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Most regular GST taxpayers start with two recurring filings: GSTR-1 reports outward supplies and GSTR-3B summarises tax liability and payment. Depending on turnover and filing frequency, you may submit them monthly or quarterly under QRMP. GSTR-9 is the annual return for applicable taxpayers, while GSTR-2B is the recipient-side statement used to check input-tax-credit documents. Even a period with no sales normally requires a nil filing.
The dates below are the standard GSTN rules, not a guarantee for every tax period. Extensions and other notifications can change them, so confirm the final date shown on the GST Portal return dashboard before submitting.
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Which GST return do you file?
Your filing depends on whether you are reporting sales, paying tax, checking purchase-side credit, or closing the financial year. These forms are related, but they are not interchangeable.
| Form or facility | What it does | Who uses it and when |
|---|---|---|
| GSTR-1 | Statement of outward supplies, including invoice-level and summary details. | Applicable normal and casual registered taxpayers; filed monthly or quarterly. |
| GSTR-3B | Summary declaration of taxable supplies, input tax credit, tax liability and payment. | Taxpayers required to report and pay GST for the period. Under QRMP, it is filed quarterly while tax is paid monthly. |
| GSTR-9 | Annual return consolidating the financial year. | Applicable normal taxpayers after the required GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B periods for the year are filed. |
| GSTR-2B | Recipient-side, read-only statement of supplier documents and amendments used in input-tax-credit reconciliation. | Businesses reviewing purchase invoices and deciding which credit can be considered. |
| GSTR-1A | Optional same-period amendment facility. | Can be used before GSTR-3B for that period; changes flow to the recipient’s next-period GSTR-2B. |
What GSTR-1 contains
GSTR-1 is more than a sales total. GSTN describes it as a monthly or quarterly statement of outward supplies. Depending on the transaction, you may need to report B2B invoices, eligible inter-State B2C invoices, exports, credit and debit notes, advances, amendments, nil, exempt and non-GST supplies, and HSN or SAC summaries. The invoice data is what allows a customer to see a corresponding document in its purchase-side records.
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What GSTR-3B contains
GSTR-3B is the summary return used to declare liability and pay it. It is not a substitute for the invoice-level details in GSTR-1. Reconcile the totals in both forms with your books before filing so that reported turnover, tax rates and available credit tell the same story.
How GSTR-2B fits in
GSTR-2B is generated for the recipient from supplier filings and other permitted statements. It is a control report, not a form in which you edit a supplier’s invoice. Use it to identify documents that appear, are duplicated, or are missing before deciding what input tax credit to take in your return.
Standard GST return deadlines
GSTN publishes standard due-date rules, but a government notification can extend a particular period. Treat the date displayed for your tax period on the GST Portal as the operational deadline.
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| Filing | Standard rule | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly GSTR-1 | 11th day of the succeeding month | The date can be extended by notification. |
| Quarterly GSTR-1 | 13th day of the month after the quarter | Applies to the quarterly cadence, including QRMP participants. |
| Quarterly GSTR-3B under QRMP | 22nd or 24th day of the succeeding month | The applicable day depends on the state or Union territory of the principal place of business and can be changed by notification. |
There is no single date you should assume for every annual return or every monthly payment. Open the return dashboard, select the financial year and tax period, and use the due date shown there. Submit early enough to handle validation errors, payment-bank delays or a portal outage.
The 30 November amendment cut-off
GSTN states that errors or omissions relating to a previous financial year cannot be amended in GSTR-1 after 30 November of the following financial year. This is an amendment cut-off, not a general filing date. Reconcile invoice registers, credit notes and customer GSTINs before it arrives.
QRMP: quarterly returns with monthly payment
QRMP stands for Quarterly Returns with Monthly Payment. It is a filing-cadence option, not a tax holiday and not permission to stop maintaining monthly records.
Eligibility
GSTN’s current portal guidance sets an aggregate annual-turnover ceiling of ₹5 crore, subject to the other conditions. The taxpayer must also have filed the last due GSTR-3B. Check the eligibility and option status shown for your GSTIN on the portal rather than relying on an old election.
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You file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B once per quarter, but pay the tax due for each month through a challan. The quarterly GSTR-3B therefore does not remove the need to calculate monthly liability and fund the payment. Keep monthly sales, purchase and tax records so the quarter-end return is a controlled aggregation instead of a reconstruction.
Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF)
For the first two months of a QRMP quarter, the optional Invoice Furnishing Facility lets you pass eligible B2B invoice data to customers sooner. GSTN gives the usual IFF due date as the 13th of the succeeding month. IFF is optional; choosing it does not change your obligation to file the quarterly GSTR-1.
Monthly filing versus QRMP
| Decision factor | Monthly filing | QRMP |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover condition | No QRMP ceiling applies because you are not using the scheme. | Aggregate annual turnover up to ₹5 crore, plus the scheme’s other conditions. |
| Return preparation | GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B are prepared each month. | GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B are filed quarterly. |
| Cash-flow cadence | Tax is reported and paid with each periodic return according to the portal schedule. | Tax is paid monthly through challans even though returns are quarterly. |
| Speed of B2B data | Invoices generally reach the recipient through the regular monthly GSTR-1 cycle. | Use optional IFF in the first two months when customers need eligible B2B data sooner. |
| GSTR-3B due-date pattern | Use the date assigned to your filing frequency on the portal. | Usually the 22nd or 24th of the succeeding month for the quarterly return, based on the principal-place state or Union territory. |
| Administrative workload | More frequent submissions, but less quarter-end accumulation. | Fewer return submissions, with a greater need for monthly reconciliation and a disciplined quarter-end close. |
A reliable GST filing workflow
- Confirm the account and period. Sign in to the GST Portal, verify the GSTIN status, financial year, tax period and whether the account is set to monthly or quarterly filing. Confirm the principal-place state or Union territory for QRMP due-date treatment.
