GST Audit & Health Check
Find ITC leaks before the department does
Comprehensive GST review — ITC reconciliation, RCM applicability, classification and rate checks — with a quantified exposure report and fixes.
What's included
- GSTR-1/3B/2B vs books reconciliation
- ITC eligibility & reversal review
- RCM & classification check
- Exposure report with fixes
Understanding GST Audit & Health Check
A GST audit or health check is a comprehensive review of your GST compliance — reconciling the returns you filed with your books, testing input tax credit against GSTR-2B, reviewing reverse charge liability, and identifying exposure before the department does. Since the CA-certified GSTR-9C audit was replaced with self-certification, the compliance burden has shifted squarely onto taxpayers, while the department's powers under Section 65 (departmental audit) and Section 61 (scrutiny of returns) are being used more aggressively each year, driven by automated data matching.
The most common — and most expensive — problems we find are ITC-related: credit claimed in GSTR-3B that never appeared in GSTR-2B, credit from suppliers who did not pay their tax, blocked credits under Section 17(5) claimed inadvertently, and missed reverse charge on imports of services, legal fees, security services or freight. Interest at 18% per annum runs from the original due date, so a ₹5 lakh error from two years ago is already a ₹7 lakh problem, before penalties.
Our health check, starting at ₹8,999 and delivered in 1 to 2 weeks, covers the current and previous financial year: turnover reconciliation across GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, books and e-way bills; a line-level 2B-versus-books ITC reconciliation; RCM and blocked credit review; and a clear exposure summary with the cheapest legal route to fix each issue — DRC-03 voluntary payment, amendment in returns, or credit re-claim. If you have received an ADT-01 audit notice or a scrutiny notice, we also handle the departmental proceedings end to end.
Who needs this?
Businesses that have received an ADT-01 or scrutiny notice
Once the department issues a Section 65 audit intimation or ASMT-10 scrutiny notice, you need your reconciliations ready and defensible before officers start asking. Preparation determines outcome.
Taxpayers filing annual return GSTR-9/9C
Registered persons above ₹2 crore turnover file GSTR-9, and above ₹5 crore self-certify GSTR-9C. A pre-filing health check ensures the annual return does not certify errors into the record.
Businesses with large or growing ITC balances
High credit utilisation is a known risk flag for departmental selection. A line-level 2B reconciliation proves your credit is clean — or quietly fixes what is not.
Importers and service recipients with RCM exposure
Import of services, foreign software subscriptions, legal services, GTA freight, security and sponsorship — missed reverse charge is among the most common audit findings, and it compounds with interest.
Multi-GSTIN and e-commerce businesses
Cross-charge between registrations, TCS reconciliation with marketplace reports and place-of-supply errors multiply across states; periodic review keeps all GSTINs consistent.
Companies before due diligence or refund claims
Buyers and investors examine GST exposure closely, and refund applications invite deep scrutiny of underlying ITC — walk in with reconciliations already done.
Documents you'll need — and why
GST returns for the review period (GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, GSTR-9/9C)
The starting point: what you told the department, to be reconciled against what your books actually say.
GSTR-2B downloads (monthly JSON or Excel) for the period
ITC eligibility is legally anchored to 2B; a line-level match of claimed credit against 2B is the core of the health check.
Books of account: sales, purchase and expense ledgers
Turnover and ITC per books versus per returns is the reconciliation the department itself performs — we do it first.
Electronic credit and cash ledger extracts from the portal
Confirms how liabilities were actually discharged and whether interest-bearing shortfalls exist in any month.
Expense ledgers for RCM-sensitive categories
Legal fees, freight, security, imports, director payments and sponsorships are scanned for reverse charge that should have been self-invoiced and paid.
E-way bill and e-invoice data
The department cross-matches e-way bills with GSTR-1; gaps suggest unreported supplies and are best explained before a notice arrives.
Fixed asset and expense invoices for ITC claimed
Section 17(5) blocked credits — vehicles, works contract, food, club fees, personal-use goods — hide in these ledgers and must be reversed if claimed.
Any notices, DRC-01/01A or past audit correspondence
Existing proceedings shape strategy: what has already been disclosed, paid or contested determines the safest route for fresh corrections.
