GST Compliance Calendar Management

No — reminders are the visible output, not the service itself. The underlying work is mapping every return type that actually applies to your specific GSTIN(s) and filing frequency, reconciling GSTR-2B against your purchase register before each GSTR-3B (not after), tracking CBIC notifications that shift due dates, and maintaining a single calendar that covers periodic returns, annual returns, export LUT renewal, job-work ITC-04, and any notice-response deadlines together — because they compete for the same attention and are easy to miss when tracked in separate systems.

GSTR-1 (outward supply statement, monthly or quarterly under QRMP), GSTR-3B (summary return and tax payment, monthly or per QRMP schedule), CMP-08 (quarterly statement-cum-payment for Composition Scheme taxpayers), GSTR-4 (annual return for Composition taxpayers), GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C (annual return and reconciliation statement, GSTR-9C applicable above a CBIC-notified turnover threshold), ITC-04 (job-work goods movement, half-yearly or annual depending on turnover), and GSTR-7/GSTR-8 (TDS/TCS returns for specified deductors and e-commerce operators). Exporters additionally track annual LUT renewal.

Monthly GSTR-1 filers must file by the 11th of the following month. QRMP (Quarterly Return, Monthly Payment) filers file GSTR-1 quarterly, by the 13th of the month following the quarter, but can optionally use the Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) to upload B2B invoices for the first two months of the quarter so recipients see the credit sooner rather than waiting for the full quarterly filing.

Monthly filers must file GSTR-3B by the 20th of the following month. QRMP filers file quarterly, with the due date staggered by state grouping — the 22nd of the month after quarter-end for one group of states/UTs and the 24th for another group, as notified by CBIC. This staggering is designed to spread the filing load on the GST portal infrastructure across different dates.

A late fee applies under Section 47 of the CGST Act — a per-day amount for returns with tax liability, and a lower per-day amount for nil returns, both subject to caps that CBIC has periodically notified based on the taxpayer's annual turnover slab. Separately, interest applies under Section 50 at 18% per annum on the unpaid tax amount, calculated from the original due date until the date of actual payment — interest accrues regardless of whether a late fee cap has been reached.

CMP-08 is the quarterly statement-cum-payment form for taxpayers registered under the Composition Scheme. It is due by the 18th of the month following the end of each quarter — for example, the quarter ending 30 June is due by 18 July. It is a statement of tax payment, not a full return in the same sense as GSTR-3B; the annual return for Composition taxpayers is GSTR-4, filed separately.

Both GSTR-9 (annual return) and GSTR-9C (self-certified reconciliation statement between audited financial statements and filed GST returns) are due by 31 December following the end of the relevant financial year, unless CBIC issues a specific extension. GSTR-9C is applicable only above a turnover threshold that CBIC prescribes and periodically revises by notification — businesses below that threshold need only GSTR-9.

ITC-04 is the statement a principal manufacturer files to report goods sent to, and received back from, a job-worker — inputs or capital goods sent out for processing without payment of tax. Its filing periodicity is set by CBIC notification and is currently threshold-based — a longer, half-yearly cycle for larger taxpayers and an annual cycle for smaller ones — which is a different rhythm from the monthly GSTR-1/3B cycle, and that mismatch in rhythm is exactly why it gets forgotten.

Inputs sent to a job-worker must be received back (or supplied further from the job-worker's premises, where permitted) within one year, and capital goods within three years, from the date they were sent out. If goods are not returned within these periods, the movement is deemed a supply from the principal to the job-worker on the date they were originally sent out, triggering GST liability and interest from that original date — not from the date the default is discovered.

A Letter of Undertaking (LUT), filed under Rule 96A of the CGST Rules, allows an exporter or SEZ supplier to make zero-rated supplies without paying IGST upfront, instead of paying IGST and later claiming a refund. LUT is valid only for the financial year in which it is filed — it must be renewed at the start of every new financial year, before the first zero-rated invoice of that year is raised.

QRMP (Quarterly Return, Monthly Payment) allows eligible taxpayers to file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B quarterly while still paying tax monthly through a simplified challan (PMT-06), using either a fixed-sum or self-assessment method. Eligibility is based on the taxpayer's aggregate turnover in the preceding financial year being below a threshold prescribed by CBIC — currently ₹5 crore — and the taxpayer must actively opt in through the GST portal each quarter (or it carries forward automatically once elected, unless turnover crosses the threshold).

