GSTR-1 for e-commerce sellers: what it is and how to file

If you sell on Amazon, Flipkart or Meesho and you're registered under GST, GSTR-1 is the return where you report every outward supply (sale) you made in the period. Getting it right matters: your buyers claim input tax credit from it, and the portal cross-checks it against the TCS your marketplaces report.

What GSTR-1 actually contains

GSTR-1 is organised into tables. As an online seller, these are the ones you'll usually touch:

• B2C (Table 7): sales to unregistered buyers, summarised by state and tax rate.
• B2B (Table 4): invoice-level sales to GST-registered buyers.
• HSN summary (Table 12): your sales grouped by HSN code and rate.
• E-commerce supplies (Table 14): the value of supplies made through each marketplace operator, who collects 1% TCS on your behalf.
• Documents issued (Table 13): the range of invoice and credit-note numbers you used.

Monthly vs quarterly (QRMP)

If your turnover is up to Rs 5 crore you can opt for the QRMP scheme and file GSTR-1 quarterly, optionally pushing B2B invoices via the monthly IFF. Above Rs 5 crore, GSTR-1 is monthly.

Due dates

Monthly filers file by the 11th of the following month. Quarterly (QRMP) filers file by the 13th of the month after the quarter. Late filing attracts a per-day late fee, so it's worth reconciling early.

Where sellers usually slip

• Reading marketplace date columns in the wrong format, so invoices land in the wrong month.
• Leaving the tax figure to be back-calculated instead of using the marketplace's own reported tax.
• Forgetting that returns/refunds net against the same period's sales.
• Filing B2B without the mandatory HSN summary once any B2B invoice exists.

The fix is a clean reconciliation: pull each marketplace's GST report, map it to the right table, and validate the totals against the portal's rules before you upload.

Frequently asked questions