How it works, step by step
- 1
Data collection and portal download
Day 1-2We gather returns, 2B files, ledgers and books backup, and pull electronic ledgers from the portal so every reconciliation runs on complete data.
- 2
Turnover and tax reconciliation
Day 3-5GSTR-1 versus GSTR-3B versus books versus e-way bills, month by month — rate-wise where needed — to isolate unreported or double-reported supplies.
- 3
ITC deep-dive
Day 5-8Line-level matching of claimed ITC with GSTR-2B, identification of ineligible and blocked credits, supplier default checks, and Rule 42/43 reversal testing for exempt supplies.
- 4
RCM and special-issue review
Day 8-10Reverse charge scan across expense ledgers, cross-charge and related party checks, place of supply testing and refund or ISD issues specific to your business.
- 5
Exposure report and remediation
Day 10-12A quantified exposure summary — tax, interest, penalty — with the recommended fix for each item, plus DRC-03 filing or return amendments where you choose to regularise.
Due dates to know
GSTR-9 annual return for FY 2025-26
31 December 2026
Mandatory above ₹2 crore aggregate turnover.
GSTR-9C self-certified reconciliation for FY 2025-26
31 December 2026
Applicable above ₹5 crore aggregate turnover.
Last date to claim FY 2025-26 ITC or amend invoices
30 November 2026
Via the GSTR-3B/GSTR-1 for October 2026 — missed credit lapses permanently after this.
What non-compliance costs
ITC claimed in excess of eligible credit (2B mismatch, blocked credit, defaulting supplier)
Reversal with interest at 18% per annum from the date of wrong availment/utilisation, plus penalty up to ₹10,000 or the tax involved; fraud cases attract 100% penalty under Section 74.
Reverse charge liability not discharged
RCM tax payable in cash with 18% interest; the matching ITC is claimable only within time limits, so old lapses become a pure cost.
Turnover under-reported versus e-way bill or e-invoice data
Demand under Section 73/74 with interest and penalty of 10% of tax (minimum ₹10,000) in non-fraud cases, rising to 100% where suppression is alleged.
Late filing of GSTR-9/9C
Late fee of ₹200 per day (CGST plus SGST) subject to turnover-linked caps, and an open annual return invites scrutiny of the whole year.
Why doing this right pays off
Find it before the department does
Voluntary correction via DRC-03 before a notice means no penalty in most Section 73 situations; the same error found in a departmental audit costs tax, interest and penalty.
Recover missed ITC before it lapses
Health checks routinely surface eligible credit never claimed — RCM credits, bank charges, insurance — recoverable only until the 30 November cut-off for the year.
Interest bleed stopped early
At 18% per annum, every month an error sits unfixed adds real cost. Quantifying and settling now is always cheaper than discovery later.
Audit-ready working papers
If an ADT-01 arrives, your reconciliations, explanations and supporting documents are already organised — audits close faster and narrower when answers are immediate.
Cleaner vendor ecosystem
Supplier-wise default analysis tells you which vendors are costing you credit, giving you data to enforce payment-linked ITC clauses in purchase terms.
Common DIY mistakes we see
- Claiming ITC from the books without checking GSTR-2B, then facing bulk reversals with 18% interest when the mismatch surfaces.
- Ignoring reverse charge on imported services, legal fees and freight because no invoice with GST ever arrived.
- Treating GSTR-9 as a copy-paste of monthly returns instead of a chance to correct the year before it hardens into the record.
- Missing the 30 November deadline for claiming prior-year ITC, after which eligible credit lapses permanently.
- Responding to ASMT-10 or ADT-01 notices casually or late, converting a manageable query into a full demand under Section 73 or 74.
Frequently asked questions
The mandatory CA-certified GSTR-9C was replaced by self-certification from FY 2020-21. But the department's own audit under Section 65 continues and has intensified. Our health check is a voluntary review that prepares you for exactly that — and ensures your self-certified 9C does not certify mistakes.
Not sure if this is the right service?
Message us on WhatsApp — a real expert replies, usually within minutes.
All-inclusive professional fee. Government fees (if any) extra at actuals.
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Tax audit report due — FY 2025-26
30 September 2026 — book now and beat the last-minute rush.