Indirect Tax Laws · Assessment and Audit

Assessment of Non-Filers and Unregistered Persons (Sections 62, 63 and 64 CGST)

Updated 5 October 2026 · Fact-checked

These are three assessments the officer starts without the taxpayer's own return. Section 62 covers registered persons who do not file returns even after notice. Section 63 covers persons who should have registered but did not, and needs a hearing before the order. Section 64 is a quick assessment, with senior permission, when delay may hurt revenue. To solve a question, identify the person, the trigger and the safeguard.

Understand Assessment of Non-Filers and Unregistered Persons

Normally GST works on self-assessment. You declare your own tax in your return. Sections 62 to 64 apply when that system fails: you do not file, you are not registered, or the revenue is at immediate risk. The officer then assesses the tax himself.

Section 62 (non-filers) applies to a registered person who fails to file a return under section 39 (regular return) or section 45 (final return). The officer must first serve a notice under section 46 asking for the return. Only if you still do not file can the officer assess your tax liability to the best of his judgment, using all relevant material available or gathered. If you file a valid return within 30 days of service of the assessment order, the order is deemed withdrawn. Interest under section 50(1) and late fee under section 47 still continue.

Section 63 (unregistered persons) applies to two classes of person: a taxable person who is liable to be registered but has not obtained registration, and a person whose registration has been cancelled by the proper officer but who was liable to pay tax. The officer may assess the tax liability to the best of his judgment for the relevant tax periods and issue an assessment order. The proviso is the key safeguard: no order can be passed without giving the person a reasonable opportunity of being heard. Section 63 does not require the previous permission of the Additional Commissioner or Joint Commissioner. That condition belongs to section 64.

Section 64 (summary assessment) is the emergency tool. It applies to any taxable person, including an unregistered person. The officer needs evidence showing a tax liability of that person, and a reason to believe that delay in passing the order may adversely affect revenue. He also needs the previous permission of the Additional Commissioner or Joint Commissioner. The order protects revenue and is passed without the usual notice stage. The taxable person can apply within 30 days of receiving the order for its withdrawal. The Additional or Joint Commissioner can also withdraw it on his own motion if he finds it erroneous. After withdrawal, the case follows the regular demand procedure under section 73 or 74.

Only section 64 needs prior senior permission. Section 63 needs a hearing instead. Tell the three apart by person (registered non-filer, unregistered but liable or registration cancelled but liable, or a taxable person with a liability), by trigger (section 64 needs urgency and revenue risk) and by safeguard or remedy. Section 62 has a section 46 notice and deemed withdrawal on filing a return. Section 63 has the hearing requirement and no special withdrawal route. Section 64 has senior permission and the 30-day application.

None of the three orders is shielded from challenge. An order under section 62, 63 or 64 is an adjudicating order, and you can file an appeal under section 107 against it. Section 63 having no special withdrawal route does not mean it has no remedy.

Key rules to remember

Section 62 trigger: Registered person + no return under s.39 or s.45 + notice under s.46 served + still no return → best judgment assessment; The s.46 notice is a precondition. Without it, section 62 cannot start.
Section 62 withdrawal: Valid return filed within 30 days of service of the order → order deemed withdrawn; Interest under s.50(1) and late fee under s.47 continue. Withdrawal does not waive them.
Section 63 rule: Person liable to register but unregistered (or registration cancelled but liable to pay tax) + reasonable opportunity of being heard → best judgment assessment for the relevant tax periods; The proviso requires a hearing before the order. Do not write that prior permission of the Additional or Joint Commissioner is needed here. That is a section 64 condition.
Section 64 conditions: Evidence of tax liability + reason to believe delay hurts revenue + prior permission of Additional/Joint Commissioner → summary assessment; All three conditions are needed. It applies to any taxable person, including an unregistered one. Mere suspicion of non-payment is not enough.
Section 64 remedy: Application within 30 days (or officer's own motion if order is erroneous) → order withdrawn → procedure under s.73 or s.74; The withdrawing authority is the Additional or Joint Commissioner.
Standard of assessment: Best judgment = based on all relevant material available or gathered, not guesswork; Use this phrase in your answers for sections 62 and 63.

