GSTR-3B Filing — Due Date, ITC & Process

Every regular GST-registered taxpayer must file GSTR-3B, including nil filers. Composition taxpayers (who file CMP-08 and GSTR-4), Input Service Distributors, non-resident taxable persons, and TDS/TCS deductors are outside GSTR-3B and file their own returns instead.

Yes. A registered regular taxpayer must file a nil GSTR-3B for any period with no sales, purchases or tax. A nil return can be filed quickly, including by SMS. Not filing even a nil return attracts a late fee of Rs.20 per day and blocks the next period’s filing.

For monthly filers, GSTR-3B is due on the 20th of the following month (for example, May 2025 GSTR-3B is due 20 June 2025). QRMP filers (turnover up to Rs.5 crore) file quarterly by the 22nd (Category-I states) or 24th (Category-II states) of the month after the quarter, while paying tax monthly through form PMT-06.

QRMP (Quarterly Return, Monthly Payment) lets taxpayers with aggregate turnover up to Rs.5 crore file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B quarterly, while paying tax every month using form PMT-06 (self-assessment or a fixed 35% challan). GSTR-3B is then filed quarterly by the 22nd or 24th depending on the state category.

No. GSTR-3B must be filed in chronological order. You cannot file the current period’s GSTR-3B until all previous periods have been filed. The portal also blocks GSTR-1 if two or more consecutive GSTR-3Bs are pending.

Input Tax Credit is claimed in Table 4 of GSTR-3B. Under Rule 36(4) and Section 16, ITC can be claimed only to the extent it appears in your auto-generated GSTR-2B for the period. You must reverse credits that are blocked under Section 17(5) and any invoice you have not paid within 180 days.

GSTR-2B is an auto-drafted, static statement of the ITC available to you based on your suppliers’ filings; it is a read-only reference. GSTR-3B is the return you file, where in Table 4 you actually claim ITC, matched against that GSTR-2B, and pay your net tax.

No. Since 1 January 2022, ITC is restricted to the amount reflected in GSTR-2B (Rule 36(4)); the earlier provisional/105% cushion was removed. Claiming ITC beyond GSTR-2B leads to interest at 24% p.a. under Section 50(3) and possible recovery.

No, GSTR-3B cannot be revised once filed. Errors are corrected prospectively: outward-supply mistakes are fixed through GSTR-1A / the next GSTR-1, and any short-paid tax or excess ITC is adjusted in a subsequent GSTR-3B. Since July 2025 the auto-populated Table 3 liability is non-editable, so outward corrections must go through GSTR-1A before filing.

From the July 2025 tax period, the outward tax liability auto-populated into Table 3 of GSTR-3B from GSTR-1, IFF and GSTR-1A is hard-locked and cannot be manually edited before filing. To change the figures you must amend the source GSTR-1 through GSTR-1A. This makes accurate GSTR-1 filing essential.

Yes. Under the proviso to Section 39 (Finance Act 2023), a GSTR-3B cannot be filed after three years from its due date. This bar is now enforced on the portal, so long-pending returns must be regularised before they become time-barred.

The late fee is Rs.50 per day (Rs.25 CGST + Rs.25 SGST) for returns with tax payable, and Rs.20 per day (Rs.10 each) for nil returns, subject to a cap (generally Rs.10,000 per return, with lower caps for small taxpayers). The late fee is in addition to interest on any unpaid tax.

Interest is charged at 18% per annum under Section 50 on the net tax paid late in cash, calculated from the day after the due date to the date of payment. Where excess ITC has been wrongly availed and utilised, the interest rate is 24% per annum under Section 50(3).

From time to time the GST Council announces amnesty schemes that waive or cap accumulated late fees for past periods, typically for filing pending returns within a window. These are notified case by case; check the GST portal or with a professional for the current amnesty status.