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Every business registered under GST has to report its sales, purchases, and tax liability to the government on a set schedule, whether or not there was a single transaction that month. That's what GST return filing means in practice: logging into the GST portal, pulling together your outward and inward supply data, reconciling input tax credit, and submitting the right form before the due date. Miss it, and the portal charges a late fee automatically, no notice required.
This page walks through every return type you're likely to deal with, the current due dates, what's changed on the GST portal through 2026, and how to file without losing input tax credit to a reconciliation mismatch you didn't catch in time.
A GST return is a statement a registered taxpayer submits on the government's GST portal, showing outward supplies (what you sold), inward supplies and the input tax credit you're claiming on them, and the net tax payable after adjusting that credit. Filing isn't optional once you hold a GSTIN, and it doesn't pause just because a month had no sales. A period with zero transactions still needs a return, called a nil return, and skipping it draws the same late fee mechanism as skipping a return with real numbers on it.
Most businesses end up dealing with two returns every filing cycle: GSTR-1, which reports your sales, and GSTR-3B, the summary return where you declare your net liability and pay tax. Larger or more specialised businesses layer on annual returns, TDS/TCS returns, or ISD returns depending on what they do.
A quick note on two older names you might still see referenced online: GSTR-9A, the composition dealer's old annual return, was discontinued from FY 2019-20 onward and folded into GSTR-4. And GST RET-1, part of a simplified return system proposed back in 2019, was never rolled out; the department stuck with the GSTR-1/GSTR-3B structure. If either of those comes up in something you're reading, treat it as outdated.
These two forms get filed together every cycle, but they're not interchangeable.
GSTR-1 is where you report the details: every invoice, credit note, and debit note issued during the period, broken down by buyer. This is the data your customers rely on for their own input tax credit, since what you report in GSTR-1 is what shows up in their GSTR-2B.
GSTR-3B is the summary return, where you declare total outward liability, the input tax credit you're claiming, and the net tax payable in cash after adjusting that credit. Since July 2025, the outward-liability figures in GSTR-3B (Table 3.1 and 3.2) are pulled directly from your filed GSTR-1 and are no longer editable inside GSTR-3B itself. If something's wrong, you fix it through GSTR-1A, a same-period amendment window, before you file GSTR-3B, not after.
If you're on the QRMP scheme (turnover up to Rs. 5 crore, opting for quarterly filing), you still file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B quarterly, but you pay tax monthly through a simplified challan, using either the fixed-sum method based on your last quarter's liability or a self-assessed amount.
Both statements list the purchases your suppliers have reported against your GSTIN, but they behave differently. GSTR-2A updates in real time as suppliers file, which makes it useful for tracking but unreliable as a claim basis since it keeps changing. GSTR-2B is a static snapshot generated once a month, and it's the one that actually determines what input tax credit you're eligible to claim in that period's GSTR-3B.
Since October 2025, this connection has tightened considerably through the Invoice Management System (IMS). Every inward invoice now needs an explicit action on the IMS dashboard: accept, reject, or leave pending. Only accepted (or automatically deemed-accepted) invoices flow into GSTR-2B and become claimable credit. Rejected invoices are excluded outright. From April 1, 2026, using IMS became mandatory for every regular taxpayer filing GSTR-3B, and the portal now applies what's commonly called a Zero Mismatch check: GSTR-3B is blocked from filing if the ITC you've claimed exceeds what's actually sitting in your GSTR-2B. There's no override button anymore. If a supplier hasn't filed on time, or you haven't cleared a pending invoice in IMS, your own return can get stuck until it's resolved, which makes checking GSTR-2B before the 11th of each month worth building into your routine rather than treating it as optional.
The recurring pattern for regular filers looks like this:
CBIC issues one-off extensions from time to time, GSTR-3B for March 2026 got a short extension, for instance. Always cross-check the exact date against the GST portal's own calendar before you file, since a table in an article is never a substitute for the notification itself.
Two things worth knowing beyond the numbers. First, late fees have to be paid in cash from your electronic cash ledger, input tax credit can't be used to settle them. Second, since mid-2025 the portal enforces a three-year time bar: GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, GSTR-4, GSTR-5 through 8, and GSTR-9 can no longer be filed at all once more than three years have passed from the original due date. If you have very old pending returns, this isn't a "get to it eventually" situation anymore, those filings become permanently blocked once the window closes.
