Your GST annual return for FY 2025-26 is due on 31 December 2026, and the GSTR-9 tile has been open on the GST portal since 8 October. If your turnover crossed ₹5 crore, the self-certified GSTR-9C reconciliation is due on the same day. Leave both to the last week of December and you are reconciling a full year of GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, GSTR-2B and your books in a hurry, during audit season.
This guide is for regular GST taxpayers. It covers the GSTR-9 due date, who is exempt, who also files GSTR-9C, the late fee by turnover band, what changed in the form, and a checklist to work through before you file. If you are on the composition scheme, read our GSTR-4 vs GSTR-9 guide instead.
GSTR-9 Due Date for FY 2025-26
Rule 80 of the CGST Rules sets the GST annual return due date: the annual return in Form GSTR-9 is due “on or before the thirty-first day of December following the end of such financial year”. Rule 80(3) gives GSTR-9C the same deadline. For FY 2025-26 (April 2025 to March 2026), that is Thursday, 31 December 2026.
| Item | Date |
|---|---|
| Financial year covered | 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 |
| Filing enabled on portal | 8 October 2026 |
| GSTR-9 due date | 31 December 2026 |
| GSTR-9C due date | 31 December 2026 |
| Last date to file at all | 31 December 2029 |
As of 19 October 2026 no notification has extended the FY 2025-26 date. Past extensions have arrived close to the deadline (the FY 2019-20 one was notified on 30 December 2020), so check the news section of the GST portal and the CBIC notifications page before you plan around anything later than 31 December.
The last row matters too. Since 1 October 2023, section 44(2) of the CGST Act bars filing an annual return more than three years after its due date. Miss that and you lose the option of filing at all, unless the government notifies an exception.
Who Must File GSTR-9
Section 44 asks every registered person to file an annual return, then carves out several groups. You do not file GSTR-9 if you are:
- an Input Service Distributor;
- a person deducting TDS under section 51 or collecting TCS under section 52;
- a casual taxable person or a non-resident taxable person;
- a government department or local authority whose accounts are audited by the CAG or by an auditor appointed for local authorities;
- a regular taxpayer whose aggregate turnover for the year is up to ₹2 crore.
The ₹2 crore exemption used to be renewed one year at a time. Notification No. 15/2025-Central Tax, dated 17 September 2025, made it standing: it applies “in respect of filing of annual return for the financial year 2024-25 onwards” to any registered person “whose aggregate turnover in any financial year is up to two crore rupees”. FY 2025-26 is covered without a fresh notification.
Aggregate Turnover Is a PAN-Level Number
This test is easy to get wrong. Section 2(6) defines aggregate turnover as the value of all taxable supplies, exempt supplies, exports and inter-State supplies of persons having the same PAN, “computed on all India basis”, excluding GST itself and inward supplies taxed under reverse charge. If your company has three GSTINs, each with ₹80 lakh of sales, aggregate turnover is ₹2.4 crore and every one of those GSTINs files GSTR-9.
If you are not sure which registrations sit under your PAN, a GSTIN search by PAN lists them. Newly registered businesses can check the threshold rules in our GST registration guide.
Who Must File GSTR-9C
GSTR-9C is a reconciliation statement. It ties the turnover and tax in your GSTR-9 to your audited annual financial statements and explains every difference. Rule 80(3) requires it from every registered person filing GSTR-9 “whose aggregate turnover during a financial year exceeds five crore rupees”.
| Aggregate turnover FY 2025-26 | What you file |
|---|---|
| Up to ₹2 crore | Nothing (exempt) |
| Above ₹2 crore, up to ₹5 crore | GSTR-9 only |
| Above ₹5 crore | GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C |
Since Notification No. 30/2021-Central Tax (30 July 2021), GSTR-9C is self-certified. Before that it had to be certified by a chartered accountant or cost accountant. Now the taxpayer signs a declaration and uploads the financial statements. Many businesses still have their auditor prepare it, because the numbers come straight from the audited accounts, but the law no longer requires a CA’s certificate on the form.
On the portal, GSTR-9 is filed first and GSTR-9C follows. Rule 80(3) says the statement goes “along with the annual return”, so plan to file both together. If 9C goes in later, the late fee can keep running until it is filed (see below).
