DRC 04 in GST: How to Check & Download DRC-04 in GST Portal?

Demand and recovery proceedings are critical aspects of GST compliance for any business. They involve resolving tax claims, mismatches in input tax credits and verification of voluntary payment of dues by taxpayers. There are 20 different demand and recovery forms with different uses, like DRC 04 in GST.  

This article discusses everything an assessee must know about DRC-04.  

What is DRC 04 in GST? 

DRC-04 acknowledges a taxpayer's voluntary payment of tax dues. Upon verification of the payment, competent GST officers issue a DRC-04 form on the GST portal. Verification involves checking if there is a deficiency between claimed dues and the payment made voluntarily. 

If an assessee's voluntary payment of dues is less than the actual dues notified by the department, the concerned GST officer re-notifies the same issue to the taxpayer. When the voluntary payment of dues matches the actual claim, the officer acknowledges receiving the payment in full and issues DRC-04.  

When and why is DRC-04 applicable? 

DRC-04 applies as soon as the taxpayer initiates voluntary payment of tax dues using the DRC-03 form in the GST portal. Let us understand this through a scenario. 

Example: 

1. A GST officer recognises a mismatch in GST payment for a specific GSTIN and issues a ‘show cause’ notice (SCN) using the DRC-01 form. 
2. The taxpayer is notified about the issuance of an SCN by the system and she downloads the DRC-01. 
3. The taxpayer checks the notice and tries to understand the reasons behind the demand. If he or she does not agree to the notice, she can reply through the GST portal. It is important to remember to attach relevant documents in the reply. 
4. In case the assessee agrees to the notice, he or she pays the dues claimed and notifies the same to the concerned office using the DRC-03 form. A competent officer is notified regarding the DRC-03.  
5. The said officer checks if the payment matches with the dues, including interest and penalty. If the voluntary payment matches the claimed value, the officer issues DRC-04 acknowledging the payment.   

How to file DRC-04 in GST? 

Filing DRC-04 in the GST portal involves verifying the taxpayer's payment. The verification task appears on the task list of the concerned GST officer or inspector. 

After verifying the payment, the officer or inspector needs to click the hyperlink to the DRC-03 notification. 

Upon clicking the hyperlink, the DRC-03 form opens. The officer needs to examine it and note the payment details. 

The next step is to verify the payment. ‘Verify Payment’ is under the ‘Actions’ tab. Upon selecting the option, different verification parameters appear. 

It is the responsibility of the officer to respond to the verification parameters. If all the system-generated verification parameters confirm receiving full payment of tax dues as per the original SCN issued by the department, the DRC-04 option will appear within the GST portal. 

At this point, the GST officer or inspector needs to issue the DRC-04 from the portal. Once issued, the system notifies the business so the taxpayer can check and download it from the portal. 

How to check DRC-04 in the GST portal? 

The taxpayer can check the form DRC-04 on the GST portal. Any such acknowledgement from the GST authority appears under the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT tab of the taxpayer’s window of the GST portal.  

How to download DRC-04 in the GST portal?

The taxpayer can download the DRC-04 acknowledgement by simply clicking the ‘Download’ link by the side of the acknowledgement notice in the GST portal.

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