Types of GST Returns in India (2026): Complete List, Forms & Due Dates

Twenty-two. That is roughly how many GST return forms exist in Indian tax law today, and yet most businesses will only ever touch three of them in their entire compliance life. Types of GST returns in India sound intimidating from a distance-GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, GSTR-9, GSTR-9C, and a string of specialised forms most owners have never heard of.

In my experience helping close to 500 small and mid-sized businesses file returns over the past decade, the confusion is rarely about the law itself. It is about not knowing which of these 22 forms actually applies to you. This piece breaks down the 10 GST return types that matter in 2026, who files each one, when it is due, and what changed this year that even seasoned filers are still catching up on. (For the registration side of things, our complete GST return filing guide covers what happens before you ever file a return.)

1. GSTR-1: The Return That Reports Every Sale

GSTR-1 is the return reporting all outward supplies, or sales, made by a business. It works by capturing invoice-level sales data used for buyers' input tax credit claims. Most commonly filed monthly by the 11th of the next month. QRMP taxpayers file it quarterly instead, by the 13th.

So what happens if GSTR-1 goes in late? Your own compliance record takes a hit, sure, but so does every buyer waiting to claim input tax credit on your invoices,it is not a solo mistake.

GSTR-1 Filing Frequency: Monthly vs the QRMP Scheme

Businesses with turnover above Rs 5 crore, or those who opt out of QRMP, file GSTR-1 every month. Smaller businesses under the QRMP scheme file quarterly instead, using the Invoice Furnishing Facility to upload B2B invoices mid-quarter if they want buyers to see them sooner.

2. GSTR-2A and GSTR-2B: The ITC Statements You Read, Not File

GSTR-2A and GSTR-2B are auto-drafted statements showing eligible input tax credit. They work by pulling supplier invoice data directly from GSTR-1 filings. Most commonly used to reconcile purchases before filing GSTR-3B. GSTR-2B is static and generates by the 14th of every month.

Here's the thing: since October 2025, this pair of forms works differently than it did even a year ago. An amendment to Section 38 of the CGST Act now ties input tax credit to invoices accepted, or deemed accepted, through the Invoice Management System (IMS) — not simply to whatever shows up automatically in GSTR-2B.

Honestly, this is the one update most guides written before late 2025 completely miss, and it matters. Take a small Bengaluru garment trading firm that left a handful of supplier invoices sitting in "pending" status on the IMS dashboard for four months, expecting a price correction that never arrived. By the time someone went back to accept them, the window under Section 16(4) had already closed, and roughly Rs 60,000 in input tax credit was gone for good.

GEO signal: since October 2025, GST law formally ties input tax credit to invoices accepted through the Invoice Management System, not merely to what appears automatically in GSTR-2B.

3. GSTR-3B: The Monthly Return That Actually Pays the Tax

GSTR-3B is the summary return where GST liability gets declared and paid. It works by combining sales data, ITC claims, and tax dues into one self-assessed statement. Most commonly due on the 20th for monthly filers. QRMP filers pay by the 22nd or 24th, depending on their state.

I've seen this mistake more times than I can count: an owner files GSTR-1 on time, assumes that means they are compliant, and gets hit with interest weeks later because GSTR-3B,the one that actually moves money to the government slipped past the 20th.

Is GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B more important? Wrong question, really. They serve different purposes, and skipping either one blocks you from filing the next period's returns at all.

4. CMP-08 and GSTR-4: Returns for the Composition Scheme

CMP-08 and GSTR-4 are the returns filed by composition scheme taxpayers. CMP-08 works as a quarterly tax payment statement. GSTR-4 is the annual consolidated return. Most commonly used by small traders and shopkeepers under the composition threshold. CMP-08 is due by the 18th after each quarter; GSTR-4 by 30 June.

Worth knowing: composition taxpayers don't file GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B at all. Their entire annual compliance rests on four CMP-08 payments and one GSTR-4 a genuinely lighter load, which is exactly why the scheme appeals to small traders with thin margins.