E-invoicing requires specified categories of GST-registered businesses to report B2B invoices to a government-notified Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) in real time, which generates a unique Invoice Reference Number (IRN) and QR code before the invoice is treated as valid for GST purposes. The mandatory turnover threshold has been progressively lowered by successive CBIC notifications since e-invoicing's introduction; businesses should confirm the currently applicable threshold for their situation rather than relying on a figure from an earlier notification, since it has changed more than once.

An invoice that should have carried an IRN but did not is not treated as a valid tax invoice under GST law for a covered taxpayer, which can affect the recipient's ability to claim input tax credit on it and expose the supplier to compliance risk on that transaction. Correcting this typically requires cancelling the non-compliant invoice and reissuing it correctly through the e-invoicing workflow within the permitted cancellation window.

An e-way bill has a validity period determined primarily by the distance the goods must travel, and once it expires, the goods in transit are technically without a valid e-way bill, which can lead to detention and penalty proceedings under Section 129 of the CGST Act if intercepted. Extension of an e-way bill's validity is possible within a limited window before or shortly after expiry, but only if tracked proactively.

Yes. For taxpayers above a CBIC-notified turnover threshold, failure to file GSTR-3B for two consecutive tax periods blocks that GSTIN's ability to generate new e-way bills on the portal until the pending returns are filed. This is one of the more disruptive knock-on consequences of a compliance backlog because it stops live goods movement, not just future filings.

GSTR-2B is a static, auto-generated statement of input tax credit available to a recipient for a given period, drawn from the GSTR-1, GSTR-5, and GSTR-6 filings of the recipient's suppliers as of a fixed cut-off date each month. GSTR-2A is a dynamic, continuously updated statement reflecting supplier filings as they happen, which can keep changing even after the period has closed. GSTR-2B is the statement used as the basis for ITC claims in GSTR-3B because its static nature makes reconciliation reliable.

We investigate supplier-by-supplier: has the supplier not yet filed their GSTR-1 for the period, filed it late, filed it with an error in your GSTIN, or classified the invoice incorrectly? Depending on the cause, we either follow up directly with the supplier to have them correct or file, adjust the claim to the period the credit actually appears in GSTR-2B, or in rare cases assess whether the credit is genuinely at risk of being permanently lost and needs a different resolution path.

Section 17(5) of the CGST Act lists categories of input tax credit that cannot be claimed even if the underlying invoice appears in GSTR-2B — for example, credit on motor vehicles used for personal purposes (with specific exceptions), food and beverages except in defined circumstances, and works contract services for construction of immovable property (again, with defined exceptions). Before finalising GSTR-3B, the auto-populated GSTR-2B credit must be filtered for these blocked categories, or the return will overstate eligible ITC.

Under the Reverse Charge Mechanism, the recipient of specified goods or services — rather than the supplier — is liable to pay GST directly to the government, and must self-invoice for the transaction where the supplier is unregistered or the transaction is otherwise notified under RCM. This liability must be reported and paid in the same GSTR-3B period as the transaction (subject to the applicable ITC eligibility on the RCM tax paid), which means RCM transactions need to be identified and computed before the GSTR-3B due date, not discovered afterward.

GST rates were rationalised effective September 2025 into a simplified structure, moving away from the earlier four-slab 5%/12%/18%/28% system to a streamlined structure of primarily 5% and 18% rates, with a 40% de-merit rate retained for select luxury and sin goods (and specific exemptions/nil-rated categories continuing to apply). Businesses should confirm the current applicable rate for their specific goods or services against the latest CBIC rate notification, as classification-specific rate changes continue to be issued periodically even within the new structure.

A GST rate change does not alter due dates, but it does create a transition-period risk: invoices raised close to the rate-change date, contracts priced under the old rate structure, and opening/closing stock valued at different rates all need careful handling in the return for that transition period. We treat a rate-structure change as a trigger to review the reconciliation workflow for the affected period, not just update a rate master and move on.

GSTR-7 is the monthly return filed by persons required to deduct tax at source (TDS) under GST — primarily government departments, local authorities, and other notified deductors — reporting TDS deducted on payments to suppliers. GSTR-8 is the monthly return filed by e-commerce operators required to collect tax at source (TCS) on supplies made through their platform by other suppliers. Both are separate from the standard GSTR-1/3B cycle and carry their own due dates and late-fee exposure.

