GST Return Filing Online GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B filed on time, from ₹999 a month

Which GST returns do you need to file?

It depends on how you are registered. A regular taxpayer files GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B plus an annual return; a composition taxpayer files CMP-08 every quarter and GSTR-4 once a year.

• Regular taxpayer, monthly: GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B every month.
• Regular taxpayer under QRMP: GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B every quarter, IFF optional in months one and two, and tax paid monthly through PMT-06.
• Composition taxpayer: CMP-08 each quarter and GSTR-4 annually. See GST composition scheme.
• Annual return: GSTR-9, mandatory for regular taxpayers with aggregate turnover above ₹2 crore. See GSTR-9 annual return filing. Above ₹5 crore, GSTR-9C is filed with it.

Returns are due even in a month with no sales. A nil return is still a return, and missing it attracts a late fee.

GST return due dates

GSTR-1 is due on the 11th and GSTR-3B on the 20th of the following month for monthly filers. QRMP filers file GSTR-1 by the 13th and GSTR-3B by the 22nd or 24th of the month after the quarter.

For the September 2026 tax period, a monthly filer's GSTR-1 is due on 11 October 2026 and GSTR-3B on 20 October 2026. A QRMP filer's July to September 2026 quarter closes with GSTR-1 by 13 October 2026 and GSTR-3B by 22 or 24 October 2026. The annual return for FY 2025-26 is due on 31 December 2026.

QRMP GSTR-3B: 22nd or 24th, by state

The quarterly GSTR-3B date depends on the state of your registration.

So a QRMP business registered in West Bengal or Delhi files quarterly GSTR-3B by the 24th, and one registered in Karnataka by the 22nd. Keep your own GST calendar in the compliance calendar.

Monthly or quarterly: who can opt for QRMP?

You can opt for QRMP if your aggregate turnover at PAN level is up to ₹5 crore. Above that, you must file monthly.

QRMP cuts the number of returns from 24 a year to 8, but tax is still paid every month. If most of your buyers are businesses, use IFF in months one and two so they get credit that month instead of waiting for the quarter.

How QRMP tax payment works

For the first two months of each quarter, you pay tax through PMT-06 by the 25th of the next month. You choose one of two methods:

• Fixed sum method: the portal generates a challan for 35% of the cash tax paid in the previous quarter (or 100% of the last month's cash tax if you moved from monthly filing).
• Self-assessment method: you work out the actual liability for the month, after input tax credit, and pay that.

If there is nothing to pay in a month, you do not need to deposit anything. The quarterly GSTR-3B then settles the full quarter.

When you can switch

You choose quarterly or monthly for each quarter within a window on the portal.

The window for the October to December 2026 quarter closes on 31 October 2026.

Invoice Management System (IMS) and GSTR-2B

IMS is the screen on the GST portal where you accept, reject or keep pending each invoice your suppliers report. Your actions decide what goes into GSTR-2B and so how much credit you can claim.

IMS has been live since 1 October 2024. Every invoice, debit note and credit note uploaded by a supplier lands in IMS. Records you take no action on are treated as accepted when GSTR-2B is generated.

• Accept: the credit flows into GSTR-2B.
• Reject: the credit stays out, and the supplier must correct the record in GSTR-1A or a later GSTR-1 or IFF.
• Pending: the record is held for a later period. Pending is not allowed for some documents, such as original credit notes.

The draft GSTR-2B is generated on the 14th of the next month. If you change actions in IMS, you can recompute GSTR-2B any number of times before filing GSTR-3B. We review IMS every period before you file, so you do not accept a wrong invoice by doing nothing.

GSTR-3B hard-lock and GSTR-1A: how corrections work now

From the July 2025 tax period, the tax liability auto-filled in Table 3 of GSTR-3B from your GSTR-1, GSTR-1A or IFF cannot be edited in GSTR-3B. Corrections to sales must go through GSTR-1A before you file GSTR-3B.

GSTR-1A is an optional form, introduced by Notification 12/2024-Central Tax dated 10 July 2024. You can file it after the GSTR-1 due date (or your GSTR-1 filing date, if later) and before you file GSTR-3B for the same period. It lets you add missed invoices and correct details, but you cannot change the recipient's GSTIN through it.

In practice, the order of work each month is now fixed: GSTR-1, then any GSTR-1A, then GSTR-3B. A wrong figure in GSTR-1 flows into GSTR-3B, and fixing it later means an amendment in a following period.

Three-year bar on filing old GST returns

You cannot file a GST return once three years have passed from its due date. This applies to GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, GSTR-4, GSTR-5, GSTR-5A, GSTR-6, GSTR-7, GSTR-8 and GSTR-9.

The bar comes from the Finance Act, 2023 amendments to sections 37, 39, 44 and 52 of the CGST Act, notified by Notification 28/2023-Central Tax dated 31 July 2023. The GST portal began enforcing it from 1 August 2025.

A return that can no longer be filed does not make the tax go away. The department can still assess the tax, with interest and penalty. If you have gaps in past filings, clear the oldest periods first, before they cross three years.

Late fee and interest for GST returns

A late GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B costs ₹50 a day, or ₹20 a day for a nil return, capped by turnover. Any tax paid late also carries interest at 18% a year.

Late fee

These figures are the combined CGST and SGST amounts (Notifications 19/2021 and 20/2021-Central Tax). The late fee is charged separately on GSTR-1 and on GSTR-3B, so missing both doubles the cost. For GSTR-4, the late fee is ₹50 a day, capped at ₹500 for a nil return and ₹2,000 otherwise.