For quarterly GSTR-1 filers who want to share invoice-level data with buyers mid-quarter without waiting for the full quarterly filing, the Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) lets you upload B2B invoices monthly even though your actual GSTR-1 filing stays quarterly.
Discrepancies and late fees can cost your business heavily. Let our experienced CAs handle your GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, and GSTR-9 filings seamlessly.
If you've paid more GST than you owe, whether from zero-rated exports, an inverted duty structure where your input tax rate is higher than your output rate, or simply an error in the cash ledger, you can claim it back through Form RFD-01 on the GST portal.
The process runs on fairly fixed timelines: an acknowledgement (RFD-02) within 15 days of a complete application, a provisional refund of up to 90% within 7 days for eligible zero-rated and (as of Budget 2026) inverted-duty claims, and a final sanction order (RFD-06) within 60 days of acknowledgement. If the department takes longer than 60 days, you're entitled to 6% annual interest on the delay. Refund claims have to be filed within two years of the relevant date (generally the export or payment date), and that deadline doesn't bend for a late filing, once it passes, the claim is gone for good.
Moving goods worth more than Rs. 50,000 in a single consignment typically requires an e-way bill, generated on the separate e-way bill portal using your GSTIN. If a transporter, rather than you or the buyer, is moving the goods, the e-way bill needs a valid Transporter ID entered against it so the vehicle can be tracked and the bill updated with vehicle details en route. Transporters register once on the e-way bill portal to get this ID, and it gets reused across every shipment they carry, so it's worth setting up before your first dispatch rather than scrambling at the loading dock.
If your aggregate turnover crossed Rs. 5 crore in any year since 2017-18, e-invoicing isn't optional for your B2B and export invoices. Every such invoice has to be reported to the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) to receive an Invoice Reference Number (IRN) and QR code before it counts as valid under GST law. Once you cross that threshold in any year, the obligation stays even if your turnover later drops, so don't assume a lean year removes it.
This connects directly to return filing: e-invoice data auto-populates into your GSTR-1, cutting down manual entry considerably. It does not replace GSTR-1 filing itself. If your turnover is Rs. 10 crore or above, there's an additional constraint to track: invoices, credit notes, and debit notes have to reach the IRP within 30 days of the document date, or the portal rejects them outright, and a rejected invoice is invalid for GST purposes on both sides, meaning your buyer loses that input tax credit too. SEZ units, banks, insurers, goods transport agencies, and passenger transport services are exempt from the e-invoicing mandate regardless of turnover.
GSTR-3A isn't a return you file, it's a notice the system sends when you've missed filing GSTR-3B, GSTR-4, GSTR-5, GSTR-6, GSTR-7, GSTR-8, or GSTR-10 by the due date. Once you get one, you have 15 days to file the pending return along with whatever late fee and interest apply. Ignore it past that window, and the officer can move to a best-judgment assessment under Section 62, estimating your tax liability without your input, which is a considerably worse position to negotiate from than just filing the return yourself. You can check for any pending GSTR-3A notices under Services > User Services > View Notices and Orders on the GST portal.
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If a return period had no sales, no purchases, and nothing to report, you still file a nil return rather than skip it. On the portal, this takes the same route as a regular filing, just with zero values entered, and it's confirmed through DSC or EVC like any other submission. GSTR-3B also supports nil filing through SMS from your registered mobile number for businesses that want a faster route when there's genuinely nothing to report, though most filers now find it just as quick to log in and submit through the dashboard given how tightly IMS and GSTR-2B checks are now woven into the regular filing flow.
If you're registered under the composition scheme, your filing cycle looks different from a regular taxpayer's. You file CMP-08 quarterly, a simple statement declaring turnover and tax paid at your flat composition rate, and GSTR-4 annually, which consolidates the full year. There's no GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B to worry about, and no input tax credit to reconcile, since composition dealers don't claim ITC in the first place.
