Once your business has a GSTIN, the government expects to hear from you on a fixed calendar — every month or every quarter, even in a month when you sold nothing. Most of the GST notices we see in Gorakhpur have nothing to do with tax evasion. They come from returns filed late, filed with figures that don’t match, or not filed at all. Here is how the system works and how to stay on the right side of it.
The returns most businesses file
A regular taxpayer files two returns for every tax period:
- GSTR-1 — the details of your sales. B2B sales are reported invoice by invoice; B2C sales can be reported in summary. Your buyers see your B2B invoices in their own GST records, which is how they claim credit.
- GSTR-3B — a summary return in which you declare total sales, claim input tax credit (ITC) and pay the balance tax in cash.
On top of these, most businesses file an annual return, GSTR-9, and larger ones also file a reconciliation statement, GSTR-9C. Businesses in the composition scheme follow a simpler cycle: CMP-08 every quarter to pay tax and GSTR-4 once a year.
Monthly or quarterly: the QRMP scheme
If your aggregate turnover is up to ₹5 crore, you can opt for the Quarterly Return Monthly Payment (QRMP) scheme. You then file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B once a quarter, but still pay tax every month through challan PMT-06. In the first two months of a quarter you can also upload B2B invoices through the optional Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF), so your buyers don’t have to wait for the quarter to end to claim their credit.
Tip: QRMP means fewer filings, not less discipline. The monthly tax payment is still due by the 25th of the following month.
Due dates at a glance
| Return | Who files it | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| GSTR-1 | Monthly filers | 11th of the next month |
| GSTR-1 / IFF | Quarterly (QRMP) filers | 13th of the month after the quarter (IFF: 13th of the next month) |
| GSTR-3B | Monthly filers | 20th of the next month |
| GSTR-3B | Quarterly (QRMP) filers | 22nd or 24th of the month after the quarter, depending on the state — 24th in Uttar Pradesh |
| PMT-06 | Quarterly (QRMP) filers | 25th of the next month, for the first two months of each quarter |
| GSTR-9 | Regular taxpayers (optional up to ₹2 crore turnover) | 31 December after the financial year |
The government extends these dates from time to time, so always check the latest notification — or let us track them for you.
What a late return really costs
A late GSTR-3B attracts a late fee of ₹50 a day (₹25 CGST + ₹25 SGST), or ₹20 a day for a nil return, up to a cap linked to your turnover. Tax paid late also carries interest at 18% a year from the due date. The quieter costs are often worse:
- You can’t file GSTR-1 while the previous period’s GSTR-3B is still pending.
- Your buyers can’t see your invoices, so they can’t claim credit — and many will hold back your payment until they can.
- E-way bill generation is blocked once two consecutive returns are pending.
- Continued non-filing can lead the department to cancel your registration altogether.
Input tax credit: match before you claim
You can only claim credit that appears in your auto-generated GSTR-2B statement — in other words, on invoices your suppliers have actually reported. Before filing GSTR-3B, reconcile your purchase register against GSTR-2B, chase suppliers whose invoices are missing, and leave out blocked credits such as purchases for personal use. Getting this step wrong is the single most common reason for a GST notice.
A simple monthly routine
- Close your sales and purchase books by the 5th of the following month.
- Prepare B2B invoice details and file GSTR-1 (or upload them through IFF) before the deadline.
- Download GSTR-2B and reconcile it with your purchase register.
- Work out the net tax, pay it and file GSTR-3B.
- Save every return, challan and reconciliation — GST law expects you to keep records for 72 months from the due date of the annual return.
If that sounds like a lot to do every single month, it is. That is why most of our GST clients hand the whole cycle to us: we send a WhatsApp reminder, collect the bills, reconcile, file and share the acknowledgement — every period, before the due date.
This article is general guidance based on the rules in force on its publish date, not professional advice for your specific case. Tax and company rules change often — check your situation with us before you act.