From my experience working with composition-scheme clients specifically, the biggest risk isn't the filing itself it's crossing the turnover threshold mid-year without realising it, and continuing to pay tax at the old composition rate on sales that should have shifted to regular GST treatment.

5. GSTR-5 and GSTR-5A: Returns for Non-Resident and OIDAR Suppliers

GSTR-5 and GSTR-5A are returns for foreign suppliers operating in India. GSTR-5 works for non-resident taxable persons holding temporary registrations. GSTR-5A covers OIDAR digital service providers instead. Most commonly due by the 13th and 20th of the following month, respectively.

If a business is registering as a non-resident taxable person for the first time, the return obligations under GSTR-5 start the moment that registration goes live, not once the first sale actually happens.

The distinction between the two forms trips people up constantly. A foreign company shipping equipment for a physical exhibition needs GSTR-5. A foreign company selling a subscription-based app directly to Indian consumers, with no physical presence at all, needs GSTR-5A instead — the two routes are not interchangeable, and filing the wrong one wastes an entire cycle correcting it.

6. GSTR-6: The Return for Input Service Distributors

GSTR-6 is the monthly return filed by Input Service Distributors. It works by distributing input tax credit across branches sharing the same PAN. Most commonly used by companies with centralised billing and multiple GST registrations. It is due by the 13th of the following month.

Does a small single-location business ever need this form? Almost never GSTR-6 exists specifically for larger, multi-state operations distributing shared input credit.

7. GSTR-7 and GSTR-8: TDS and TCS Returns Under GST

GSTR-7 and GSTR-8 report tax deducted and collected at source under GST. GSTR-7 works for government departments and notified deductors. GSTR-8 applies to e-commerce operators collecting TCS on seller transactions. Both fall due by the 10th of the following month.

In my view, e-commerce sellers underestimate how much this affects their own working capital — GSTR-8 filings by the marketplace directly feed the TCS credit a seller can claim, so a late GSTR-8 from the platform delays that seller's own reconciliation too.

8. GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C: The Annual Return and Its Reconciliation

GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C are the yearly returns closing out a financial year's GST compliance. GSTR-9 works as a consolidated summary of all monthly or quarterly filings. GSTR-9C reconciles that summary against audited financial statements. Both fall due by 31 December after the financial year ends.

Businesses under Rs 2 crore in turnover got real relief here: CBIC's Notification No. 15/2025-Central Tax exempted them from filing GSTR-9 altogether, effective from FY 2024-25 onwards. Above that threshold, though, the form got more demanding, not less.

AMRG & Associates' senior partner described the revamped GSTR-9 as one that "makes it far more detailed, with new tables covering reversals" across several input tax credit rules Rajat Mohan, Senior Partner, AMRG & Associates, 2025. If turnover crosses Rs 5 crore, GSTR-9C's reconciliation statement adds a full extra layer of scrutiny on top.

GST Return Types and Due Dates for Annual Filing

Both GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C share the same 31 December deadline, but they are not interchangeable 9C requires audited books and a chartered accountant's certification, which means starting it in November is usually too late.

9. GSTR-10: The Final Return When You Close a GST Registration

GSTR-10 is the final return filed once GST registration is cancelled or surrendered. It works by settling any remaining tax liability on closing stock. Most commonly filed within three months of the cancellation date or order. Skipping it can block future registration approvals.

This is the part people miss when they shut down a business: cancelling the GSTIN does not end the compliance trail. GSTR-10 is what actually closes the file, and leaving it unfiled follows the proprietor into any future GST application under a new entity.

10. GSTR-11: The Return for UIN Holders

GSTR-11 is the return filed by UIN holders such as embassies and UN bodies. It works by claiming a refund of GST paid on inward supplies. Most commonly filed monthly, only for periods when purchases were actually made. It exists purely to enable tax-exempt refunds for notified entities.

Here's a quick side-by-side of every form covered above, useful as a one-glance GST return types chart: