The GSTR-3B filing last date is the 20th of the next month if you file monthly, and the 22nd or 24th of the month after the quarter if you are on the QRMP (quarterly) scheme. GSTR-3B is your summary GST return — where you declare your sales, input tax credit, and net tax, and pay it. This guide explains who files by which date, how the QRMP option changes things, and how to be ready before the deadline instead of scrambling on the 19th.
GSTR-3B filing last date at a glance
GSTR-3B is a summary return that every normal registered taxpayer files on the GST portal, declaring the period’s tax and paying it (see the official GSTR-3B guide on gst.gov.in).
| You file… | GSTR-3B is due | Example tax period | Due by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | 20th of the next month | June 2026 | 20/07/2026 |
| Quarterly (QRMP), state group 1 | 22nd of the month after the quarter | Apr–Jun 2026 | 22/07/2026 |
| Quarterly (QRMP), state group 2 | 24th of the month after the quarter | Apr–Jun 2026 | 24/07/2026 |
These are the usual statutory dates. The GST portal itself notes the due date “can be extended by Government through notification”, so confirm the current date on gst.gov.in before you file.
GSTR-3B vs GSTR-1: what’s the difference?
Shops often mix these two up, because both are filed around the same time:
- GSTR-1 is a statement of your outward supplies — the invoice-level detail of your sales.
- GSTR-3B is a summary return — you total up your sales, claim your input tax credit, arrive at the net tax, and pay it.
You file both. GSTR-1 tells the department what you sold; GSTR-3B is where the money is actually settled. If you’re not sure of the sales-side date, see our guide to the GSTR-1 due date.
Monthly or quarterly? The QRMP choice
Which due date applies to you depends on how you file:
- Monthly filing: GSTR-3B every month, due the 20th of the following month.
- QRMP (Quarterly Return, Monthly Payment): an optional scheme for taxpayers with aggregate annual turnover up to ₹5 crore. You file GSTR-3B once a quarter (due the 22nd or 24th after quarter-end) but still pay tax every month by challan (Form PMT-06).
The key thing many shopkeepers miss: QRMP changes the return to quarterly, not the payment. You still put money in every month — you just file the detailed return four times a year instead of twelve.
Which date — 22nd or 24th? It depends on your state
For QRMP filers the government staggered the deadline across two groups of states and Union Territories, so the portal isn’t overloaded on a single day:
- 22nd of the month: broadly the southern and western states/UTs — for example Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (with the related UTs).
- 24th of the month: broadly the northern and eastern states/UTs — for example Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and the north-eastern states (with the related UTs).
Check which group your shop’s state falls in on gst.gov.in — it decides your exact last date.
A quick example: Karthik’s hardware shop
Karthik runs a hardware shop in Salem, Tamil Nadu, with an annual turnover of about ₹90 lakh. Because he is under ₹5 crore, he opts for QRMP.
- Tamil Nadu is in the 22nd group, so his GSTR-3B for the April–June 2026 quarter is due 22/07/2026.
- He still paid his tax each month by challan (April and May), so only the balance for the quarter is settled with the return.
- His June net tax worked out to ₹18,400 — a manageable amount because his monthly challans had already covered most of it.
His supplier in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, who is also on QRMP, had a slightly later date: Uttar Pradesh is in the 24th group, so that return was due 24/07/2026. Same scheme, different last date — purely because of the state.
What happens if you miss the date
Filing GSTR-3B late has two costs:
- Late fee — a per-day charge, lower for a nil return, with an overall cap.
- Interest — charged on any tax you pay after the due date.
The exact late-fee amounts and the interest rate have changed over time (interest has been 18% per annum under the current law), so confirm the current late fee and interest rate on gst.gov.in or with your CA rather than relying on an old figure. One practical point: because GSTR-3B is where you actually pay, filing it late usually means paying interest too — not just a flat fee — so it’s worth being ready early.
If you genuinely had no sales or tax for the period, you can file a nil GSTR-3B, and the portal even lets eligible taxpayers do it by SMS — but you must still file it, and only if there’s no pending liability.
Be ready before the 20th (or 22nd/24th)
The filing itself is quick when your records are already clean. What slows shops down is pulling together the period’s sales, checking the CGST/SGST/IGST split, and totalling the tax so the summary matches your bills. If your billing is a mix of handwritten receipts and a spreadsheet, that reconciliation is where the evening before the due date goes.
This is exactly the record-keeping Yojika is built for. It’s offline-first GST billing software for Indian small shops: every sale is recorded with the correct tax split and a clean, financial-year invoice number, and you get a period-wise sales and GST summary you (or your CA) can use to fill GSTR-3B on the portal in minutes. To be clear, Yojika does not file or upload returns for you — it makes your data ready so filing is fast, and your business data stays on your own PC.
- See what’s included on the features page.
- Check simple, transparent pricing on the pricing page.
- Or download Yojika and try it free for 14 days.
New to GST returns? Start with our guides to the GSTR-1 due date and the GST invoice format for small shops.
This article is general information, not tax advice. GST return dates, schemes, late fees, and interest rates change — confirm the current position on gst.gov.in or with your CA before you file.