Section 78 and Section explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
An order does not become recoverable the moment it is signed. Section 78 buys time; section 79 says what happens when the time runs out.
Section 78: any amount payable in pursuance of an order shall be paid within three months of service, failing which recovery proceedings shall be initiated. The proviso: where the proper officer considers it expedient in the interest of revenue, he may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, require payment within a shorter period. Section 79(1) then lists six modes — deduction, detention and sale of goods, a third-party (garnishee) notice, distraint, a certificate to the Collector recoverable as an arrear of land revenue, and an application to a Magistrate recoverable as a fine. The Explanation to s.79 makes "person" include distinct persons under s.25(4) or (5).
Section 78: the three months
The three-month period runs from service of the order.
Two practical consequences:
Service is the trigger. The date on the order is not the date of service. Where a DRC-07 is uploaded to the portal, the date of uploading is what matters, and it should be recorded.
It gives time to appeal. The appeal period under s.107 is three months from communication, which aligns with s.78 — so an appeal filed within time, with the pre-deposit made, ordinarily results in a stay of recovery for the balance under s.107(7). That alignment is the whole design: recovery starts when the window to appeal closes.
The proviso is the exception to watch. The officer may require payment within a shorter period, but only:
- where he considers it expedient in the interest of revenue; and
- for reasons to be recorded in writing.
A shortened period without recorded reasons, or with reasons that say only that the amount is large, is challengeable — and it must be challenged quickly, because the point of the proviso is speed.
The six modes
(a) Deduction from money owing. The officer may deduct, or require another specified officer to deduct, the amount from any money owing to the person which is under his control. In practice: a sanctioned refund applied against an outstanding demand.
(b) Detention and sale of goods. Recovery by detaining and selling any goods belonging to the person which are under the officer's control.
(c) The third-party notice. A written notice to any other person from whom money is due or may become due to the defaulter, or who holds or may subsequently hold money for or on his account, requiring payment to the Government. This is the garnishee power, and it has seven sub-clauses of its own. The garnishee notice →
(d) Distraint. The officer may, in accordance with the rules, distrain any movable or immovable property belonging to or under the control of the person, and detain it until the amount is paid; and if the amount is not paid within the prescribed period, sell the property and adjust the proceeds.
(e) Certificate to the Collector. The officer may prepare a certificate specifying the amount due and send it to the Collector of the district in which the person owns property, resides or carries on business, or to an authorised officer, who shall recover it as if it were an arrear of land revenue.
(f) Application to a Magistrate. Notwithstanding the Code of Criminal Procedure, the officer may apply to the appropriate Magistrate, who shall recover the amount as if it were a fine imposed by him.
"One or more of the following modes." The modes are cumulative, not alternative — the department may run several at once.
The Explanation: distinct persons
"For the purposes of this section, the word person shall include distinct persons as referred to in sub-section (4) or, as the case may be, sub-section (5) of section 25."
Inserted by the CGST (Amendment) Act, 2018, notified through Notification No. 2/2019-CT dated 29.01.2019, w.e.f. 01.02.2019.
This is significant and often missed. A demand confirmed against one GSTIN may be recovered from the assets, refunds and receivables of other registrations of the same PAN.
So a company with registrations in eight States cannot treat a Karnataka demand as ring-fenced to Karnataka. A refund due in Maharashtra can be applied against it under mode (a); goods under departmental control in Gujarat can be detained under mode (b).
The corollary for a group is that demand exposure has to be tracked centrally, and a refund expected in one State should be checked against outstanding demands in every other.
Sections 79(2) to (4): the mechanics of sharing
79(2) — where a bond or other instrument executed under the Act provides that amounts due under it may be recovered in the manner in sub-section (1), they may be so recovered, without prejudice to any other mode. This is how a bond under s.67(6) or a LUT is enforced.
79(3) — where an amount payable remains unpaid, the proper officer of State tax or Union territory tax may, during the course of recovery of those arrears, recover the amount as if it were an arrear of State tax or Union territory tax, and credit it to the Government.
79(4) — where the amount recovered under (3) is less than the amount due to the Central and State Governments, it is credited in proportion to the amount due to each.
So a State officer recovering an arrear recovers the central component too, and a part recovery is shared proportionately.
What actually stops recovery
An appeal with the pre-deposit. Section 107(6) requires the admitted amount in full plus ten per cent of the remaining tax in dispute, subject to the statutory ceiling; s.107(7) then treats the recovery of the balance as stayed.
Payment in instalments. Section 80 allows the Commissioner, on application and for reasons recorded in writing, to extend time or allow payment in monthly instalments — but not for amounts self-assessed in a return. Section 80 instalments →
A stay by a court or the Tribunal. Which also excludes the period from limitation under s.75(1).
Nothing else. A pending rectification application, a representation, or a request for reconsideration does not stop recovery.
Key takeaways
- Section 78: three months from service of the order before recovery is initiated.
- The proviso permits a shorter period only on recorded reasons of expediency in the interest of revenue.
- Section 79(1) gives six modes, usable cumulatively.
- The Explanation extends recovery to distinct persons — other registrations of the same PAN.
- Section 79(3)–(4): State officers recover the whole arrear, shared proportionately.
- Only an appeal with pre-deposit, an instalment order under s.80, or a judicial stay actually halts recovery.
Read next
- Section 79(1)(c): The Garnishee Notice and DRC-13
- Section 80: Instalments, DRC-20 and the Default Clause
- Section 75(7): No Demand Beyond the Notice
- Section 79 of CGST Act 2017 — Recovery of Tax
Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on the CGST Act as amended to 31 March 2026 (ICAI Bare Law, 12th edition).