GST Return Due Dates for Small Businesses: GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, QRMP, CMP-08 and GSTR-9

A regular GST taxpayer files GSTR-1 by the 11th and GSTR-3B by the 20th of the next month. Under the QRMP scheme (turnover up to ₹5 crore), GSTR-1 is due by the 13th and GSTR-3B by the 24th of the month after each quarter in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, with tax paid monthly in PMT-06 by the 25th. Composition dealers pay through CMP-08 by the 18th after each quarter, and annual returns follow on 30 June (GSTR-4) and 31 December (GSTR-9).

Sources checked: 20 October 2026

Facts checked on 20 October 2026 against the CGST Act and Rules on the CBIC tax information portal (rules 59, 61, 61A, 62 and 80; sections 37, 39, 44, 47 and 50), CBIC Circular 143/13/2020-GST, Notifications 83/2020, 13/2017, 19/2021, 20/2021, 7/2023 and 14/2024 (Central Tax), and GSTN advisories on gst.gov.in.

Key facts

Return or payment	Who files	Due date	Where the date comes from
GSTR-1 (monthly)	Regular taxpayers not in QRMP	11th of the next month	Notification 83/2020-CT
GSTR-1 (quarterly)	QRMP taxpayers	13th of the month after the quarter	Notification 83/2020-CT
IFF (optional)	QRMP taxpayers, months 1 and 2	1st to 13th of the next month, up to ₹50 lakh a month	Rule 59(2)
GSTR-3B (monthly)	Regular taxpayers not in QRMP	20th of the next month	Rule 61(1)(i)
GSTR-3B (quarterly)	QRMP taxpayers	24th after the quarter in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, UP (22nd in the other group)	Rule 61(1)(ii)
PMT-06	QRMP taxpayers, months 1 and 2	25th of the next month	Rule 61(3)
CMP-08	Composition dealers	18th of the month after the quarter	Rule 62(1)(i)
GSTR-4	Composition dealers	30 June after the financial year (FY 2024-25 onwards)	Rule 62(1), proviso
GSTR-9 / GSTR-9C	Regular taxpayers; 9C above ₹5 crore turnover	31 December after the financial year	Rule 80

The government can extend any of these dates by notification (sections 37 and 39 allow it), so check government updates or the portal before a deadline. Our free compliance calendar shows each date month by month and offers a calendar feed.

What is QRMP and who can use it?

QRMP (Quarterly Return Monthly Payment) lets a smaller business file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B once a quarter while paying tax every month. You qualify if you file GSTR-3B and your aggregate turnover in the preceding financial year was up to ₹5 crore (Notification 84/2020-CT; Circular 143/13/2020-GST).

• When to opt in or out: from the 1st day of the second month of the preceding quarter to the last day of the first month of the quarter (rule 61A). For July–September, that window is 1 May to 31 July.
• Precondition: the last return due on the day you opt must already be filed.
• Per GSTIN: each registration under the same PAN can choose separately.
• Once chosen, it stays until you change it or become ineligible.
• Crossing ₹5 crore during the year moves you to monthly returns from the next quarter.

When is GSTR-3B due under QRMP in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh?

On the 24th of the month after the quarter. Rule 61(1)(ii) divides the country into two groups by principal place of business:

• 24th day: Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, and the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Chandigarh and Delhi.
• 22nd day: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and the Union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.

So for the July–September 2026 quarter, a QRMP business in Hisar, Ludhiana, Jaipur or Lucknow files GSTR-3B by 24 October 2026, unless a notification extends it. Monthly filers everywhere file by the 20th.

How do I pay tax in the first two months of a quarter?

You deposit the tax for month 1 and month 2 in Form PMT-06 by the 25th of the following month (rule 61(3)). Circular 143/13/2020-GST gives two methods, and you can use either in any month:

1. Fixed sum method: the portal pre-fills a challan for 35% of the tax you paid in cash in the previous quarter (if you filed quarterly), or the cash tax of the last month of that quarter (if you filed monthly). If you pay this system amount on time and clear the full quarter's tax in GSTR-3B by its due date, no interest is charged even if the actual tax for a month was higher.
2. Self-assessment method: you work out the actual tax for the month from your sales, purchases and the credit in GSTR-2B. Interest runs on any part paid late.

If your cash and credit ledgers already cover the month's tax, or the tax is nil, you need not deposit anything. There is no late fee for a late PMT-06, only interest where it applies. The amount deposited is adjusted in the quarter's GSTR-3B and cannot be refunded until that return is filed.

What is the IFF and do I have to use it?