ASMT-10 is a notice issued by the GST department when scrutiny of filed returns reveals discrepancies — typically GSTR-1 vs GSTR-3B mismatches, GSTR-3B vs GSTR-2B ITC mismatches, or turnover discrepancies against other data sources. The notice specifies a response period, generally in the range of 15–30 days depending on the specific notice and jurisdiction, within which the taxpayer must explain the discrepancy or pay the tax, interest, and penalty considered due. Missing the response window allows the department to proceed to formal demand proceedings under Section 73 or 74.

GSTR-9 is the annual return required of most regular taxpayers, consolidating the year's outward and inward supply data already reported in monthly/quarterly returns. GSTR-9C is a reconciliation statement between the audited financial statements and the annual return, required only for taxpayers above a turnover threshold that CBIC prescribes and has revised over time — below that threshold, only GSTR-9 is required, and GSTR-9C is not applicable at all.

Yes. A 'Nil' GSTR-1 and 'Nil' GSTR-3B must still be filed for any period with no outward supplies, as long as the GSTIN remains active. Nil returns can be filed through a simplified SMS-based process for GSTR-3B in specified circumstances, but the obligation to file on time still applies, and a late nil return still attracts a (lower, but non-zero) late fee under Section 47.

Each state GSTIN is a separate registration with its own filing frequency election, its own due dates (which can differ if one state is under a different QRMP category from another), and its own reconciliation cycle. We maintain a consolidated master calendar across all GSTINs for the business, with GSTIN-specific sub-calendars underneath, so management gets a single view of overall compliance health while each registration is tracked to its own correct due dates.

Yes — this is one of our more common engagement starting points. We begin with the historical health check (reviewing the last 12 months of filings, reconciliations, and any unresolved notices), quantify any backlog or unresolved mismatches found, and then build the forward-looking calendar from the current period. Prior-period issues, if any, are addressed as a distinct backlog-recovery workstream rather than blocking the forward calendar from starting.

A live, GSTIN-specific due-date calendar covering all applicable return types; staged reminders ahead of each due date; GSTR-2B vs purchase register reconciliation before every GSTR-3B; RCM and blocked-credit review before filing; the actual filing of GSTR-1/3B (or supervision, if the business's own team files); tracking and initiation of LUT renewal, ITC-04, and other periodic filings on their own separate cycles; and monitoring for CBIC notification changes that affect any due date in the calendar.

Fees depend on the number of GSTINs, filing frequency mix (monthly vs QRMP vs Composition), transaction volume driving the reconciliation workload, and whether notice-response support is included in the retainer. PNPC confirms scope and fee in a written engagement letter before work begins — we do not work from an undocumented verbal understanding on either scope or price.

Software reminders are typically configured for standard periodic due dates and do not adapt to CBIC notification changes, do not perform GSTR-2B reconciliation with judgement on blocked credits and RCM, and do not draft or manage responses to departmental notices. A CA firm brings the classification judgement (is this credit blocked under Section 17(5)? is this transaction subject to RCM?) that a static reminder system cannot provide, and stays accountable for the outcome, not just the notification.

Yes. PNPC has operating offices in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Dubai. For businesses with both an Indian GST registration and a UAE VAT registration, we coordinate the two compliance calendars under one engagement so cross-border invoicing, DTAA considerations, and the interaction between Indian GST and UAE VAT treatment on the same transactions are managed coherently by one team rather than split between two unconnected advisors.

The GST department can suspend a registration where returns have not been filed for a prescribed continuous period, and can proceed to cancellation under Section 29 if the default continues. A suspended or cancelled GSTIN cannot legally issue tax invoices or claim ITC, which effectively halts GST-compliant business operations until the registration is restored — restoration requires filing all pending returns and, where cancellation has already occurred, applying for revocation within the statutory window.

Both models are available and are agreed explicitly at engagement start. Some clients want PNPC to file every return directly under an authorised access arrangement; others want their own internal team to file while PNPC manages the calendar, performs the reconciliation, and reviews the return before submission. Either way, the reconciliation and classification judgement is performed by PNPC — the difference is only in who executes the final portal submission.