GST: Bulk, Unverified GSTR-4 Notices for FY25 Flood Inboxes Across India
Recently, numerous small business owners who are registered as Composition Dealers under GST have received unexpected emails and SMSs from the GST department at the GST portal, accusing them of not filing their annual GSTR-4 return for the financial year 2024-25. These messages and notices are being sent via email ID: donotreply@gst.gov.in, and have caused tension all over the country, especially among small traders and shopkeepers.
Bulk unverified and uncalled-for emails/sms to Composition dealers have created panic countrywide.@cbic_india@Infosys_GSTN@GST_Council
shall learn to do R&D before sending such communications, as the legal amendments by the council are sufficiently traumatising. pic.twitter.com/kygGY6iWzd— Aditya Sinhal (@sinhaladitya) July 6, 2025
Notices are being sent even to composition dealers who filed on time & surprisingly even to whose GSTINs are cancelled.
🚨 Bulk GSTR-3A notices issued for non-filing of GSTR-4 — even to composition dealers who filed on time & surprisingly even to whose GSTINs are cancelled.
Creates unnecessary panic among dealers & professionals — many are now calling to reconfirm filings.
📌 Though the notice… pic.twitter.com/0wxU29HLWm
— Abhas Halakhandi (@AbhasHalakhandi) July 7, 2025
The message is a system-generated email from the GST system. It says:
- You (the taxpayer) have not filed your GSTR-4 Annual Return for the financial year 2024–25.
- Hence, a Notice in Form GSTR-3A has been issued to you under Section 46 of the CGST Act.
- This notice asks you to file the pending GSTR-4 return as soon as possible.
- The email also says you can view the notice by logging into your GST account and going to Services → User Services → View Notices and Orders.
There is a disclaimer too, which says this is a general message, and should not be taken as legal confirmation or evidence against anyone. It also says if you’ve already filed your return, you can ignore the message.
This has caused confusion and tension among taxpayers for the following reasons:
- As the financial year 2024-25 is still ongoing (Just started in April 2024 and will end in March 2025). Hence, the deadline for filing GSTR-4 has not even come yet, and it’s not possible to be a defaulter at this stage.
- Numerous individuals who have already filed their earlier returns or don’t even need to file GSTR-4 for this year yet, are still getting these notices.
- These messages seem to be formal, as they mention legal sections, e.g., Section 46 of the CGST Act, which gives the perception of certain seriousness.
- It is causing undue stress, panic, and confusion among small Composition Dealers (mainly those who may not understand the legal terms in full, who depend on tax consultants for their filings).
There is are high chance that this is a technical error or premature system action caused by:
- Lack of system verification before sending the messages.
- GSTN (Goods and Services Tax Network) and the portal being managed by Infosys may have glitches or bugs that are causing these incorrect notices.
- No proper R&D (Research & Development) or testing seems to have been done before triggering this alert to lakhs of taxpayers.
This is why individuals on social media are tagging the official handles such as:
- @cbic_india (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs),
- @Infosys_GSTN (tech partner for GST portal),
- @GST_Council (governing GST laws),
Asking them to fix the issue and not create more confusion, especially when the GST law changes itself, is already tough to follow.
- Check your GST dashboard to check if the GSTR-4 return for the 2024-25 financial year is really due. It probably is not due yet.
- If you have already filed previous returns or are not required to file yet, you can ignore the message, as the email itself outlines.
- If not sure about it, talk to your GST consultant or tax advisor to double-check your compliance status.
- Individuals are advised to keep an eye on the latest updates of the GST department, as they may soon release a statement regarding resolving the issue.