DRC-01C: credit claimed above GSTR-2B
A DRC-01C tells you that the input tax credit you took in GSTR-3B is more than your GSTR-2B shows. You get a short window to explain the difference or reverse the extra credit with interest.
Last reviewed 3 October 2026
At a glance
- Where it starts
- ITC in GSTR-3B is higher than the ITC available in GSTR-2B, beyond a set margin
- Form
- DRC-01C, generated by the portal
- Comes from
- Rule 88D of the CGST Rules (from 4 August 2023)
- Time to reply
- A short window (about 7 days). Read the date on your intimation
- Your reply
- Explain in Part B, or pay the excess credit with interest through DRC-03
- If you ignore it
- The portal can block your next GSTR-1, and a demand can follow
What a DRC-01C is
Credit can be taken only on invoices that appear in your GSTR-2B. After you file GSTR-3B, the system compares the credit you claimed with GSTR-2B. If your claim is higher than GSTR-2B by more than the set margin, it sends a DRC-01C.
It is an intimation, not a final order. For the wider picture of why credit and GSTR-2B differ, read our ITC mismatch guide.
Your two choices
- Explain the difference in Part B. This works when the extra credit is legitimate, for example it is on items that are not shown in GSTR-2B but are eligible, or it is a timing difference you can document.
- Pay the excess credit back with interest through DRC-03, and report that in Part B. This is the right route when the credit should not have been taken.
Step by step: how to reply
- Open the intimation and note the period and the difference it shows.
- Match your purchase register to GSTR-2B for that period, supplier by supplier.
- Split the difference into eligible credit not shown in GSTR-2B, credit taken too early, and credit that should not have been taken.
- For the first group, prepare an explanation with invoices and the reason it is not in GSTR-2B.
- For the last two, pay the credit back with interest through DRC-03.
- File Part B with your explanation and the DRC-03 details, within the window, and save the acknowledgement.
Common mistakes
- Missing the short window.
- Replying with the total difference instead of supplier-wise details.
- Reversing credit that was in fact eligible.
- Forgetting interest on credit that should not have been taken and was used.
Please read
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. The GST law, forms and portal change, and every notice depends on its own facts. Always read your own notice carefully and confirm the details and the deadline with a qualified CA before you reply.
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