GSTR-7 is a monthly GST return filed by entities that deduct tax at source (TDS) under GST. It covers TDS deducted, liability payable, amounts deposited, and any refund claimed. Miss the 10th of the month, and you're looking at ₹200 per day in late fees. This page covers everything — what GSTR-7 is, who must file it, the exact due dates, what the return includes, penalties for late filing, and how corrections work.
Under GST, certain government entities and notified bodies are required to deduct a portion of payment as TDS before paying their vendors. GSTR-7 is how that deduction gets reported to the government.
It's not a return for regular taxpayers. Only TDS deductors file it — and they file it monthly, regardless of whether they've made payments or not (more on the nil-filing question in the FAQ below).
The return also triggers something important for vendors: once GSTR-7 is filed, the deducted amount shows up in the vendor's GSTR-2A, and they can claim it as Input Tax Credit or apply for a refund.
Not every government entity deducts TDS. The obligation applies to a specific set of bodies:
The trigger: TDS must be deducted only when the total contract value crosses ₹2.5 lakh. Below that threshold, no deduction is required.
TDS rates:
The GSTR-7 due date is the 10th of the month following the tax period.
There's no grace period built in. If the 10th falls on a holiday or Sunday, check the GST portal for any official extension — CBIC occasionally notifies date extensions, but don't assume one will come.
For the deductor, GSTR-7 is a compliance obligation. For the vendor on the other end, it's something more useful.
Once a deductor files GSTR-7, three things happen automatically:
In practice, vendors working with government departments check their GSTR-2A every month to confirm their TDS credits have landed. If a deductor files late, the vendor's credit is delayed too — which is one reason the 10th deadline matters beyond just the deductor's own compliance.
From April 2025 onwards, invoice-wise TDS reporting became mandatory. The return itself covers several key sections:
The invoice-wise requirement added from April 2025 means deductors need to maintain proper invoice records — a bulk lump-sum entry no longer works for compliance purposes.
Filing GSTR-7 late isn't cheap. Here's exactly what applies:
No late fee applies under IGST. But the ₹200/day under CGST + SGST adds up fast — at that rate, a month's delay runs ₹6,000, which hits the ₹5,000 cap before the month is out.
Interest at 18% per annum runs on any TDS amount that wasn't deposited on time — so it's not just late fees at risk if payment is delayed alongside filing.
Once GSTR-7 is submitted, it's locked. There's no revision option.
If you entered a wrong GSTIN, wrong invoice number, or wrong TDS amount — you correct it in the next month's GSTR-7. The amendment section of the return exists specifically for this purpose.
This makes getting it right the first time genuinely important. A wrong GSTIN in particular causes real problems for the vendor, whose GSTR-2A won't reflect the credit until the amendment goes through in the following month.
Log in to the GST portal, navigate to Services → Returns → GSTR-7, and enter TDS details invoice-wise (mandatory from April 2025). Before submitting, double-check every deductee's GSTIN — a wrong GSTIN means the vendor never receives the credit. Pay any outstanding TDS through the electronic cash ledger before filing. Once submitted, the return can't be revised, so verify all figures carefully. Any errors discovered afterward get corrected in the following month's return.
GSTR-3B is filed monthly by regular GST-registered taxpayers to summarize their sales, purchases, and net tax payable. GSTR-7 is filed only by TDS deductors — government departments, PSUs, and similar entities — to report deductions made from vendor payments. A regular business never touches GSTR-7. A TDS deductor, if they're also a registered supplier, files both. The key difference in practical terms: GSTR-3B affects your own tax liability; GSTR-7 affects your vendor's ITC entitlement.
This is genuinely unsettled as of early 2025. CBIC recommended making nil GSTR-7 filing compulsory for months with zero deductions, but the formal notification hadn't been issued at the time of writing. Until that notification comes, nil filing isn't strictly required for most deductors. That said, filing a nil return is the safer approach — it keeps your compliance record clean. Check the official GST portal announcements before skipping a month with no deductions.
TDS reported in GSTR-7 typically shows up in the vendor's GSTR-2A within one to two days of the deductor filing. The vendor can then claim it as ITC or request a refund through their credit ledger. If it doesn't appear within three to four days, a wrong GSTIN entered by the deductor is the most common reason. The deductor will need to file an amendment in next month's GSTR-7 — the current return can't be corrected after submission.
Late fees under GSTR-7 run at ₹200 per day, capped at ₹5,000. There's no automatic waiver. The government has issued GST amnesty schemes in the past, and some deductors have successfully requested relief through their jurisdictional GST officer under genuinely exceptional circumstances — but these are rare exceptions, not a reliable fallback. The only reliable way to avoid the fee is to file by the 10th. Plan for it the week before the deadline, not on the day itself.
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