Library / Goods and Services Tax: The Professional's Master Guide

24. Returns (Sections 37 to 48)

The supplier reports each invoice, the recipient's credit statement is generated from it, and the summary return pays tax on both. The key returns are below.

Return	Filed by	Content	Due date
GSTR-1	Regular taxpayers	Outward supplies	11th of next month (QRMP: 13th after quarter)
IFF	QRMP taxpayers (optional)	B2B invoices of first two months	13th of next month
GSTR-1A	Regular taxpayers (optional)	Amendments to current GSTR-1 before GSTR-3B	Before filing GSTR-3B
GSTR-3B	Regular taxpayers	Summary return and payment	20th (QRMP: 22nd or 24th after quarter)
PMT-06	QRMP taxpayers	Tax for first two months	25th of next month
CMP-08 / GSTR-4	Composition taxpayers	Quarterly payment / annual return	18th after quarter / 30 June
GSTR-5	Non-resident taxable persons	Monthly return	13th of next month
GSTR-6	Input Service Distributors	Credit distributed	13th of next month
GSTR-7 / GSTR-8	TDS deductors / e-commerce operators	TDS / TCS	10th of next month
GSTR-9 / 9C	Regular taxpayers	Annual return / reconciliation	31 December
GSTR-10	Persons whose registration is cancelled	Final return	3 months from cancellation

24.1 QRMP scheme

Taxpayers with aggregate turnover up to Rs. 5 crore may opt for the Quarterly Return Monthly Payment scheme. They file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B quarterly but pay tax monthly in PMT-06 by the 25th for the first two months, either by the fixed sum method (35% of the cash tax of the previous quarter, or the full cash tax of the last month of that quarter for a monthly filer) or by self-assessment. B2B invoices of the first two months may go through IFF (up to Rs. 50 lakh a month) so customers get monthly credit. Quarterly GSTR-3B is due on the 22nd in States such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka, and on the 24th in others such as Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

24.2 GSTR-1 and GSTR-1A

GSTR-1 reports B2B supplies invoice-wise (Table 4), inter-State B2C invoices above Rs. 1 lakh (Table 5), exports and SEZ supplies (Table 6), other B2C supplies in summary (Table 7), nil, exempt and non-GST supplies (Table 8), amendments and credit and debit notes (Tables 9 and 10), advances (Table 11), the HSN summary (Table 12, split B2B and B2C), documents issued (Table 13) and e-commerce supplies (Tables 14 and 15). GSTR-1A (from the July 2024 period) lets a taxpayer add or correct records of the same period before filing GSTR-3B.

24.3 GSTR-3B

Table	Content
3.1	Outward supplies: (a) taxable, (b) zero-rated, (c) nil and exempt, (d) inward supplies liable to reverse charge, (e) non-GST
3.1.1	Supplies under section 9(5): tax paid by the e-commerce operator, and supplies made by the registered person through the operator
3.2	Inter-State supplies to unregistered persons, composition taxpayers and UIN holders, State-wise
4	ITC: 4A available (imports, RCM, ISD, all other); 4B reversed (rules 38, 42, 43 and section 17(5) in 4B(1); others in 4B(2)); 4C net ITC; 4D reclaimed credit and ineligible credit
5	Exempt, nil-rated and non-GST inward supplies; 5.1 interest and late fee
6	Payment of tax through credit and cash ledgers

Hard lock. From the July 2025 period, the liability in Table 3 auto-populated from GSTR-1, GSTR-1A and IFF cannot be edited in GSTR-3B. Corrections go through GSTR-1A before filing GSTR-3B, or the next GSTR-1.

Rule 59(6). A person cannot file GSTR-1 if GSTR-3B for the preceding tax period (month or quarter) is not filed. GSTR-1 is also blocked where an intimation under rule 88C (liability gap between GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B) or rule 88D (ITC in GSTR-3B more than GSTR-2B) is pending without payment or explanation. Customers then lose credit.

Judicial view: Correction of returns

Union of India v. Bharti Airtel Ltd. (Supreme Court, 2021): The taxpayer wanted to rectify GSTR-3B for July to September 2017 by reducing cash paid on the ground that credit was not visible then. The Supreme Court held there is no right to rectify GSTR-3B outside section 39(9); correction is made in the period the error is noticed, within time.

