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Section 65 of the CGST Act, 2017

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GST›CGST Act, 2017›Chapter XIII, Audit

At a glance

Bars, duties and time limits

65(3)The person must receive the prescribed notice at least fifteen working days before audit.
65(4)Audit must finish within three months from the later of called-for documents becoming available and actual institution at the business premises; the Commissioner may extend by up to six months with satisfaction and written reasons.
65(5)The authorised officer may require verification facilities, information and assistance for timely completion.
65(6)Within thirty days after conclusion, the officer must communicate findings, reasons, rights and obligations.

Procedure, powers and definitions

65(1)-(2)The Commissioner or a generally or specifically authorised officer may audit a registered person for the prescribed period, frequency and manner, at the business premises or officers’ office.
65(7)Detected unpaid, short-paid or erroneously refunded tax or wrongly availed or utilised credit permits action under section 73, 74 or 74A; the special-audit provision operates notwithstanding this audit.
65The law does not settle “working day” or the availability date for documents produced in parts; the section 74A insertion date is unstated.

Section 65 authorises departmental audits at the registered person’s premises or the officers’ office, with advance notice and completion limits. The Commissioner may extend the audit for written reasons. Section 66 permits a special audit notwithstanding this audit. Findings can lead to determination proceedings. The section commenced on 1 July 2017; the inserted section 74A reference has no stated commencement date.^[1]

Quick facts

Section 65, CGST Act, 2017

Audit by tax authorities

Provision
Act	Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
Chapter	XIII, Audit
Section title	Audit by tax authorities
In force from	1 July 2017^[1]
Amendments
Last amendment	16 August 2024: Inserted the words "or section 74A" in sub-section (7). (section 133 of The Finance Act (No. 2) Act, 2024, No. 15 of 2024, dated 16.08.2024)
Amendments	2 footnotes in the CBIC text (table)
Related provisions
Rules	Rule 101 of the CGST Rules, 2017
Sections	2, 35, 44, 61, 66, 73, 74, 74A
Structure 65(1)Who may undertake the audit, of whom, and for what period 65(2)Where the audit is conducted 65(3)The notice before the conduct of the audit 65(4) and its provisoThe three months for completing the audit and the extension the Explanation to 65(4)When the audit commenced 65(5)(i) and (ii)What the authorised officer may require during the audit 65(6)What the registered person is told on conclusion of the audit 65(7)The action that may follow a detection
Source
Law text	CBIC tax information portal, served on 17 September 2026^[1]
Questions reviewed	Prashant Prakash, 22 September 2026

Text

The text below is the section as served by the CBIC tax information portal on 17 September 2026, with the portal's own amendment footnote markers (shown as small numerals before a bracket) and its footnotes.^[1] The Act as published in the Gazette of India is the legal source.

Section 65, verbatim (show)

Section 65

* Section 65. Audit by tax authorities.-

(1) The Commissioner or any officer authorised by him, by way of a general or a specific order, may undertake audit of any registered person for such period, at such frequency and in such manner as may be prescribed.

(2) The officers referred to in sub-section (1) may conduct audit at the place of business of the registered person or in their office.

(3) The registered person shall be informed by way of a notice not less than fifteen working days prior to the conduct of audit in such manner as may be prescribed.

(4) The audit under sub-section (1) shall be completed within a period of three months from the date of commencement of the audit:

Provided that where the Commissioner is satisfied that audit in respect of such registered person cannot be completed within three months, he may, for the reasons to be recorded in writing, extend the period by a further period not exceeding six months.

Explanation.- For the purposes of this sub-section, the expression "commencement of audit" shall mean the date on which the records and other documents, called for by the tax authorities, are made available by the registered person or the actual institution of audit at the place of business, whichever is later.

(5) During the course of audit, the authorised officer may require the registered person, -

(i) to afford him the necessary facility to verify the books of account or other documents as he may require;

(ii) to furnish such information as he may require and render assistance for timely completion of the audit.

(6) On conclusion of audit, the proper officer shall, within thirty days, inform the registered person, whose records are audited, about the findings, his rights and obligations and the reasons for such findings.

(7) Where the audit conducted under sub-section (1) results in detection of tax not paid or short paid or erroneously refunded, or input tax credit wrongly availed or utilised, the proper officer may initiate action under section 73 or section 74 ¹[or section 74A].

*Enforced w.e.f. 1st July, 2017.

1. Inserted by section 133 of The Finance Act (No. 2) Act, 2024 No. 15 of 2024 dated 16.08.2024.

Questions to answer on the file

Questions a reviewer answers from the engagement file, grouped by the part of the section they come from. They describe what the section asks; they do not decide it.

Scope the section as a whole

Questions to answer on the file1 question

What is the matter about?

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Who may undertake the audit, of whom, and for what period 65(1)

Questions to answer on the file5 questions

Is the person whose audit is in question a registered person?
Who undertook the audit: the Commissioner, an officer authorised by the Commissioner or an officer neither of those?
By what kind of order was the officer authorised: a general order, a specific order or no order of either kind is on record?
Which period does the audit cover?
Is the examination one of records, returns and other documents to verify the correctness of turnover declared, taxes paid, refund claimed and input tax credit availed?