LegalDev's GST return filing service starts at Rs. 599 per return, covering GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B preparation, IMS reconciliation, and filing on your behalf, with typical turnaround inside 12 hours of you sharing your sales and purchase data. Annual returns (GSTR-9/9C) and refund applications are quoted separately given the additional reconciliation work involved. Pricing is confirmed upfront before we start, no charges added once the filing is done.
Filing correctly now takes more than portal access. Between IMS actions that need to happen before every GSTR-3B, outward figures that are locked and can only be corrected through GSTR-1A, and a hard ITC check against GSTR-2B, a single missed step can block your return at the worst possible moment. LegalDev's team tracks your IMS dashboard, reconciles GSTR-2B against your purchase register before the filing window opens, and manages the full cycle, monthly or quarterly GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B, annual returns, and refund applications, so a supplier's late filing doesn't become your compliance problem.
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Log in to the GST portal with your GSTIN, go to the Returns Dashboard, select the period and form, enter or upload your sales and purchase data, clear any pending IMS actions, pay tax due through a GST challan, and submit using DSC or OTP-based EVC.
GSTR-1 reports invoice-level sales details that flow into your buyers' credit. GSTR-3B is the summary return where you declare net tax liability and actually pay. Both are required, usually on the same monthly or quarterly cycle.
GSTR-2A updates continuously as suppliers file and is for reference only. GSTR-2B is a fixed monthly snapshot, and it's the one that determines how much input tax credit you can actually claim.
Yes. This is called a nil return, and it's mandatory even with zero activity. Skipping it still triggers a late fee, though at a lower capped rate than a regular return.
Businesses with turnover up to Rs. 5 crore can opt into the QRMP scheme, filing GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B once a quarter while still paying tax every month through a simplified challan. Above that turnover, monthly filing is mandatory.
A late fee accrues automatically per day, along with 18% annual interest on any unpaid tax. Continued non-filing can restrict e-way bill generation and eventually lead to GSTIN suspension.
Yes, since mid-2025 the GST portal enforces a hard three-year cutoff from the original due date across most return types. Once that window passes, the return can no longer be filed at all.
File Form RFD-01 on the GST portal within two years of the relevant date. Eligible zero-rated and inverted-duty claims can get a 90% provisional refund within 7 days, with the final order following within 60 days.
GSTR-9 is the annual return consolidating a full year's GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B data. It's mandatory for regular taxpayers with aggregate turnover above Rs. 2 crore in the financial year; below that, filing is optional.
GSTR-9C is a reconciliation statement matching your annual return against audited financial statements. It's required only if your aggregate turnover crosses Rs. 5 crore, and since FY 2020-21 it can be self-certified rather than requiring a separate CA audit report.
Yes, through GSTR-1A, a same-period amendment window that lets you correct invoice details before the corresponding GSTR-3B is filed. GSTR-3B itself no longer allows manual edits to outward figures.
IMS is the portal feature where you accept, reject, or leave pending each inward invoice reported by your suppliers. It's been mandatory for every regular taxpayer filing GSTR-3B since April 1, 2026, and only accepted invoices flow into your claimable GSTR-2B.
CMP-08 quarterly for tax payment, and GSTR-4 annually to consolidate the year. There's no GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B, and no ITC claims, under the composition scheme.
The final return, filed once, within three months of your GST registration being cancelled or surrendered. It closes out any remaining liability under that GSTIN.
It reports goods sent to or received back from a job worker, filed half-yearly by manufacturers with turnover above Rs. 5 crore, or annually below that threshold.
No, they're separate systems entirely. GST returns (GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, and so on) report sales, purchases, and GST liability to the GST department. Income tax returns (ITR) report your overall income to the Income Tax Department. A business typically has to file both, on different portals, on different schedules, and one doesn't substitute for the other.
It's not a return, it's a system-generated notice sent when you miss filing GSTR-3B or another applicable return by its due date. You get 15 days from the notice to file the pending return with late fee and interest, before the officer can move to a best-judgment tax assessment.
No. E-invoicing is the process of getting a unique IRN for B2B and export invoices from the Invoice Registration Portal, mandatory above Rs. 5 crore turnover. It feeds data into your GSTR-1 automatically but doesn't replace the need to file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B separately.
GST Portal > Services > Returns > Track Return Status, using your ARN or the relevant tax period.