GSTR-9 Late Fee by Turnover
Section 47(2) sets the base late fee: ₹100 per day under CGST, capped at a quarter per cent of turnover in the State or Union territory. The SGST Act charges the same again. Notification No. 07/2023-Central Tax (31 March 2023) cut the fee for smaller taxpayers from FY 2022-23 onwards. Combining the CGST and SGST halves, as the GST Council’s 49th meeting press release does:
| Aggregate turnover | Late fee (CGST + SGST) |
|---|---|
| Up to ₹5 crore | ₹50 per day, max 0.04% of State turnover |
| Above ₹5 crore, up to ₹20 crore | ₹100 per day, max 0.04% of State turnover |
| Above ₹20 crore | ₹200 per day, max 0.50% of State turnover |
Two different turnovers are at work here. The band is decided by aggregate turnover (PAN-level, all-India). The cap is a percentage of turnover in the State or Union territory of the GSTIN that is late. The fee is counted from 1 January 2027 until the day you file.
Some worked numbers, for a single-State business filing 30 days late:
| Turnover | Late fee for 30 days |
|---|---|
| ₹3 crore | ₹1,500 (cap ₹12,000) |
| ₹12 crore | ₹3,000 (cap ₹48,000) |
| ₹30 crore | ₹6,000 (cap ₹15,00,000) |
The fee is small next to the other cost of not filing. Under section 46 the department can issue a notice asking you to file within 15 days, and an unfiled annual return tends to surface again in scrutiny and audit.
Late Fee on GSTR-9C
Whether a late 9C attracted a late fee was disputed for years. The government settled the past: Notification No. 08/2025-Central Tax waived the extra late fee for FY 2017-18 to 2022-23 where GSTR-9 was filed and the 9C followed by 31 March 2025. For the future, the September 2025 amendment added a Table 17, “Late fee payable and paid”, to GSTR-9C, with the instruction that “late fee will be payable as per section 47(2)”. In practice, file 9C on the same day as GSTR-9.
What Changed in the GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C Forms
The big rewrite came through the CGST (Third Amendment) Rules, 2025 (Notification No. 13/2025-Central Tax, 17 September 2025). Most changes apply “for FY 2024-25 onwards”, so FY 2025-26 is the second year on the new layout. The ones you will notice:
- Table 6A1 and 6A2. ITC of the previous year that you claimed in this year’s GSTR-3B (April to October returns) is split out in 6A1, leaving net ITC of the year in 6A2. ITC reversed under rules 37 or 37A and reclaimed goes to 6H instead.
- Table 7A1 and 7A2. Reversals under rule 37A (supplier did not file GSTR-3B) and rule 38 now have their own rows. The option to dump all reversals into 7H was written only for FY 2017-18 to 2023-24, so for FY 2025-26 you report them row by row.
- Table 8A and 8B. 8A is auto-filled from GSTR-2B. GSTN’s FAQ for FY 2024-25 described it as the year’s invoices appearing in GSTR-2B for that year and for April to October of the next year. 8B is now auto-filled from Table 6B alone.
- Table 8H1. IGST on imports of the year that you claim only in the next year is reported here, so it no longer shows as a gap in 8I.
- Table 9. Tax paid gains a total-paid column and a column for the difference between tax payable and tax paid.
- Tables 10 to 13. Amendments and ITC moves made in the next year’s returns cover April to October returns filed up to 30 November. For FY 2025-26, that means returns for April to October 2026 filed by 30 November 2026. Tables 12 and 13 now have defined contents for FY 2024-25 onwards rather than being optional.
- GSTR-9C. New rows (7D1, K-2) for supplies where an e-commerce operator pays tax under section 9(5), additional liability payable in “cash or ITC” instead of cash only, and the new late fee Table 17.
One caution. The form instructions still list several optional relaxations (for example in Tables 5D to 5F, 5H to 5K and 6B to 6D), but the years they name stop at FY 2024-25. We found no notification as of 19 October 2026 extending them to FY 2025-26. Prepare full figures for every table. If GSTN publishes an FY 2025-26 FAQ that allows the relaxations again, you lose nothing.
