GST Return Filing
Monthly, quarterly, and annual GST returns filed on time by a CA team, with your input tax credit reconciled before anything is submitted.
A GST return reports your sales, purchases, tax collected, and tax paid for a period, and it is how your GST liability actually gets settled. Which returns you file, and how often, depends on your turnover and the scheme you are registered under. Get the rhythm right and it is routine. Miss it and the costs stack up quickly, because late fees run per return per day, interest runs at 18% a year, and the portal now permanently closes any period left unfiled for three years. AMpuesto files your returns on schedule, reconciles your credit before submission, and keeps you clear of all of that.
Documents required
- Sales invoices and credit or debit notes for the period
- Purchase invoices and expense bills with GST charged
- Bank statements for the period
- Details of exempt and nil-rated supplies
- Details of any imports or reverse charge transactions
- Your GST portal credentials or e-invoice data, where applicable
What you will get
- GSTR-1 prepared and filed within the due date
- GSTR-3B prepared, reconciled, and filed
- GSTR-2B against GSTR-3B reconciliation, so your input tax credit is claimed correctly and defensibly
- CMP-08 and GSTR-4 where you are under composition
- GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C where the thresholds apply to you
- A monthly summary of your tax position and a reminder before every due date
What is GST return filing?
GST return filing is the periodic reporting a registered taxpayer makes to the GST department, covering outward supplies, inward supplies, input tax credit claimed, and tax payable. Filing is compulsory for every registered person, and a nil return is still due for any period with no activity at all. This is the single most common and most expensive mistake we see: businesses that pause trading stop filing, then find months of late fees waiting when they restart.
Types of GST returns and their due dates
There are thirteen returns under GST, though no taxpayer files all of them. Which apply to you depends on your registration type and scheme:
| Return | What it reports | Who files it | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| GSTR-1 | Outward supplies, invoice by invoice | Regular taxpayers | 11th monthly, or 13th after quarter end under QRMP |
| GSTR-3B | Summary of supplies, ITC, and tax payable | Regular taxpayers | 20th monthly, or 22nd / 24th after quarter end under QRMP |
| CMP-08 | Quarterly statement and payment | Composition taxpayers | 18th after quarter end |
| GSTR-4 | Annual return | Composition taxpayers | 30 June |
| GSTR-5 / 5A | Supplies by non-residents and OIDAR providers | Non-resident and OIDAR | 13th / 20th monthly |
| GSTR-6 | Distribution of input tax credit | Input service distributors | 13th monthly |
| GSTR-7 / 8 | TDS deducted / TCS collected | Deductors and e-commerce operators | 10th monthly |
| GSTR-9 / 9C | Annual return and reconciliation | Above the turnover thresholds | 31 December |
| GSTR-10 | Final return on cancellation | Taxpayers surrendering registration | Within 3 months |
The two that matter to most businesses are GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B. GSTR-1 reports your outward supplies invoice by invoice, and GSTR-3B is the summary through which you actually pay. Note that GSTR-3B now auto-populates from your GSTR-1, so accuracy at the GSTR-1 stage matters more than it used to, and corrections go through GSTR-1A rather than by editing the summary.
Who has to file GST returns?
- Regular taxpayers: every registered person under the normal scheme files GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B, monthly or quarterly.
- Composition taxpayers: file CMP-08 quarterly and GSTR-4 once a year.
- Non-resident taxable persons: file GSTR-5 for the period of their registration.
- Input service distributors: file GSTR-6 monthly to distribute credit to their branches.
- TDS deductors and e-commerce operators: file GSTR-7 and GSTR-8 respectively.
A nil return is due even where there was no business activity in the period. If you are not yet registered, start with GST registration.
QRMP and the composition scheme are not the same thing
These two get confused constantly, and the difference matters because one keeps your input tax credit and the other gives it up.
QRMP
Turnover up to ₹5 croreThe Quarterly Return Monthly Payment scheme keeps you in the regular GST system on normal rates with full input tax credit, but you file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B quarterly instead of monthly. Tax is still paid every month through Form PMT-06, and you can upload B2B invoices in the first two months of the quarter using the Invoice Furnishing Facility so your buyers get their credit without waiting.