How to solve Assessment of Non-Filers and Unregistered Persons questions

Use this method for any case-scenario or written question on assessment of non-filers, unregistered persons or summary assessment.

1Identify the person. Is he registered, or liable to register but unregistered, or registered earlier and cancelled but liable to pay tax? This separates section 62 from section 63.
2Identify the default. Is it non-filing of a return under section 39 or 45, or failure to take registration? Or is it an urgent revenue risk?
3Check the pre-conditions. Section 62 needs a section 46 notice. Section 63 needs a reasonable opportunity of being heard before the order. Section 64 needs evidence of liability, belief of revenue harm and prior permission of the Additional or Joint Commissioner.
4State the basis of assessment: best judgment on all relevant material available or gathered, for the relevant tax periods.
5Apply the remedy. Under section 62, check whether a valid return was filed within 30 days. Under section 64, check the 30-day application or the withdrawal on own motion. Under section 63, check that a hearing was given and think of appeal under section 107.
6Note what survives. For section 62, interest and late fee continue even after the order is deemed withdrawn.
7Write the answer in provision, facts, conclusion form. Give the provision, apply the facts, then state a clear conclusion.

Quickest way: Three-Question Filter

When to use it: Use this for MCQs and for the first two minutes of a written answer, when you must choose the right section fast.

Question 1: Is the person registered? Yes points to section 62 (if a return is missing). No points to section 63, whether he never registered or his registration was cancelled but he was liable to pay tax.
Question 2: Is there urgency, with revenue at risk? If yes, think section 64. Remember that only section 64 needs prior permission of the Additional or Joint Commissioner.
Question 3: What safeguard applies? Section 62: section 46 notice first, and a valid return within 30 days wipes out the order. Section 63: reasonable opportunity of being heard. Section 64: senior permission and a 30-day withdrawal application.
Write the number 30 beside sections 62 and 64 in your rough work. Both use a 30-day window, but for different things.

Common mistakes in Assessment of Non-Filers and Unregistered Persons

Applying section 62 without a section 46 notice.
Students remember only 'failure to file' and forget the notice is a condition.
Fix: Always write 'even after service of notice under section 46' in your answer. If the facts show no notice, section 62 is not yet available.
Saying the section 62 order is cancelled and nothing more is payable once a return is filed.
Students stop reading at 'deemed withdrawn'.
Fix: Add that interest under section 50(1) and late fee under section 47 continue to be payable.
Assessing an unregistered person under section 63 without giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
Students treat 'best judgment' as giving the officer a free hand, or borrow the no-notice idea from the summary assessment in section 64.
Fix: Remember that the proviso to section 63 bars an assessment order without a reasonable opportunity of being heard. Check the facts for a hearing before you call the order valid.
Using section 64 for any large unpaid liability.
Students ignore the revenue-risk condition and the need for senior permission.
Fix: Check all three conditions: evidence of liability, reason to believe delay hurts revenue, and prior permission of the Additional or Joint Commissioner.
Thinking section 63 needs prior permission of the Additional or Joint Commissioner, like section 64.
Students link 'senior permission' with every officer-initiated assessment and blur the two sections.
Fix: Only section 64 needs prior permission. Section 63 needs a reasonable opportunity of being heard. Separate the sections by person, by urgency and revenue risk (section 64), and by the withdrawal route (section 64 has the 30-day application).
Mixing up who can withdraw a summary assessment order.
Students assume the same officer reverses his own order.
Fix: The Additional or Joint Commissioner withdraws it, on the taxpayer's application within 30 days or on his own motion if the order is erroneous. The case then goes to section 73 or 74.
Treating section 62 and section 63 as the same because both say 'best judgment'.
The wording looks alike.
Fix: Compare the two on person, trigger, pre-condition and withdrawal. Section 62 is for registered persons, uses a section 46 notice and has the 30-day return route. Section 63 is for persons liable but unregistered (or cancelled but liable) and needs a hearing before the order.

Worked examples

Example 1

Meera Traders is a registered person. It did not file its monthly return for two tax periods. The proper officer served a notice under section 46, but Meera did not respond. The officer then passed an assessment order on the basis of available data. Twenty days after the order was served, Meera filed valid returns for both periods and paid the tax. Discuss the effect on the order and on Meera's other liabilities.

