GST returns in plain words
Know which GST returns you file, what each one is for, and when each is due.
7 min read
GST returns have form names that sound alike and dates that move by a few days depending on who you are. Underneath, there are only two questions each period: what did you sell? and how much tax do you owe? Each return answers one of them.
Regular GST, filing monthly
| Form | What it is | Due |
|---|---|---|
| GSTR-1 | Your sales, invoice by invoice | 11th of the next month |
| GSTR-3B | A summary of the month, and the tax paid | 20th of the next month |
GSTR-1 is what your business customers' credit is matched against — file it on time and their input tax credit appears for them. GSTR-3B is where you actually pay.
Regular GST, filing quarterly (QRMP)
Smaller regular taxpayers can file quarterly but still pay monthly:
| Form | What it is | Due |
|---|---|---|
| IFF (optional) | The month's business-to-business invoices, so buyers get credit sooner | 13th, in the first two months of a quarter |
| PMT-06 | The month's tax payment | 25th, in the first two months of a quarter |
| GSTR-1 | The quarter's sales | 13th after the quarter ends |
| GSTR-3B | The quarter's summary, and any tax still due | 22nd or 24th after the quarter ends |
Whether your quarterly GSTR-3B is due on the 22nd or the 24th depends on your state. Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and the union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep file on the 22nd. The rest file on the 24th.
Composition scheme
| Form | What it is | Due |
|---|---|---|
| CMP-08 | The quarter's composition tax payment | 18th after the quarter ends |
| GSTR-4 | The year's return | 30 April |
Once a year
Regular taxpayers also file GSTR-9, the annual return, by 31 December for the year that ended the previous March. It is optional below ₹2 crore turnover.
File even when you had no sales. A "nil" return is still a return, and a missed one carries a late fee. A string of missed returns can get a registration cancelled.
Dates here are the statutory ones. The government often extends a deadline by notification in a given year; the filing calendar says when an extension is not yet reflected.
Make it a habit, not an emergency
- Keep every sales and purchase invoice the day you make or receive it.
- Check your suppliers' invoices are showing up for you before you pay your own tax.
- Put the dates in your phone — the filing calendar below does this for you.
The filing calendar below takes how you are registered and lists every GST, TDS, PF, ESI and income-tax date coming up for you — and adds them to your phone's calendar in one tap.
Rules checked on 23 September 2026 against gst.gov.in, incometax.gov.in, epfindia.gov.in, esic.gov.in.