No, the Invoice Furnishing Facility is optional. A QRMP taxpayer can upload B2B invoices for month 1 or month 2 between the 1st and the 13th of the next month, up to ₹50 lakh in each month (rule 59(2)), so that buyers see the credit in their GSTR-2B earlier. Invoices uploaded in the IFF are not repeated in the quarterly GSTR-1. If your buyers do not ask for it, you can report everything in the quarterly GSTR-1.

When are CMP-08, GSTR-4, GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C due?

• CMP-08: composition dealers file this quarterly statement and pay tax by the 18th of the month after each quarter (rule 62). Our composition scheme guide explains who should opt in.
• GSTR-4: the composition annual return is due by 30 June following the financial year, from FY 2024-25 onwards (rule 62, proviso inserted by Notification 12/2024-CT).
• GSTR-9: the annual return for regular taxpayers is due by 31 December following the financial year (rule 80(1)). The government has made it optional for small taxpayers year by year: Notification 14/2024-CT exempted those with aggregate turnover up to ₹2 crore for FY 2023-24. Check whether a notification covers your year before you skip it.
• GSTR-9C: a self-certified reconciliation statement filed with GSTR-9 when aggregate turnover for the year exceeds ₹5 crore (rule 80(3)).

GSTN enabled GSTR-9 and 9C for FY 2025-26 on 8 October 2026; the tile opens only after all GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B returns for the year are filed.

What is the late fee for a delayed GST return?

Section 47 sets a late fee for each day a return is late, and notifications cap it. For GSTR-3B, Notification 76/2018-CT limits the daily fee to ₹25 (₹10 for a nil return) in central tax, and Notifications 19/2021-CT and 20/2021-CT cap the total per return from June 2021 onwards:

Class (preceding year's aggregate turnover)	Maximum late fee per GSTR-3B or GSTR-1, central tax
Nil tax payable (GSTR-3B) or nil outward supplies (GSTR-1)	₹250
Up to ₹1.5 crore	₹1,000
Above ₹1.5 crore and up to ₹5 crore	₹2,500

For GSTR-9, from FY 2022-23 onwards, Notification 7/2023-CT caps the fee at ₹25 a day for turnover up to ₹5 crore and ₹50 a day for ₹5–20 crore, in each case up to 0.02% of turnover in the State, in central tax. The portal computes the payable amount when you file.

How much interest is charged on late GST payment?

18% a year on tax paid after its due date (section 50(1) with Notification 13/2017-CT), counted from the day after the due date. Where a return is filed late, interest is charged on the part of the tax paid in cash, not on the part set off from input tax credit, unless proceedings under section 73, 74 or 74A have already started for that period.

What changed in 2025 and 2026?

• GSTR-3B liability is locked to GSTR-1. From the July 2025 tax period, the tax liability auto-filled in GSTR-3B from GSTR-1, GSTR-1A and IFF cannot be edited; you correct it through GSTR-1A before filing GSTR-3B (GSTN advisory, 7 June 2025).
• Three-year bar. Returns cannot be filed more than three years after their due date (sections 37(5), 39(11) and 44(2)). The portal applies this from the November 2025 tax period; from 1 December 2025, for example, GSTR-3B for October 2022 and GSTR-9 for FY 2020-21 were barred (GSTN advisory, 29 October 2025).
• Proposed for 2027. The 57th GST Council meeting on 8 October 2026 recommended a new mechanism for amending liability and credit in returns from the April 2027 return. That is a recommendation: nothing changes until it is notified.

A simple monthly routine

1. By the 10th, close your sales register and reconcile it with e-invoices and e-way bills.
2. File GSTR-1 (11th) or, under QRMP, the IFF if buyers need it (13th).
3. Check GSTR-2B and act on supplier invoices in the Invoice Management System.
4. File GSTR-3B by the 20th, or pay PMT-06 by the 25th in months 1 and 2 of a QRMP quarter.
5. After each quarter, file GSTR-1 by the 13th and GSTR-3B by the 24th.

Common mistakes

• Using the 22nd because a software template was built for another State.
• Opting into QRMP after the window closes, or with a return still pending.
• Skipping a nil return. It still attracts a late fee.
• Correcting liability in GSTR-3B instead of through GSTR-1A, which the portal no longer allows.
• Assuming GSTR-9 is optional without a notification for that year.
• Leaving old returns unfiled until the three-year bar applies.

What to do now

Check which group your State is in and whether you are monthly or quarterly on the portal, then put the dates into your diary or our compliance calendar. Run a free format check on your registration number with the GSTIN check. If returns are pending or you are unsure which scheme suits you, ask our expert team through our GST services or book a consultation.