show cause notice, or within the period after it, at the reduced cost those sections allow. The stages are in Before a Notice: DRC-01A and Paying Voluntarily and Replying to a Show Cause Notice, and the Hearing.
- Against the order itself, an appeal under section 107 lies to the Appellate Authority.
- Where goods were seized, provisional release is a separate procedure, covered in Seizure and Provisional Release.
The procedure in order
- Download the ASMT-16, its annexure and the DRC-07 summary, and note the date of receipt. Thirty days for withdrawal, and three months for appeal, run from it.
- Check the order for the three conditions: evidence of liability, recorded grounds that delay would harm revenue, and prior permission of an Additional or Joint Commissioner.
- Collect the invoices, e-way bills, stock records and registration details for the goods or transactions assessed.
- File ASMT-17 within thirty days with the grounds on which the order is erroneous, signed by the authorised signatory with DSC or EVC, or offline for a Temporary ID holder.
- Watch the WITHDRAWAL ORDER tab for ASMT-18. On acceptance, the matter moves to a show cause notice under section 73, 74 or 74A. On rejection, the order stands.
- Pay, or appeal under section 107 with the pre-deposit within three months of communication of the order.
The next guide turns from the department’s assessments to the taxpayer’s own records: what sections 35 and 36 and rules 56 to 58 require to be kept, for how long, and what an audit asks to see.