GST return due dates: GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B due date and late fee

GSTR-1 is due on the 11th of the next month if you file monthly, and on the 13th of the month after the quarter if you file quarterly. GSTR-3B is due on the 20th of the next month for monthly filers. Quarterly filers file GSTR-3B by the 22nd or the 24th of the month after the quarter, depending on their State.

If you miss a due date, a late fee runs for every day until you file, up to a fixed limit. This guide gives the next due dates, the full State list for the 22nd and the 24th, the late fee for each case with examples, the extensions given in 2026, and what to do if you have already missed a date.

GST return due dates at a glance

“Next month” means the month after the tax period. For example, GSTR-1 for October is due on 11 November.

Next GST due dates (October 2026 to January 2027)

These dates are from the rules as they stand on 18 October 2026. No extension of these dates had been announced on that day. If the government extends a date, it does so by a notification, usually close to the due date, so check again a few days before.

GSTR-1 due date

GSTR-1 is the return of your sales (outward supplies). Its due date depends on how often you file:

• Monthly filers: by the 11th of the next month. GSTR-1 for October 2026 is due on 11 November 2026.
• Quarterly filers (QRMP scheme): by the 13th of the month after the quarter. GSTR-1 for October to December 2026 is due on 13 January 2027.

You file GSTR-1 every period, even when you made no sales. In that case you file a nil GSTR-1.

Two rules that block your GSTR-1:

• You cannot file this month's GSTR-1 if last month's GSTR-3B is not filed. For quarterly filers, the GSTR-3B of the last quarter must be filed first.
• The portal also stops GSTR-1 if your bank account details are not added to your GST registration.

IFF for quarterly filers

If you file quarterly, your business buyers may want their invoices sooner. The Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) lets you upload B2B invoices for the first and second month of the quarter, from the 1st to the 13th of the next month. It is optional, and it takes invoices up to a total of ₹50 lakh in each month. Invoices you put in IFF do not go again into the quarterly GSTR-1. Read more in our QRMP scheme guide.

GSTR-1A: fixing GSTR-1 before you file GSTR-3B

GSTR-1A has no fixed due date. It is an optional return to correct or add to the GSTR-1 of the same period. You can file it once for a period, after you file GSTR-1 (or after its due date, if that is later), and before you file GSTR-3B for that period. The changes flow into your GSTR-3B.

This matters because, from the July 2025 tax period, the tax in GSTR-3B that comes from your GSTR-1 cannot be edited in GSTR-3B. If your GSTR-1 had a mistake, fix it through GSTR-1A first, then file GSTR-3B.

GSTR-3B due date

GSTR-3B is the summary return where you pay your tax. Its due date:

• Monthly filers: by the 20th of the next month. GSTR-3B for October 2026 is due on 20 November 2026.
• Quarterly filers (QRMP scheme): by the 22nd or the 24th of the month after the quarter. Which one depends on the State where your principal place of business is.

So a quarterly filer in Mumbai files GSTR-3B for October to December 2026 by 22 January 2027, and one in Delhi by 24 January 2027.

Quarterly filers still pay tax every month. For the first two months of the quarter, they pay by the 25th of the next month with a challan (Form GST PMT-06). See how to pay GST online.

Things to know about GSTR-3B:

• You must file it every period, even with no business. With nothing to report, you file a nil GSTR-3B.
• You cannot file GSTR-3B for a period until GSTR-1 for that period is filed, and until GSTR-3B for every earlier period is filed.
• A filed GSTR-3B cannot be revised. A mistake is corrected in a later GSTR-3B, with interest if tax was short. The last chance for a year's corrections is 30 November after that financial year ends, or the date you file the annual return, if that is earlier.

Not sure which of these two returns does what? Read GSTR-1 vs GSTR-3B.

Is the GST due date extended?

The due dates in this guide come from the GST law. Only the government can extend them, by a notification. Under section 39(6) of the CGST Act, the Commissioner can extend the date for a class of taxpayers.

Extensions in 2026 (checked on 18 October 2026):

• GSTR-3B for March 2026, for monthly filers, was extended from 20 April to 21 April 2026 (Notification 01/2026-Central Tax, dated 21 April 2026).
• We found no other extension of GSTR-1, GSTR-1A, IFF, GSTR-3B or PMT-06 dates in 2026. GSTR-3B for September 2026 stays due on 20 October 2026 (22 or 24 October for quarterly filers).

