QRMP scheme in GST: who can use it, how to opt in, IFF and monthly payment

QRMP stands for Quarterly Return Monthly Payment. It is a GST scheme for businesses with a turnover of up to ₹5 crore. You file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B once a quarter instead of every month, but you still pay your tax every month. The GST system started it on 1 January 2021, and joining is your choice.

This guide explains who can use QRMP, when and how to opt in or opt out, how to pay tax in the first two months (the 35% challan or self-assessment), what IFF is, and how to decide between monthly and quarterly filing.

What is the QRMP scheme in GST?

QRMP is the short form of Quarterly Return Monthly Payment. Under QRMP:

• Returns are quarterly. You file GSTR-1 (your sales) and GSTR-3B (your summary return) once for each quarter of three months.
• Tax is monthly. For the first and second month of each quarter, you pay the tax for that month with a challan. The third month's tax is paid with the quarterly GSTR-3B.

So QRMP cuts down the number of returns. It does not cut down your tax, and it does not let you pay tax only four times a year.

The law behind it is the first proviso to section 39(1) of the CGST Act, Notification 84/2020-Central Tax (who can use it), rule 61A of the CGST Rules (how to opt in) and Notification 85/2020-Central Tax (the monthly payment). All of these apply from 1 January 2021.

Who can use QRMP?

You can choose QRMP if both of these are true:

1. Turnover: your aggregate turnover in the last financial year was up to ₹5 crore. The GST portal works this out for you from your returns. "Aggregate turnover" is counted on your PAN, so it covers all your GST registrations in India together.
2. Returns filed: your last GSTR-3B that was due on the day you opt in has been filed.

The ₹5 crore limit is the same for goods and services, and you choose QRMP for each GSTIN separately.

Who cannot use QRMP. Businesses in the composition scheme do not file GSTR-3B, so QRMP is not for them (they file CMP-08 every quarter). Input service distributors, non-resident taxable persons, and those who deduct or collect tax at source (GSTR-7, GSTR-8) also file different returns. Suppliers of online information and database access services (OIDAR) from outside India are left out by the notification.

If your turnover crosses ₹5 crore during the year. QRMP stops for you from the first month of the next quarter, and you file monthly from then on. For example, if your turnover crosses ₹5 crore in August, you file monthly returns from October.

When and how to opt in or opt out of QRMP

You can choose QRMP, or leave it, in a fixed window for each quarter. The window opens on the 1st day of the second month of the quarter before, and closes on the last day of the first month of the quarter you want.

So, on 20 October 2026, you can still choose QRMP for October to December 2026 until 31 October. The window for January to March 2027 opens on 1 November 2026.

Once you choose QRMP, it stays on for every later quarter. You do not need to choose it again each quarter. It ends only if you opt out, or if your turnover crosses ₹5 crore.

How to opt in or opt out on the GST portal:

1. Log in at www.gst.gov.in.
2. Go to Services, Returns, Opt-in for Quarterly Return.
3. Choose the Financial Year and click SEARCH.
4. The quarters open for a change show a SAVE button. Other quarters are greyed out.
5. For the open quarter, choose Quarterly (to join QRMP) or Monthly (to leave it), and click SAVE.
6. Click OK to confirm. A success message appears, and the primary authorised signatory gets an email and an SMS.

If your turnover is above ₹5 crore, the portal shows only the monthly option.

How QRMP works, month by month

Take the October to December 2026 quarter as an example.

Tax for the first two months is paid using a simple challan (PMT-06). In the quarterly GSTR-3B, you report the whole quarter's sales and input tax credit. The money you already paid by challan sits in your electronic cash ledger and is used against the quarter's tax first. You pay only the balance.

See the full list of States for the 22nd and the 24th.

These are the dates in the rules on 20 October 2026. The government sometimes extends a due date, so check the GST portal's news before the deadline.

Paying tax in months 1 and 2: the 35% challan or self-assessment

For each of the first two months, you pick one of two ways to pay. You can use a different way in each month. On the GST portal, the challan reason is Monthly payment for quarterly return.

Fixed sum method (the 35% challan)

You pay a fixed amount that the portal works out from your last return. You do not need to work out the real tax for the month.

• If your last return was quarterly: 35% of the tax you paid in cash in last quarter's GSTR-3B.
• If your last return was monthly (for example, you just joined QRMP): 100% of the tax you paid in cash in the GSTR-3B for the last month of the previous quarter.

"Tax paid in cash" means tax paid from the electronic cash ledger, not tax set off with input tax credit. The portal fills in the amount for you, and you cannot change it.

Example. In the July to September quarter, you paid ₹60,000 of GST in cash with your GSTR-3B. For October, the 35% challan is ₹21,000. For November, it is ₹21,000 again. If the real tax for the October to December quarter is ₹70,000 in cash, you pay the remaining ₹28,000 (₹70,000 less ₹42,000) with the quarterly GSTR-3B.

