GSTR-3B summary return and tax payment
The monthly or quarterly GST return that reports liability and input tax credit and settles the tax for the period.
20 Sept 2026
- CBIC / GST
- GST and customs
- GSTR-3B
- 2026-09-01
A monthly filer files GSTR-3B by the 20th of the month after the tax period. A taxpayer in the QRMP scheme files quarterly, by the 22nd or the 24th of the month after the quarter, depending on which state group the Table to rule 61(1)(ii) puts it in. Since the July 2025 tax period the outward liability the portal fills in cannot be edited, so any correction has to go through GSTR-1A for the same period before GSTR-3B is filed.
The due dates have not moved, but the portal has tightened around this return three times, each from a different tax period. From the July 2025 tax period the auto-populated outward liability is non-editable and corrections run through GSTR-1A for the same period (GSTN Advisory 606, never deferred or withdrawn). From the November 2025 tax period the auto-populated values in Table 3.2, covering inter-state supplies to unregistered persons, composition taxpayers and UIN holders, are also non-editable (Advisory 640). From the February 2026 tax period the portal fills in a prior-period Tax Liability Breakup and will not let you file until you open that tab and save it (Advisory 653). A fourth control sits alongside them: since December 2025 an excess input tax credit reclaim is a hard validation rather than a warning, and it blocks filing (Advisory 643). Separately, the three-year bar on filing has been statutory since 1 October 2023 and the portal has enforced it from the November 2025 tax period, so returns beyond three years from their due date have been barred since 1 December 2025.
All dates this year
The rule
By the 20th day of the month following the tax period, under rule 61(1)(i) of the CGST Rules, 2017.
By the 22nd day of the month following the quarter, under rule 61(1)(ii) of the CGST Rules, 2017 read with the first state group in the Table to that rule.
By the 24th day of the month following the quarter, under rule 61(1)(ii) of the CGST Rules, 2017 read with the second state group in the Table to that rule.
Who must comply
- Every registered person filing returns under section 39 of the CGST Act, 2017, including a listed company
- A taxpayer in the QRMP scheme, quarterly, with monthly tax paid in PMT-06 by the 25th for the first two months of the quarter
- The composition levy, non-resident taxable persons and other categories with their own return under rule 61 are outside this row
Statutory basis
- Rule 61, CGST Rules, 2017 (CBIC active text)
- GSTN Advisory 606: auto-populated outward liability in GSTR-3B becomes non-editable
- GSTN Advisory 640: Table 3.2 auto-populated values become non-editable
- GSTN Advisory 653: mandatory Tax Liability Breakup save step before filing
- GSTN Advisory 633: three-year bar on filing returns, portal-enforced from the November 2025 tax period
- GSTN Advisory 643: hard validation on excess input tax credit reclaim and the RCM ledger
- Section 39, CGST Act, 2017 (CBIC active text)
Before you file
- File GSTR-1 for the same tax period first. The portal fills the outward liability in GSTR-3B from GSTR-1, GSTR-1A and the IFF.
- Correct any error in the outward liability through GSTR-1A for the same tax period. Do this before you file GSTR-3B. The auto-populated liability has been non-editable since the July 2025 tax period.
- Do not try to edit Table 3.2. Those values have been non-editable since the November 2025 tax period. Correct them through GSTR-1A for the same period.
- Reconcile input tax credit against GSTR-2B. The portal generates GSTR-2B on the 14th.
- Check the Electronic Credit Reversal and Re-claimed Statement. An excess reclaim blocks filing.
- Keep enough balance in the electronic cash ledger to pay the tax.
How to file
- Open the GST portal and select the return period.
- Open GSTR-3B.
- Check the auto-populated outward liability. Do not try to change it.
- Enter the input tax credit and the reversals.
- Open the Tax Liability Breakup tab and select SAVE. This step is mandatory from the February 2026 tax period. You cannot file until you save it.
- Pay the tax from the electronic cash ledger or the credit ledger.
- File the return with EVC or DSC.
If you miss it
Two charges run at once and they are computed differently. Late fee under section 47 of the CGST Act is ₹100 a day, but Notification 76/2018-Central Tax waives everything above ₹25 a day for GSTR-3B, and above ₹10 a day where the central tax payable in the return is nil. State tax carries the same amount again, so the practical figures are ₹50 a day and ₹20 a day for a nil return. Section 47 caps the late fee at ₹5,000. Interest under section 50(1) runs at 18% a year on tax paid late, fixed by Notification 13/2017-Central Tax, and it is charged only on the part of the liability settled through the cash ledger where the return is filed late and no section 73 or 74 proceeding has started. Input tax credit wrongly availed and used carries 24% a year under section 50(3).
- The portal will not accept the return until an excess input tax credit reclaim is cleared, because that validation became a hard block rather than a warning in December 2025
- A return more than three years past its own due date cannot be filed at all, under sections 37(5), 39(11), 44(2) and 52(15). The bar has been statutory since 1 October 2023 and the portal has enforced it from the November 2025 tax period
- A recipient's input tax credit depends on the supplier having furnished the return under section 39, so the supplier's late GSTR-3B holds up credit down the chain
- Registration can be cancelled where a registered person has not furnished returns for the continuous period prescribed, under section 29(2)(c)
- Section 47, CGST Act, 2017, levy of late fee (CBIC active text)
- Section 50, CGST Act, 2017, interest on delayed payment of tax (CBIC active text)
- Notification 76/2018-Central Tax: GSTR-3B late fee waived above ₹25 a day, and above ₹10 a day for a nil return
- Notification 13/2017-Central Tax: 18% under section 50(1) and 24% under section 50(3)
- Section 16, CGST Act, 2017: input tax credit conditional on the supplier's return under section 39 (CBIC active text)
- Section 29, CGST Act, 2017: cancellation of registration for non-furnishing of returns (CBIC active text)
Recent changes affecting this
Extension of Due Date for FORM GSTR-3B for March 2026
17/2025-Central Tax : Seeks to extend date of filing GSTR-3B.
12/2025-Central Tax : Seeks to extend the due date for furnishing FORM GSTR-3B for the month of July,2025 upto 27.08.2025, for the taxpayers registered in Mumbai (City), Mumbai (sub-urban), Thane, Raigad and Palghar districts of Maharashtra
Common questions
Can I still edit the outward liability in GSTR-3B?
No. From the July 2025 tax period the values the portal fills in from GSTR-1, GSTR-1A and the IFF are locked. The only route to a correction is GSTR-1A for the same tax period, filed before GSTR-3B. The GSTN user guide on tutorial.gst.gov.in still says these values are kept editable; that page is stale and the advisory governs.
Why will the portal not let me file until I open a tab I do not need?
From the February 2026 tax period the portal fills in the prior-period liability breakup and requires you to open the Tax Liability Breakup tab and save it before filing. GSTN has acknowledged that the step is being demanded even where nothing pertains to a prior period, and says the point is under resolution. Until then you have to save the tab to file.
How long do I have before a return becomes impossible to file?
Three years from its own due date. The bar has been in the CGST Act since 1 October 2023, at sections 37(5), 39(11), 44(2) and 52(15). The portal started enforcing it with the November 2025 tax period, so returns older than three years have been barred since 1 December 2025. Each of those sections lets the Government re-open a period by notification.
Did GST 2.0 change the return or the frequency?
No. The 56th Council restructured rates and approved trade-facilitation measures. What followed in notifications was refund procedure and registration, not returns. No new return form, no changed frequency, no transitional filing.