A slow GST portal does not extend a due date by itself. Unless a notification is issued, the normal date applies and the late fee starts the next day.

How to check for an extension: look at the news and updates section on the GST portal (gst.gov.in) and the list of Central Tax notifications on the CBIC GST website. An extension always has a notification number.

GST late fee for GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B

If you file GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B after the due date, you pay a late fee for every day until you file. It is charged separately for each return. So if both GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B are late, you pay two late fees.

Each figure is the total of two equal parts: half under the Central GST law (CGST) and half under the State or Union Territory GST law (SGST or UTGST). For example, ₹50 a day is ₹25 CGST and ₹25 SGST. These amounts apply to returns for June 2021 and later.

“Turnover” here means your aggregate turnover in the previous financial year. “Nil” for GSTR-1 means no sales in the period. For GSTR-3B, it means no central tax to pay in the return.

Example 1: GSTR-3B 10 days late. A shop in Delhi files monthly and had a turnover of ₹80 lakh last year. Its GSTR-3B for September 2026 was due on 20 October 2026. It files on 30 October 2026, which is 10 days late.

Late fee: 10 x ₹50 = ₹500 (₹250 CGST and ₹250 SGST). This is below the ₹2,000 cap, so it pays ₹500. Interest on any tax paid late is extra.

Example 2: nil GSTR-1 40 days late. A trader had no sales in a month and files the nil GSTR-1 40 days late.

Late fee: 40 x ₹20 = ₹800. The cap for a nil return is ₹500, so the trader pays ₹500.

Our reading: the late fee counts the days from the day after the due date up to the day you file. The law says the fee applies “for every day during which such failure continues”.

Work out your own late fee and interest with our GST interest and late fee calculator.

How you pay the late fee

• The GST portal works out the late fee on its own. You do not file a separate form.
• The late fee is added to a later GSTR-3B, and you must pay it before that return can be filed. A nil GSTR-3B cannot be filed while any late fee is unpaid.
• Late fee is paid only in cash, through the Electronic Cash Ledger. You cannot pay it from input tax credit. See how to pay GST online.

Late fee and interest are different

Late fee is for filing late. Interest is for paying tax late. If your return is late and you also pay tax late, you pay both. Interest is 18% a year on the tax paid in cash, for each day of delay. Our guide on interest on late GST payment explains it, including how paying the tax on time can save the interest even when the return is late.

Can the GST late fee be waived?

A tax officer cannot waive your late fee on request. Only the government can waive or reduce it, by a notification under section 128 of the CGST Act. The caps in the table above came this way, through Notifications 19/2021 and 20/2021. Past one-time waivers (amnesty schemes) have closed.

New: a waiver recommended in October 2026, not yet in force. At its 57th meeting on 8 October 2026, the GST Council recommended a waiver of late fee on a delayed GSTR-3B for taxpayers with turnover up to ₹5 crore in the previous financial year, if the return is filed by the end of the month in which it was due. This is only a recommendation. As of 18 October 2026, no notification had been issued, so the normal late fee still applies. Interest would still be payable even after the waiver comes in.

Missed the GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B due date?

File as soon as you can. The late fee grows every day until it reaches the cap. Here is what else happens if you do not file:

• Next returns get stuck. You cannot file the next GSTR-1 until the last GSTR-3B is filed, and you cannot file a GSTR-3B until that period's GSTR-1 and all earlier GSTR-3Bs are filed. So one missed month blocks the months after it.
• A notice comes. The portal sends a return defaulter notice (GSTR-3A) when you miss a due date.
• Your registration can be cancelled. The officer can cancel your GST registration if a monthly filer has not filed returns for six months in a row, or a quarterly filer for two quarters in a row.
• Old returns get locked. You cannot file a return once three years have passed from its due date. For example, GSTR-3B for October 2023 (due 20 November 2023) can be filed only up to 20 November 2026.

How to catch up: start with the oldest period. File GSTR-1, then GSTR-3B, for each month in order, paying the tax, interest and late fee as you go. If you want to see which returns are pending, see how to check GST return filing status.

Our reading: the three-year example counts from the due date, as section 39(11) says. Check the exact last day on the portal before you rely on it.

Frequently asked questions