Show the solution

Provision: Section 62 applies to a registered person who fails to file a return under section 39 even after service of a section 46 notice. The officer may assess to the best of his judgment.
Facts: Meera is registered, did not file, and was served a section 46 notice. The officer's order is therefore valid in its start.
Remedy: If a valid return is filed within 30 days of service of the assessment order, the order is deemed withdrawn.
Facts applied: Meera filed on the 20th day, which is within 30 days.
Residual liability: Interest under section 50(1) and late fee under section 47 continue to be payable.

Answer: The section 62 assessment order is deemed withdrawn because Meera filed valid returns within 30 days of service. She must still pay interest under section 50(1) and late fee under section 47.

Example 2

Ravi supplies taxable services regularly. His turnover has crossed the threshold at which registration is compulsory, but he has never registered. The officer collects bank and invoice data and passes an assessment order for the relevant tax periods, without giving Ravi any opportunity of being heard. Is the order in accordance with section 63? Would your answer change if the officer invoked section 64?

Show the solution

Provision: Section 63 allows the proper officer to assess, to the best of his judgment and for the relevant tax periods, a taxable person who is liable to be registered but has not registered.
Safeguard: The proviso bars the order unless the person has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
Facts: Ravi is liable to register but is not registered, so section 63 is the right section. The officer used relevant data and the correct periods, but passed the order without hearing Ravi.
Conclusion on validity: The order does not meet the proviso to section 63 and is open to challenge, including by appeal under section 107.
Section 64 alternative: Summary assessment needs evidence of liability, a reason to believe that delay may adversely affect revenue, and prior permission of the Additional or Joint Commissioner. The facts show no urgency and no such permission, so section 64 does not help.

Answer: The order is not in accordance with section 63 because Ravi was not given a reasonable opportunity of being heard. Invoking section 64 does not cure this, as it needs the prior permission of the Additional or Joint Commissioner and a belief that delay would harm revenue, and the facts show neither.

Exam tips

Practise a one-line comparison of sections 62, 63 and 64 on person, trigger, pre-condition and remedy. Many questions are built on this contrast.
In scenario MCQs, look for the missing safeguard: no section 46 notice (section 62), no reasonable opportunity of being heard (section 63) or no prior permission of the Additional or Joint Commissioner (section 64). That is usually the examiner's trap.
Always mention that interest and late fee survive a deemed withdrawal under section 62.
Write answers in provision, facts, conclusion form. Use the phrase 'best judgment on all relevant material' for sections 62 and 63.
Link the topic with scrutiny and notice to non-filers (section 46) and the demand provisions of sections 73 and 74. Questions often move from one to the other.

Practice questions from Assessment and Audit

Assessment of Non-Filers and Unregistered Persons in other exams

The same ground in other exams, if you are preparing for more than one or want another angle on it.

Assessment of Non-Filers and Unregistered Persons: frequently asked questions

What is the difference between section 62 and section 63 GST assessment?

Section 62 deals with a registered person who has not filed a return even after a section 46 notice. Section 63 deals with a taxable person who is liable to register but has not done so, or whose registration was cancelled but who was liable to pay tax. The officer must give a reasonable opportunity of being heard before the order. Section 62 also has a 30-day route where filing a valid return makes the order deemed withdrawn.

Can a section 62 assessment order be reversed?

Yes. If you file a valid return within 30 days of service of the order, it is deemed withdrawn. You still owe interest under section 50(1) and late fee under section 47.

When can an officer do summary assessment under section 64?

He needs evidence of a tax liability and a reason to believe that delay may adversely affect revenue. He must also take prior permission of the Additional or Joint Commissioner. The aim is to protect revenue.

How is a section 64 order challenged or withdrawn?

The taxable person can apply to the Additional or Joint Commissioner within 30 days of receiving the order. That authority can also withdraw it on his own motion if he finds it erroneous. After withdrawal, the case follows section 73 or 74.

Does section 63 need senior permission like section 64?

No. Prior permission of the Additional or Joint Commissioner is a section 64 condition. The proviso to section 63 instead requires that the person be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard before the order is passed.