Composition
Flat rate, no creditA different arrangement altogether. You pay a flat rate on turnover, 1% for traders and manufacturers, 5% for restaurants, and 6% for eligible service providers. In exchange you give up input tax credit entirely, cannot charge GST to your customers, issue a bill of supply rather than a tax invoice, and cannot make inter-state supplies.
| Criteria | QRMP scheme | Composition scheme |
|---|---|---|
| Who it suits | Turnover up to ₹5 crore | Goods up to ₹1.5 crore, services up to ₹50 lakh |
| GST system | Regular GST, full rates | Flat rate on turnover |
| Input tax credit | Claimed in full | Not available |
| Charging customers | You charge GST normally | You cannot collect GST |
| Invoice type | Tax invoice | Bill of supply |
| Inter-state supply | Allowed | Not allowed |
| Returns | GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B quarterly | CMP-08 quarterly, GSTR-4 annually |
| Tax payment | Monthly in PMT-06 | Quarterly with CMP-08 |
In short, QRMP is about filing less often. Composition is about paying differently. If you sell to businesses who need to claim credit, QRMP usually fits and composition usually does not.
Annual returns: GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C
GSTR-9 is the annual return consolidating everything you filed during the year, prescribed under Rule 80. It is compulsory once your aggregate turnover crosses ₹2 crore, and optional below that. Above ₹5 crore you also file GSTR-9C, a reconciliation statement tying your returns to your audited financial statements. Both are due by 31 December following the financial year, and where GSTR-9C applies, the filing counts as complete only once both are in.
Late fees and interest
Two separate charges apply when you file late, and they run together.
| Return | Late fee per day | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B, nil | ₹20 (₹10 CGST + ₹10 SGST) | ₹500 per return |
| GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B, with liability | ₹50 (₹25 CGST + ₹25 SGST) | ₹2,000, ₹5,000, or ₹10,000 by turnover slab |
| GSTR-4, composition annual | As notified | ₹500 nil, ₹2,000 otherwise |
| GSTR-9, annual return | ₹50 to ₹200 by turnover | 0.04% to 0.5% of state turnover |
On top of the late fee, interest runs at 18% a year under Section 50 on the net tax paid in cash, and at 24% where excess input tax credit has been claimed. Late fees must be paid in cash from the electronic cash ledger, so you cannot settle them with credit, and the portal blocks further filing until they are cleared.
The three-year cut-off, and why old returns cannot wait
This is the change most businesses have not registered. The portal now blocks any GST return filed more than three years after its original due date, and once that window closes the period is permanently shut.
You cannot regularise it later, you cannot claim the credit sitting in it, and any liability for that period stays on record without a route to settle it through a return. If you have periods lying unfiled, the sensible move is to deal with them now rather than when a notice arrives.
How AMpuesto files your returns
You share the data
Send your sales and purchase records for the period, or give us access to your accounting file.
We reconcile
We match your purchase records against GSTR-2B, flag credit your suppliers have not reported, and chase the gaps before they cost you.
We prepare and confirm
We draft GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B, share the tax position with you, and confirm the payable figure before anything is filed.
We file and pay
The returns go in within the due date and the challan is generated for payment.
You get the record
Filed returns and acknowledgments come back to you, along with the position for the next period.
Why input tax credit reconciliation matters
The costliest GST errors are not late filings, they are credit claims that do not match what suppliers reported. Your claim in GSTR-3B has to line up with what appears in GSTR-2B, and where a supplier has not filed their GSTR-1, the credit is simply not available to you no matter what your invoice says.
Reconciling every month catches that while you can still chase the supplier, rather than a year later when a departmental notice arrives and the money is gone. That reconciliation is part of every return we file, not an extra.
What GST return filing costs
Scales with volumeWhat a CA charges for GST return filing depends on how much activity there is: a nil or low-volume return takes far less work than reconciling hundreds of invoices across multiple GSTINs. Annual returns like GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C are priced separately, since they involve reconciling a full year against your accounts.
Why file through a Chartered Accountant
GST returns are unforgiving in a specific way: once filed, GSTR-3B cannot be revised, so an error has to be corrected in a later period or through the amendment route. Add auto-population from GSTR-1, the portal's tightening validations, and the three-year cut-off, and the cost of getting it wrong keeps rising.
We also handle your income tax return and TDS and TCS returns, and our virtual CFO services cover bookkeeping and monthly reporting through the year.
Frequently asked questions
How many GST returns are there?
What are the due dates for GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B?
Do I have to file if I had no sales?
Is QRMP the same as the composition scheme?
Does GST have to be paid monthly?
What is the late fee for filing GST returns late?
Can I still file returns from a few years ago?
Can GSTR-3B be revised after filing?
Who has to file GSTR-9?
Can I switch between monthly and quarterly filing?
What is GSTR-2B reconciliation and why does it matter?
What happens if I never file at all?
Never miss a due date again
Send us your sales and purchase records. We reconcile your credit, confirm the payable figure with you, and file inside the deadline.
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