Pre-Filing Checklist
GSTR-9 is mostly auto-filled, which tempts people to click through. The auto-filled figures are only as good as the returns behind them, and once you submit you cannot revise the return. Work through this list first:
- Confirm your band. Work out PAN-level aggregate turnover for FY 2025-26. It decides whether you file at all, whether 9C applies and which late fee applies.
- Close every periodic return. GSTN’s October 2026 advisory says all GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B returns for FY 2025-26 must be filed before the GSTR-9 tile opens.
- GSTR-1 vs GSTR-3B (outward). Match month by month, then for the year. A sale declared in GSTR-1 but missed in 3B is unpaid tax. Report it in Table 4 and pay it through DRC-03. Table 9 shows it as tax payable, but its paid columns come only from GSTR-3B.
- GSTR-3B vs GSTR-2B (ITC). Download the Table 8A document details from the GSTR-9 dashboard and match them against your purchase register. Look for ITC claimed with no 2B entry, and 2B entries never claimed.
- Cross-year items. List FY 2024-25 ITC claimed in FY 2025-26 (Table 6A1), and FY 2025-26 invoices, credit notes and ITC that went into April to October 2026 returns (Tables 10 to 13).
- Imports. Reconcile IGST paid on imports (ICEGATE) with ITC in GSTR-3B, and separate out any claimed in FY 2026-27 for Table 8H1.
- Reversals by rule. Split ITC reversals into rule 37, 37A, 38, 39, 42, 43 and section 17(5) for Tables 7A to 7H.
- Books vs returns. Match turnover and tax in your trial balance or audited accounts against GSTR-9, including unbilled revenue, advances and credit notes. Above ₹5 crore, this is what GSTR-9C formalises.
- Mind the ITC window. Section 16(4) closes ITC for a year on 30 November of the next year “or furnishing of the relevant annual return, whichever is earlier”. File GSTR-9 before 30 November 2026 and you shut the window yourself.
For a refresher on which credits you can claim at all, see our guide to input tax credit under GST. If the filer is a company, the audited statements behind GSTR-9C are the same ones it files with the ROC in AOC-4. You can check its registered name, CIN and status on WeeDoo company search before you start pulling the accounts.
How to File on the GST Portal
- Log in and go to Services, then Returns, then Annual Return. Select FY 2025-26.
- Download the system-computed GSTR-9 summary and the Table 8A document details, and compare them with your workings.
- Fill or edit the tables online, or prepare them in the offline tool and upload the JSON.
- Compute liabilities, check the late fee (if any) and pay it, then preview the draft.
- File with DSC or EVC. If you are above ₹5 crore, prepare and file GSTR-9C next, uploading the audited financial statements.
Additional tax found during reconciliation is paid separately through Form DRC-03. It is not discharged by the annual return itself. For technical issues, GSTN’s advisory points to its helpdesk at selfservice.gstsystem.in.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the GSTR-9 due date for FY 2025-26?
31 December 2026, under Rule 80 of the CGST Rules. GSTR-9C for taxpayers above ₹5 crore has the same date. No extension had been notified as of 19 October 2026. Check the GST portal news page in December before relying on any later date.
Is GSTR-9 mandatory if my turnover is below ₹2 crore?
No. Notification No. 15/2025-Central Tax exempts registered persons with aggregate turnover up to ₹2 crore from FY 2024-25 onwards. The test uses PAN-level aggregate turnover, not the turnover of one GSTIN. You still have to file every GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B and keep proper records.
Does GSTR-9C still need a CA’s certificate?
No. Since Notification No. 30/2021-Central Tax, GSTR-9C is a self-certified reconciliation statement, required only where aggregate turnover exceeds ₹5 crore. Many businesses still have their auditor prepare it, but the form is signed by the taxpayer.
Can I revise GSTR-9 after filing?
No. There is no revision facility for GSTR-9 or GSTR-9C. Tax you find short after filing can be paid through DRC-03 with interest, but the return stays as filed. That is the reason to reconcile first and file second.
What if I miss the deadline entirely?
The late fee runs from 1 January 2027 at the rate for your turnover band, up to the cap. You can still file until 31 December 2029. After that, section 44(2) bars the return unless the government allows it by notification.
