GST Due Dates: November 2026 to April 2027 Calendar, and Which Ones Apply to You

Search "GST due dates" and you get long lists: GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, GSTR-4, GSTR-5, GSTR-6, GSTR-7, GSTR-8, IFF, PMT-06, CMP-08, each with a date. What those lists rarely tell you is the only thing a shop owner needs to know: which of these dates are mine?

Most small businesses deal with just two or three of them. This guide starts by sorting out which returns apply to you, then gives a month-by-month calendar from November 2026 to April 2027, the one-off deadlines that fall in this period (including two that cost real money if you miss them), and what happens when you file late.

Which returns apply to you?

Find your row first. Every date in the calendar below is tagged with who it applies to.

Two more that a few readers will need: non-resident taxable persons file GSTR-5 by the 13th, and input service distributors file GSTR-6 by the 13th. A typical kirana, medical store or small trader is in one of the first four rows.

If you have only just registered, your first return is due for the month in which your registration became effective. Our guide to the GST registration process explains how that date is set.

Should you be monthly or quarterly?

If your aggregate turnover is up to ₹5 crore, QRMP means filing returns four times a year instead of twelve, though you still pay tax monthly through PMT-06. The catch is your business buyers: they can claim credit only for invoices you have uploaded, so if they want credit every month, you will be filing IFF in the first two months anyway.

The opt-in window for a quarter runs from the 1st of the second month of the previous quarter to the last day of the first month of that quarter. For January–March 2027, that is 1 November 2026 to 31 January 2027.

The calendar: November 2026 to April 2027

Dates are the statutory due dates. The day of the week is shown so you can see which ones land on a weekend.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027 (the year-end quarter)

Category X and Category Y states

QRMP filers file GSTR-3B on the 22nd or the 24th depending on where they are registered:

The return details for each are in our guides on how to file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B.

The two deadlines in this period that cost real money

Monthly dates repeat. These two do not, and missing them is not fixed by paying a late fee.

30 November 2026: last chance for FY 2025-26 credit and corrections

Under Section 16(4), input tax credit on an invoice from FY 2025-26 can be claimed only up to 30 November 2026, or the date you file your FY 2025-26 annual return if that is earlier. A purchase bill from March 2026 that your supplier uploaded late, or that you simply forgot, is lost for good if it is not claimed in a return filed by then.

The same date is the last chance to amend FY 2025-26 sales details in GSTR-1 (Section 37(3)): a wrong GSTIN on a buyer's invoice, a missed invoice, a wrong tax rate.

Before your October GSTR-3B (due 20 November) or November return, compare your purchase register for April 2025 to March 2026 with GSTR-2B and claim anything still missing. Our guide on input tax credit explains the conditions.

31 December 2026: GSTR-9 for FY 2025-26

The annual return is compulsory above ₹2 crore aggregate turnover and optional up to that. GSTR-9C, the reconciliation statement, applies above ₹5 crore. Our GSTR-9 guide has the late fee slabs and a worked reconciliation.

Composition dealers do not file GSTR-9; their annual return is GSTR-4, due 30 April. See our guide to the GST composition scheme.

What if a due date falls on a Sunday or holiday?

You will notice several dates above land on a weekend: GSTR-3B for November on Sunday 20 December, PMT-06 for November on Christmas Day.

Under GST, there is no rule that moves a due date to the next working day. Some professionals argue that Section 10 of the General Clauses Act should extend it, but the point is not settled for GST, and the portal works on Sundays. The government sometimes extends dates by notification, usually at the last minute and sometimes only for some states.

The safe practice is simple: treat the date as fixed and file a day or two early. If an extension is notified, it shows up on your Returns Dashboard. As of this writing, no extension has been notified for the October 2026 returns due in November.

Late fees and interest, in short

Late fee is for filing late. For GSTR-3B and GSTR-1 it works out to:

Interest is for paying late: 18% a year on the tax paid in cash after the due date, counted day by day.

A worked example. A shop's cash tax for October is ₹25,000, due 20 November. It files and pays on 2 December, 12 days late.

Both are paid in cash; neither can be paid from input tax credit. The GSTR-3B guide covers how the portal adds them to your next return.

Two newer rules that make late filing worse

Returns become impossible to file after three years. A change made by the Finance Act 2023 bars filing a GST return once three years have passed from its due date, and the GST portal began blocking such returns in 2025. A return left pending long enough cannot be filed at all, which leaves the registration exposed to cancellation and the tax open to assessment.

GSTR-3B liability is locked to GSTR-1. From the July 2025 tax period, the tax liability auto-filled in GSTR-3B from your GSTR-1 cannot be edited in GSTR-3B. If a sale was reported wrongly in GSTR-1, you fix it through GSTR-1A before filing GSTR-3B. That makes the 11th (or 13th) more important than it used to be: the GSTR-1 you file is what you will pay on.

There is also a knock-on rule: the portal can block your GSTR-1 for a period if the previous period's GSTR-3B is not filed. Falling behind on one return holds up the other.

A simple monthly routine

For a monthly filer, a routine that keeps all of this calm:

1. 1st to 5th: close last month's bills. Check that every sale is billed, numbered in sequence and has the right tax rate and, for business buyers, the right GSTIN.
2. By the 9th: send your sales report and purchase bills to your accountant, or start GSTR-1 yourself.
3. By the 11th: file GSTR-1.
4. 12th to 15th: check GSTR-2B for your purchases; follow up with any supplier whose bill is missing.
5. By the 18th: file GSTR-3B and pay. Two days early, never on the 20th itself.

QRMP filers follow the same rhythm once a quarter, with a PMT-06 payment by the 25th in the two months between. Businesses above ₹5 crore also need e-invoices for business sales; see our guide on the e-invoice limit.

Where BillZap fits

BillZap does not file GST returns and does not send due-date reminders. What it does is make the part before filing quick: every bill gets an automatic number, the right heading (Tax Invoice, Bill of Supply or Bill), HSN codes and the CGST, SGST or IGST split worked out line by line. At month end, the reports show your sales and tax, and they export in one tap for you or your CA. It is free, needs no sign-up, works offline on Android, and runs in Hindi and many other Indian languages.

FAQ

The bottom line

Most small businesses need only three dates a month: the 11th for GSTR-1, the 20th for GSTR-3B, or the quarterly 13th, 22nd/24th and 25th if they are on QRMP. In this period, add two one-offs: 30 November 2026 for last year's credit and corrections, and 31 December 2026 for GSTR-9 if your turnover is above ₹2 crore. File a day or two early, keep your bills clean as you go, and none of these dates needs to be a crisis.