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GST Calendar › Late fee and interest
GST late fee and interest
A late GST return costs a late fee for every day, and late tax costs interest. Since the July 2025 tax period, a return more than three years late can't be filed at all. Rules as of 5 November 2026.
Late fee on GSTR-3B and GSTR-1
- ₹50 a day (₹25 CGST + ₹25 SGST), or ₹20 a day (₹10 + ₹10) for a nil return.
- The total is capped by your turnover in the previous year (Notifications 19/2021 and 20/2021-Central Tax): up to ₹1.5 crore, ₹2,000 (₹1,000 + ₹1,000); ₹1.5 crore to ₹5 crore, ₹5,000; above ₹5 crore, ₹10,000. For a nil return the cap is ₹500.
- The portal works out the fee when you file; the return can't be filed without paying it.
Example: a GSTR-3B for October 2026 (due 20 November) filed on 30 November is 10 days late: ₹500 late fee for a return with tax, ₹200 for a nil return.
Interest on late tax
Tax paid after the due date carries 18% a year interest (CGST section 50(1)) on the part paid in cash, for each day from the day after the due date. ₹1,00,000 of tax paid 10 days late costs about ₹493 (1,00,000 × 18% × 10 ÷ 365).
Composition: CMP-08 and GSTR-4
Late CMP-08 tax carries the same 18% interest. A late GSTR-4 has a late fee per day with a cap (lower for a nil return); the portal shows the amount.
Annual return GSTR-9
For businesses with turnover up to ₹5 crore the late fee is ₹50 a day (₹25 + ₹25), capped at 0.04% of turnover in the state (Notification 07/2023-Central Tax). Larger businesses pay more per day. Businesses up to ₹2 crore don't have to file GSTR-9 from FY 2024-25 (Notification 15/2025-Central Tax).
The three-year limit
The Finance Act, 2023 added a time limit: GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, GSTR-4, GSTR-5, GSTR-6, GSTR-7, GSTR-8 and GSTR-9 can't be filed after three years from their due date. The portal began blocking such returns from the July 2025 tax period (GSTN advisory, June 2025). A return never filed can lead to a best-judgement assessment, and missing returns for six months in a row can lead to cancellation of the registration.