GSTR explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Table 5N is a single auto-populated figure, and it is the number the whole reconciliation statement is built against. Its formula was amended in July 2024 to remove a second item that had never been the filer's own turnover.
Table 5N — Total Turnover (including advances) is computed as 4N + 5M − 4G − 4G1, the last term added by Notification No. 12/2024-Central Tax dated 10.07.2024 (previously the formula read 4N + 5M − 4G). It "would contain the total turnover including the sum of all the supplies (with additional supplies and amendments) on which tax is payable and tax is not payable", and "shall also include the amount of advances on which tax is paid but invoices have not been issued in the current year."
The formula, term by term
| Term | What it is | Sign |
|---|---|---|
| 4N | Supplies and advances on which tax is to be paid (4H + 4M) | + |
| 5M | Turnover on which tax is not to be paid (5G + 5L) | + |
| 4G | Inward supplies on which tax is paid on reverse charge | − |
| 4G1 | Supplies on which the e-commerce operator pays under section 9(5) | − |
Both subtractions exist for the same reason. Table 4 is headed "advances, inward and outward supplies… on which tax is payable" — it deliberately includes two things that are not the filer's outward turnover:
4G is an inward supply. The registered person pays the tax as recipient. It belongs in Part II because tax was paid on it, but it is a purchase, not turnover.
4G1 is somebody else's supply. The e-commerce operator reports it because section 9(5) makes the operator the deemed supplier — but the value is not the operator's own turnover either. Section 9(5) →
So Table 5N is the only place in Part II where "turnover" means what an accountant would mean by it — which is why the reconciliation statement starts from it. GSTR-9C reconciliation →
The rows behind 5M
Tables 5H to 5K carry credit notes, debit notes and amendments in respect of Tables 5A to 5F:
- 5H — credit notes (−)
- 5I — debit notes (+)
- 5J — supplies declared through amendments (+)
- 5K — supplies reduced through amendments (−)
- 5L — sub-total of H to K
- 5M — turnover on which tax is not to be paid (5G + 5L)
And the reporting option here is wider than in Table 4. *"for FY 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, registered persons have an option to report the details of debit notes, credit notes and amendments made w.r.t. zero rated supply without payment of tax (5A), supplies to SEZ without payment of tax (5B), supplies on which tax is to be paid by the recipient (5C), exempted (5D), nil-rated (5E), and non-GST supply (5F) by netting off** against such supplies."*
Contrast Table 4, where "w.e.f. FY 2021-22, such option has been removed and netting of credit notes, debit notes, amendments are not allowed anymore." Tables 4I to 4N →
The asymmetry has a rationale. Tables 4I to 4L feed Table 9's tax payable and, through it, the differential liability in Table 14 — so gross reporting matters. Nothing in Table 5 carries tax, so netting there affects presentation only.
Details come from Table 9 of GSTR-1.
5M "would contain the sum-total of outward supplies on which tax is not payable, after netting of the effect through debit and credit notes issued or through amendment table declared in any return during relevant financial year."
What Table 5N includes that the accounts do not
Advances. "This shall also include the amount of advances on which tax is paid but invoices have not been issued in the current year." Advances taxed under Table 4F are turnover for GST but a liability in the balance sheet — a permanent reconciling item.
Stock transfers between distinct persons. Reported in Table 4B, "even though the same does not form part of the consolidated financial statements."
Deemed supplies without consideration. As the Guide notes early on, "under GST Law, there are certain transactions where the tax liability materializes even without any flow of consideration viz. deemed supply transactions which might not have an impact on the profit or loss."
Capital asset sales. "a Balance Sheet item" whose "transaction value… may not be directly available because of loss/profit on the sale of such assets being disclosed separately in Profit and Loss Account", and which must be valued under section 18(6).
And what it excludes that the accounts include: unbilled revenue. "Transactions where the goods or services… have been supplied but the invoice is not issued will not appear in Form GSTR-9. It is a part of reconciliation statement."
Those five items, taken together, are the standing bridge between Table 5N and audited turnover — and are exactly what the reconciliation statement in GSTR-9C is designed to explain.
Key takeaways
- Table 5N = 4N + 5M − 4G − 4G1, the last term added by Notification No. 12/2024-CT from 10.07.2024.
- 4G is deducted because it is an inward supply; 4G1 because it is the e-commerce operator's reporting of another person's supply.
- Tables 5H to 5K carry credit notes, debit notes and amendments for rows 5A to 5F; 5L sub-totals them; 5M = 5G + 5L.
- Netting remained available in Table 5 through FY 2022-23, though it was withdrawn in Table 4 from FY 2021-22 — because only Table 4 carries tax.
- 5N includes advances taxed but not invoiced, inter-branch stock transfers and deemed supplies, none of which appear in consolidated accounts.
- 5N excludes unbilled revenue, which appears in the accounts but never in GSTR-9.
- Capital asset sales must be valued under section 18(6), not taken from the profit-and-loss gain or loss.
- Table 5N is the figure the reconciliation statement is built from.
Read next
- GSTR-9 Table 5: Supplies on Which Tax Is Not Payable
- GSTR-9 Table 4: Outward Supplies on Which Tax Is Payable
- GSTR-9 Table 9: Tax Payable Against Tax Paid
Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on Form GSTR-9 as notified under rule 80 of the CGST Rules, 2017, section 18(6) of the CGST Act, 2017 and Notification No. 12/2024-Central Tax dated 10 July 2024, as reproduced in the ICAI Technical Guide on GST Annual Return (Form GSTR-9).