GST late fees and interest: what a missed return costs a seller

A late GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B costs Rs 50 a day, or Rs 20 a day for a nil return, half under central GST and half under State GST. The total for one return stops at a cap of Rs 500 to Rs 10,000, set by your turnover. Tax paid late also carries interest, at 18% a year.

What are the due dates?

The government can extend a date by notification. If you file quarterly, read the QRMP scheme for the monthly payment dates.

How much is the late fee per day, and where does it stop?

The same figures apply to GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B. Turnover means your aggregate turnover in the previous financial year.

What counts as nil? For GSTR-1, a period with no outward supplies. For GSTR-3B, a period where the tax payable is nil.

Where do these numbers come from?

Section 47 of the CGST Act sets the late fee at Rs 100 a day, up to Rs 5,000, and each State law mirrors it. The government has waived most of that by notification.

These are central figures. The table above doubles them for the State half. No cap is notified above Rs 5 crore, so the section 47 limit of Rs 5,000 under each law applies.

How is it collected?

You do not pay it with the late return. The portal works out the GSTR-3B late fee and shows it in Table 5.1 of the next GSTR-3B. It is paid in cash, not from input tax credit. For GSTR-1, the GST Council recommended in September 2021 that the fee be filled into the next open GSTR-3B. Check Table 5.1 after a late GSTR-1 to see what the portal has charged.

What about interest?

Late fee is for the late form. Interest is for the late money. Section 50 allows up to 18% a year, counted from the day after the due date. When you declare a period's sales in that period's own late GSTR-3B, interest applies only to the part paid in cash. A copy of a GSTN advisory dated 30 January 2026 says the portal now computes this interest itself and does not let you reduce it. The formula and cases are in late fee and interest calculation.

A worked example

Sana's turnover last year was Rs 80 lakh. Her March 2026 GSTR-3B was due on 20 April 2026. She files on 30 May, 40 days late, and pays Rs 30,000 of tax in cash.

• GSTR-3B late fee: 40 days x Rs 50 = Rs 2,000, which is also her cap.
• Interest: Rs 30,000 x 18% x 40/365 = Rs 592.
• Her GSTR-1, due 11 April, went in the same day, 49 days late. That works out to Rs 2,450, capped at Rs 2,000.

One late month costs up to Rs 4,592 on a tax bill of Rs 30,000.

What else does a missed return cost?

1. The next return is blocked. You cannot file GSTR-1 until the previous period's GSTR-3B is in, and GSTR-3B must be filed in order.
2. A notice in Form GSTR-3A asks you to file within 15 days. After that the officer can assess your tax on a best judgment basis.
3. Registration can be cancelled if a monthly filer skips returns for six months in a row, or a quarterly filer for two tax periods.
4. After three years from the due date, the return cannot be filed at all. A GSTN advisory of 29 October 2025 says the portal applies this from the November 2025 period. A GSTR-3B due on 20 November 2023 closes for good after 20 November 2026.

The notices are covered in GST notices online sellers get most.

What mistake do sellers usually make?

They skip the return in a month with no sales, thinking nothing is due. A nil return still earns Rs 20 a day up to Rs 500, and it blocks the next month's filing. A nil return takes a few minutes. File it.

Frequently asked questions

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