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Where the audit is conducted 65(2)

Questions to answer on the file1 question

Where was the audit conducted: at the place of business of the registered person, in the office of the officers or at neither of those places?

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The notice before the conduct of the audit 65(3)

Questions to answer on the file3 questions

Was the registered person informed by way of a notice before the audit was conducted?
On what date was that notice served?
On what date was the audit conducted?

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The three months for completing the audit and the extension 65(4) and its proviso

Questions to answer on the file5 questions

On what date was the audit completed?
Was the audit completed within three months from the date of commencement of the audit?
Was the Commissioner satisfied that the audit could not be completed within three months?
Were the reasons for extending the period recorded in writing?
By what further period was the period extended?

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When the audit commenced the Explanation to 65(4)

Questions to answer on the file2 questions

On what date were the records and other documents called for by the tax authorities made available by the registered person?
On what date was the audit actually instituted at the place of business?

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What the authorised officer may require during the audit 65(5)(i) and (ii)

Questions to answer on the file5 questions

Was the registered person required to afford the officer the necessary facility to verify the books of account or other documents?
Did the registered person afford that facility?
Was the registered person required to furnish such information as the officer required?
Did the registered person furnish that information?
Did the registered person render assistance for timely completion of the audit?

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What the registered person is told on conclusion of the audit 65(6)

Questions to answer on the file5 questions

Was the registered person informed about the findings of the audit?
Was he informed about his rights and obligations?
Was he informed about the reasons for those findings?
On what date was he so informed?
Was he so informed within thirty days of the conclusion of the audit?

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The action that may follow a detection 65(7)

Questions to answer on the file3 questions

What did the audit detect: tax not paid, tax short paid, tax erroneously refunded, input tax credit wrongly availed, input tax credit wrongly utilised or none of those?
Under which section has the proper officer initiated action: section 73, section 74, section 74A or no action has been initiated?
Does the period fall on or after the date from which the reference to section 74A was inserted into this sub-section?

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Amendment history

The CBIC text carries 2 footnotes. The table gives each in the source's own terms. Effective dates are as the footnotes state them.^[1]

Amendments to section 65 as footnoted in the CBIC text
Note	Change	Instrument	Effective from
	Enforced the section.	—	1st July, 2017
1	Inserted the words "or section 74A" in sub-section (7).	section 133 of The Finance Act (No. 2) Act, 2024, No. 15 of 2024, dated 16.08.2024^[2]	the source's footnote gives no effective date for the insertion; the date shown is the date of the amending Act

Provisions connected to Section 65
Provision	Connection	Words that tie them
Rule 101 of the CGST Rules, 2017	this provision prescribed by rule 101 of the CGST Rules 2017	65(1) "for such period, at such frequency and in such manner as may be prescribed"
Section 73	65(7) requires Section 73, S74, S74A	65(7) "the proper officer may initiate action under section 73 or section 74 1[or section 74A]"
Section 2	this provision defined by Section 2 clause (13)	65(1) "may undertake audit of any registered person"
Section 61	Section 61 requires this provision	61(3) "may initiate appropriate action including those under section 65"
Section 66	this provision same as Section 66	66(3) "shall have effect notwithstanding that the accounts of the registered person have been audited under any other provisions of this Act"

Circulars and notifications

Circulars and notifications in the CBIC repository that cite this section, newest first, by number, date and subject. A listing here does not say what an instrument decides; read the instrument.

Circulars (2)

Number	Date	Subject
Circular No. 51/25/2018-GST	31 July 2018	Applicability of GST on ambulance services provided to Government by private service providers under the National Health Mission (NHM)
Circular No. 3/03/2017-GST	5 July 2017	Proper officer relating to provisions other than Registration and Composition under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017-Reg.

Notifications (1)

Number	Date	Subject
Notification No. 10/2017-Central Tax	28 June 2017	Seeks to amend CGST Rules notification no 3/2017-Central Tax dt 19.06.2017 amended by a later instrument

Unsettled questions

The words of section 65 do not answer these questions. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.

From what date does the reference to section 74A, inserted into sub-section (7) by section 133 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024, apply? The source's footnote gives the amending Act and its date of 16.08.2024 and no commencement date. The same position already covers the identical insertions into sections 61 to 64 and is cited, not written again.
What is a "working day" for the fifteen working days in sub-section (3)?
Where the records and other documents called for are produced in parts, on which date are they "made available" for the Explanation to sub-section (4)? The Explanation fixes the commencement of the audit by that date and says nothing about partial or successive production.

See also

Section 66 of the CGST Act, 2017: special audit
Rule 101 of the CGST Rules, 2017: audit
Section 74A of the CGST Act, 2017: determination of tax not paid or short paid or erroneously refunded or input tax credit wrongly availed or utilised for any reason pertaining to Financial Year 2024-25 onward

References

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Section 65. Audit by tax authorities". Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, CBIC tax information portal, with amendment footnotes 1 to 2. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
The Finance Act (No. 2) Act, 2024. Cited in CBIC footnote 1.

External links

CGST Act, 2017, Section 65 on the CBIC tax information portal