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs v. Aberdare Technologies (P) Ltd. (Supreme Court, 2025): The Bombay High Court (2024) had allowed correction of bona fide clerical errors in GSTR-1 after the time limit, where there was no loss of revenue, since the customer's credit depended on the correction. The Supreme Court dismissed the department's appeal: the right to correct clerical errors flows from the right to carry on business, and portal limits cannot defeat it.

Practical relevance: A genuine clerical error (wrong GSTIN, B2B shown as B2C) with no revenue loss can be pursued by representation and, if refused, by writ. Deliberate re-computation of liability is governed by Bharti Airtel.

24.4 Three-year time bar

The Finance Act, 2023 amended sections 37, 39, 44, 45 and 52 so that a return cannot be filed after three years from its due date. The portal enforces this from the July 2025 period. A barred return leaves the taxpayer open to best judgment assessment (section 62) and customers without credit.

Illustration 135: Last date under the three-year bar

Rana Enterprises did not file its GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B for August 2023 or its GSTR-9 for FY 2022-23.

Step 1: GSTR-1 for August 2023 was due on 11 September 2023; last date 11 September 2026 (already barred on 28 September 2026).

Step 2: GSTR-3B for August 2023 was due on 20 September 2023; last date 20 September 2026 (barred).

Step 3: GSTR-9 for FY 2022-23 was due on 31 December 2023; last date 31 December 2026 (still open).

24.5 Late fee and interest

Late fee under section 47 for GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B is Rs. 50 per day (Rs. 25 CGST + Rs. 25 SGST), and Rs. 20 per day for nil returns, subject to caps: Rs. 500 for nil returns; Rs. 2,000 for turnover up to Rs. 1.5 crore; Rs. 5,000 for turnover from Rs. 1.5 crore to Rs. 5 crore; Rs. 10,000 above Rs. 5 crore (all amounts combined). Interest at 18% under section 50(1) applies on tax paid late in cash. Nil GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and CMP-08 can be filed by SMS from the registered mobile to 14409.

Illustration 136: Late fee and interest on a delayed GSTR-3B

Lakhani Foods, with turnover of Rs. 3 crore, files GSTR-3B 45 days late. Net tax payable in cash is Rs. 2,40,000. Its sister concern files a nil return 30 days late.

Step 1: Late fee = Rs. 50 x 45 = Rs. 2,250 (CGST Rs. 1,125 + SGST Rs. 1,125); below the Rs. 5,000 cap.

Step 2: Interest = Rs. 2,40,000 x 18% x 45 / 365 = Rs. 5,326.

Step 3: Sister concern: Rs. 20 x 30 = Rs. 600, capped at Rs. 500.

24.6 Annual return, final return and GST practitioners

GSTR-9 is optional for taxpayers with aggregate turnover up to Rs. 2 crore (made permanent from FY 2024-25). GSTR-9C, a self-certified reconciliation of the annual return with audited financial statements, is required where turnover exceeds Rs. 5 crore. Both are due on 31 December. Late fee for GSTR-9 is Rs. 50 per day (turnover up to Rs. 5 crore, cap 0.04% of turnover), Rs. 100 per day (Rs. 5 crore to 20 crore, cap 0.04%) and Rs. 200 per day (above Rs. 20 crore, cap 0.5%). GSTR-10 is the final return of a person whose registration is cancelled.

Illustration 137: GSTR-9 late fee

Kapoor Paints, turnover Rs. 8 crore, files GSTR-9 for FY 2025-26 sixty days late.

Step 1: Rate = Rs. 100 per day. Late fee = Rs. 100 x 60 = Rs. 6,000.

Step 2: Cap = 0.04% of Rs. 8 crore = Rs. 32,000. Late fee payable = Rs. 6,000.

A GST practitioner enrolled under section 48 and rule 83 (FORM PCT-01) may furnish returns and other details on a taxpayer's authorisation. The taxpayer remains responsible and confirms the return.

Chapter summary

• GSTR-1 by 11th, GSTR-3B by 20th; QRMP taxpayers file quarterly (13th and 22nd or 24th) and pay monthly by 25th.

• GSTR-1A allows corrections before GSTR-3B; from July 2025 Table 3 of GSTR-3B is locked.

• Returns cannot be filed after three years from the due date.

• Late fee Rs. 50 per day (Rs. 20 for nil), capped by turnover; interest at 18% on cash paid late.

• GSTR-9 is optional up to Rs. 2 crore; GSTR-9C above Rs. 5 crore; both by 31 December.

• Bona fide clerical errors may be corrected even after the time limit where no revenue is lost (Aberdare Technologies).