Interest

Interest on tax paid late is 18% a year under section 50(1), counted from the day after the due date. Interest on input tax credit wrongly availed and utilised is also charged at 18% a year.

A worked example

You have turnover of ₹1 crore, owe ₹1,00,000 in cash tax for a month, and file GSTR-3B 30 days late.

If GSTR-1 was also 30 days late, add another ₹1,500 of late fee. None of this is a government filing fee: there is no fee to file a return on time.

Input tax credit: the conditions we check every month

You can claim input tax credit only if the conditions in section 16 are met and the credit is not blocked under section 17(5). We check both before any credit goes into GSTR-3B.

Section 16(2) conditions

• You hold a tax invoice or debit note from a registered supplier.
• The supplier has reported the invoice in GSTR-1 or IFF, and it appears in your GSTR-2B.
• You have received the goods or services.
• The supplier has paid the tax to the government.
• You have filed your own GSTR-3B.

The 180-day payment rule

If you do not pay your supplier the invoice value and tax within 180 days of the invoice date, you must reverse the credit with interest. Once you pay, you can claim the credit again.

Time limit to claim credit

Credit for a financial year must be claimed by 30 November of the following year, or the date you file the annual return, whichever is earlier. For FY 2025-26 purchases, that means by 30 November 2026 at the latest.

Blocked credits under section 17(5)

Credit is generally not available on:

• Motor vehicles for carrying up to 13 persons, including the driver, except in specified cases
• Food and beverages, and outdoor catering
• Beauty treatment, health services, life and health insurance, except where specified
• Membership of clubs, health and fitness centres
• Travel benefits to employees on vacation, such as leave travel
• Works contract and goods or services used to construct immovable property on your own account
• Goods or services for personal use
• Goods lost, stolen, destroyed, written off, or given as gifts or free samples

Common mismatches that lead to GST notices

Most GST notices start as a mismatch the portal can see. Catching them before filing is the main value of a monthly review.

1. GSTR-1 higher than GSTR-3B. If the tax declared in GSTR-1 exceeds the tax paid in GSTR-3B beyond a threshold, the portal sends an intimation in Form DRC-01B. You must pay the difference or explain it within 7 days, or your next GSTR-1 or IFF is blocked.
2. Credit in GSTR-3B higher than GSTR-2B. If the credit claimed in GSTR-3B exceeds GSTR-2B beyond a threshold, you get Form DRC-01C, again with 7 days to pay or explain.
3. Books different from GSTR-2B. A purchase in your books that is missing from GSTR-2B usually means the supplier has not filed. You cannot claim it until it appears.
4. Invoices accepted by default in IMS. Taking no action means acceptance, including of wrong or duplicate invoices.
5. Rate errors after GST 2.0. From 22 September 2025 the main slabs are 5% and 18%, with 40% for demerit goods. Billing software still carrying 12% or 28% for items that moved creates mismatches with buyers.

If a notice has already arrived, see our GST notice reply service.

Our GST return filing fee

Our professional fee for GST return filing is from ₹999 a month. There is no government fee to file a GST return.

Late fees and interest are not part of this fee. They arise only when a return or payment is late, and they are paid to the government, not to us. We confirm the monthly fee for your invoice volume in writing before we start.

What is included each month

• GSTR-1 preparation and filing (or IFF and quarterly GSTR-1 under QRMP)
• GSTR-3B preparation, with tax computed after credit set-off
• Reconciliation of your purchase register with GSTR-2B
• Review of IMS actions before GSTR-2B is final
• PMT-06 challan for QRMP months
• A filing summary and challan copy for your records
• A reminder with the amount payable before each due date

Nil GST returns

If you had no sales and no purchases in a period, you still file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B as nil returns. Nil GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B can also be filed by SMS from the registered mobile number.

A nil return filed late costs ₹20 a day, up to ₹500 per return. If you expect no business for a long time, consider whether to keep the registration or cancel it.

Special cases we handle

• E-commerce sellers: your GSTR-1 must reconcile with the marketplace's TCS reporting. We match the two before filing.
• Exporters: exports without tax need a Letter of Undertaking. See LUT filing, and GST refund for unutilised credit.
• Turnover above ₹5 crore: B2B invoices must be e-invoices, and the IRN data flows into GSTR-1. See GST e-invoicing.
• Newly registered businesses: decide monthly or quarterly filing early and set up GST-compliant invoicing. If you have just got your GSTIN, see GST registration for the first-month checklist.

Why Regikart for GST return filing

Regikart serves 250+ clients from offices in Kolkata (head office), Delhi and Bengaluru, and our team includes chartered accountants. Every return is prepared and reviewed by a Chartered Accountant, not only keyed into the portal.

• Fixed fee, shown upfront: from ₹999 a month, with GSTR-2B reconciliation included.
• You approve before filing: you see the summary and the tax payable before anything is filed.
• Notice prevention: we check the GSTR-1 to GSTR-3B and GSTR-2B to GSTR-3B gaps that trigger DRC-01B and DRC-01C.
• One team for the year: the same team can handle bookkeeping, the annual return, GSTR-9C, a turnover certificate and any notice.

Get your GST returns filed by a CA

If your next due date is close, or you have returns pending from earlier months, a CA can check your status and start with the current period.