- Close the source records. Export the sales register and collect credit notes, debit notes, export documents, advances, exempt or nil supplies and HSN/SAC information. Include amendments that belong to the period.
- Validate customer details. Check each recipient GSTIN for validity and activity on the invoice date. Correct a customer master before uploading; an invalid or inactive GSTIN can cause invoice details to be rejected.
- Prepare GSTR-1. Enter or upload the applicable invoice and summary sections. Review B2B, qualifying inter-State B2C, exports, notes, advances, amendments and nil, exempt and non-GST categories rather than assuming that a sales-only extract is complete.
- Compare the generated summary with the books. Check taxable value, tax rate, integrated, central and state or Union territory tax totals, document counts and the HSN/SAC summary. Resolve mismatches before submission.
- File and retain the acknowledgement. Complete the portal’s filing and authentication steps, then save the acknowledgement reference and a copy of the filed data.
- Complete GSTR-3B and payment. Transfer reconciled totals into the summary return, review eligible credit, declare liability and generate the required payment challan. Save the challan and payment confirmation with the filing acknowledgement.
- Review GSTR-2B. Compare supplier documents with your purchase register, investigate missing or duplicate entries, and retain evidence for any credit decision.
- Close the quarter or year. QRMP users should reconcile each month even when the formal return is quarterly. Before starting GSTR-9, verify that every required GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B period for the financial year has been filed.
Nil returns, blocked filings and other common mistakes
Assuming no sales means no return
GSTN says GSTR-1 must still be filed when there was no business activity for the period. File the nil return instead of leaving the period open. A nil period is a filing obligation with zero reportable activity, not an exemption from filing.
Trying to file while an earlier period is pending
The portal can block a current GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B when an earlier required return is missing. Open the return dashboard, identify the oldest outstanding period, file it first, and then proceed in chronological order. If a payment or late fee is displayed, resolve that item before retrying the next period.
Using an invalid recipient GSTIN
Verify the GSTIN and its active status for the invoice date. A customer may have changed registration status, surrendered a number or supplied a typographical error. Correct the source invoice data and upload again rather than repeatedly submitting the same rejected record.
Leaving out a transaction category
Sales exports, credit and debit notes, advances, amendments, exempt supplies and HSN/SAC summaries are easy to miss when a team extracts only standard B2B invoices. Use a section-by-section checklist and compare document counts with the books.
Waiting past the amendment window
Once the 30 November following the financial year has passed, GSTN does not allow the previous year’s additions or corrections in GSTR-1. Run an annual invoice-to-ledger reconciliation well before that date, including documents issued after the original return but relating to the earlier year.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why an invoice is missing from GSTR-2B
GSTR-2B does not update at the instant a supplier creates an invoice. Its contents depend on supplier filings, amendments and GSTN cut-off dates. A supplier that files late can cause the document to appear in a later GSTR-2B period.
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Checks for the recipient
- Confirm the supplier used your exact GSTIN, legal name details and the correct invoice number and date.
- Ask when the supplier filed or amended its GSTR-1 or used IFF, then compare that timing with the relevant GSTR-2B cut-off.
- Check later GSTR-2B statements for a delayed document before treating it as permanently absent.
- Look for a duplicate, credit note or amendment that changes the taxable value or tax amount.
- Reconcile the purchase register to the statement and retain supplier correspondence and tax invoices for unresolved differences.
Do not make a credit decision solely because an invoice is visible in an accounting system. The supplier’s filing status and the applicable credit rules still need to be checked for the period.
When and how to approach GSTR-9
GSTR-9 is the annual return for applicable normal taxpayers. GSTN’s utility guidance requires the relevant GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B filings to be complete before the annual return can be filed. If the annual-return option is unavailable, first check for a missing periodic return rather than treating it as a portal defect.
Annual-return preparation
- Lock the year’s sales, purchase and general-ledger balances.
- Reconcile outward supplies and tax between books, filed GSTR-1 and filed GSTR-3B.
- Reconcile input-tax-credit records with GSTR-2B and document reversals or ineligible amounts.
- Explain differences caused by amendments, credit notes, advances and timing between financial years.
- Check that every required period shows a filed acknowledgement before opening the annual-return utility.
Controls that prevent late corrections
A small monthly close is safer than a year-end rescue. Assign one owner to the invoice register, one review step for GSTIN validation, and one sign-off comparing portal summaries with the ledger. Keep filed return PDFs or downloads, acknowledgement references, challans, upload error reports and amendment evidence in a period-indexed folder.
For QRMP, calculate liability every month even though the return is quarterly. For monthly filers, set an internal cut-off several days before the portal date so rejected invoices can be corrected. In both cases, monitor GSTR-2B after major supplier filing dates and investigate differences while the underlying invoice and supplier contact are easy to locate.
Quick Recap
Quick pre-submission checklist
- GSTIN is active and the selected financial year and tax period are correct.
- Filing frequency and QRMP status match the portal record.
- Sales, exports, advances, notes, amendments, exempt or nil supplies and HSN/SAC data are included where applicable.
- Recipient GSTINs were validated for the invoice date.
- GSTR-1 totals agree with the books and generated summary.
- GSTR-3B liability and credit agree with reconciled records.
- Payment challan and filing acknowledgement are saved.
- GSTR-2B differences are listed, assigned and followed up.
- All earlier periods are filed before attempting the current return.
- Annual-return prerequisites and the 30 November amendment cut-off have been calendared.
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