Interest: if you pay the 35% challan by the 25th, no interest is charged for months 1 and 2, even if your real tax for those months was higher, as long as you pay the full quarter's tax with the GSTR-3B by its due date. If you pay a challan late, interest runs from the 25th.

Who cannot use the 35% challan: a business that was not registered for the whole of the last tax period (for example, a new registration), a business that has just left the composition scheme, and a business that has not filed its last GSTR-3B. These businesses use the self-assessment method.

Self-assessment method

You work out the real tax for the month: GST on your sales, less the input tax credit you can claim for that month. Your GSTR-2B for the month helps you check the credit. Then you pay only that amount by challan.

Interest: interest under section 50 of the CGST Act (18% a year) applies to any part of the month's tax that you do not pay by the 25th. It is paid with the quarterly GSTR-3B. Our GST interest calculator works it out.

When you need no challan at all

You can skip the payment for a month when:

• you have no tax to pay for that month (nil tax), or
• the balance in your electronic cash ledger and electronic credit ledger together already covers the tax. For month 2, the balance must cover the tax for months 1 and 2 together.

There is no late fee for paying the challan late in months 1 and 2. A late fee applies only when the quarterly GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B is filed late.

Which method suits you? Our reading: the 35% challan is simplest when your sales are steady from quarter to quarter. Self-assessment suits you when sales or input tax credit swing a lot, because you may pay less than 35% in a slow month (or nothing, if your credit covers it).

IFF in GST: the Invoice Furnishing Facility

IFF full form in GST is Invoice Furnishing Facility. It is an optional facility for QRMP filers. In IFF, you upload the invoices you issued to registered buyers (B2B invoices) for month 1 and month 2 of a quarter, without waiting for the quarterly GSTR-1.

Why IFF matters. Your business buyers can claim input tax credit only when your invoices reach them. Under QRMP, that would otherwise wait until your quarterly GSTR-1. With IFF, invoices for months 1 and 2 reach your buyers' records after each month. Buyers who file monthly often ask their suppliers to use IFF.

IFF rules:

• Months: only month 1 and month 2 of a quarter. Month 3's invoices go in the quarterly GSTR-1.
• Dates: from the 1st to the 13th of the next month. After the 13th, IFF for that month closes.
• Limit: invoices up to a total value of ₹50 lakh in each month.
• What goes in: B2B invoices, credit and debit notes issued to registered persons, and amendments to these. Sales to consumers (B2C) do not go in IFF.
• Invoices you upload in IFF are not uploaded again in the quarterly GSTR-1. Invoices you miss can go in the next month's IFF or in the quarterly GSTR-1.
• You do not need to file a "nil" IFF. If you have nothing to upload, simply skip it.

How to file IFF on the GST portal:

1. Log in at www.gst.gov.in and go to Services, Returns, Returns Dashboard.
2. Choose the Financial Year, the quarter and the month (month 1 or month 2), and click SEARCH.
3. On the IFF tile, click PREPARE ONLINE.
4. Add your B2B invoices, and any credit or debit notes, in their tables.
5. Click GENERATE SUMMARY, check it, then file with DSC or EVC.

Monthly or quarterly: which should you choose?

This is the main difference between monthly and quarterly GST returns: monthly filers file 24 returns a year, QRMP filers file 8 (plus optional IFF), but both pay tax every month.

Our reading of when each one suits you:

Things to know before you switch:

• If your quarterly GSTR-3B is not filed, the portal will not let you file the next GSTR-1 or IFF.
• Under QRMP you still need monthly books, because you pay tax monthly.

Late fee, corrections and other QRMP rules

• Late fee: the normal GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B late fee applies to each late quarterly return, ₹50 a day (₹20 for a nil return), up to a cap based on your turnover. The caps are on our GST return due dates page. There is no late fee on a late challan in months 1 and 2.
• Interest: 18% a year on tax paid late, as above.
• Nil returns: if you had no sales and no purchases, you can file a nil quarterly GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B, even by SMS. See our GST nil return guide.
• Corrections (GSTR-1A): after you file the quarterly GSTR-1, you can correct it in GSTR-1A for the same quarter before you file the GSTR-3B. Changes to IFF invoices of months 1 and 2 also go through the quarterly GSTR-1A.
• Refund of challan money: money you paid by challan stays in your cash ledger. If it is more than the quarter's tax, you can use it in later quarters or claim a refund, but only after the quarterly GSTR-3B is filed.
• Three-year limit: you cannot file a quarterly GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B more than three years after its due date.

Is QRMP changing? The October 2026 proposal

At its 57th meeting on 8 October 2026, the GST Council approved "in principle" an idea for a new optional scheme called ARQP (Annual Return, Quarterly Payment). It is meant for businesses with turnover of up to ₹5 crore that sell only to consumers (B2C). They would file one GST return a year and pay tax every quarter.

This is only a proposal. As of 20 October 2026, no notification has been issued, and the details and start date are not final. Until a notification is issued, QRMP and its monthly payment rules stay exactly as explained on this page. We will update this page when the law changes.

Frequently asked questions