GSTR-9 Annual Return: Due Date, Turnover Limit, Late Fee, Filing

GSTR-9 is the annual GST return, mandatory for regular taxpayers with aggregate turnover above Rs 2 crore, and the due date for FY 2025-26 is 31 December 2026. Taxpayers above Rs 5 crore must also file the GSTR-9C reconciliation statement.

A GSTR-9 cannot be revised once filed. Below: who must file, the due date, the format, reconciliation, late fee by turnover and the filing steps.

What Is the GSTR-9 Annual Return?

GSTR-9 is the annual return under Section 44 of the CGST Act, 2017 and Rule 80 of the CGST Rules, filed once for each financial year by a regular taxpayer. It consolidates the outward supplies, inward supplies, tax paid and input tax credit (ITC) already reported in GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and GSTR-2B.

The return adds no new tax by itself. Its job is to make you reconcile the year, and any short paid tax or excess ITC it exposes has to be paid to the government.

GSTR-9 at a Glance (FY 2025-26)
Particulars	Details
Legal basis	Section 44 of the CGST Act, 2017 and Rule 80 of the CGST Rules
Who files	Regular taxpayers, GSTIN by GSTIN
Mandatory above	Aggregate turnover of Rs 2 crore
GSTR-9C needed above	Aggregate turnover of Rs 5 crore, self-certified
Due date	31 December 2026 for FY 2025-26
Revision after filing	Not allowed
Filed on	GST portal, gst.gov.in

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GSTR-9 Due Date and Extension

The GSTR-9 due date for FY 2025-26 is 31 December 2026, because the annual return is due on 31 December of the year after the financial year. The FY 2024-25 return was due on 31 December 2025.

GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C Due Dates
Financial year	Statutory due date	Status
FY 2025-26	31 December 2026	Open
FY 2024-25	31 December 2025	Passed, late fee runs from 1 January 2026 unless a notification extended it
FY 2023-24	31 December 2024	Passed

The government has extended this date in some years by notification, so check the CBIC notifications page and the GST portal before you rely on any extension. Treat news of an extension as unconfirmed until a notification number is published.

An annual return also cannot be filed after 3 years from its due date, a limit the portal enforces under amendments to Section 44. A return that is years overdue should therefore be filed without further delay.

Who Must File GSTR-9? Turnover Limit and Exemptions

A regular taxpayer must file GSTR-9 if aggregate turnover exceeds Rs 2 crore in the financial year. Those at or below Rs 2 crore are exempt through a yearly CBIC notification, which for FY 2024-25 was Notification 15/2025-Central Tax.

Who Files What for the GST Annual Return
Taxpayer	Annual return	Note
Regular taxpayer, turnover above Rs 2 crore	GSTR-9	Mandatory
Regular taxpayer, turnover up to Rs 2 crore	GSTR-9	Optional once the year's exemption notification applies
Regular taxpayer, turnover above Rs 5 crore	GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C	Both mandatory
Composition taxpayer	GSTR-4 (annual)	Due 30 April after the year ends
Casual taxable person, non-resident taxable person	None	Not required to file
Input service distributor	None	Not required to file
Person deducting TDS (Section 51) or collecting TCS (Section 52)	None	Not required to file

Aggregate turnover is counted on all registrations under the same PAN, and the return itself is filed separately for each GSTIN. The notification for FY 2025-26 should be confirmed on the CBIC site, since this exemption is renewed every year.

GSTR-9, GSTR-9A, GSTR-9B and GSTR-9C: What Is the Difference?

Rule 80 provides four annual forms, and only GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C apply to most businesses today. GSTR-9 is the return and GSTR-9C is the reconciliation statement.

Annual Return Forms Under Rule 80
Form	For	Status
GSTR-9	Regular taxpayers	Active, mandatory above Rs 2 crore
GSTR-9A	Composition taxpayers	Replaced by the annual return in GSTR-4 from FY 2019-20
GSTR-9B	E-commerce operators who file GSTR-8	Filing kept on hold
GSTR-9C	Taxpayers with turnover above Rs 5 crore	Active, reconciles audited accounts with GSTR-9, self-certified

Earlier, GSTR-9C had to be certified by a Chartered Accountant or Cost Accountant. It is now self-certified, though many businesses still take professional help to prepare it.

GSTR-9 Format: Parts and Tables

The GSTR-9 form has 6 parts and 19 tables, with Tables 1 to 3 holding basic details and Tables 4 to 19 holding the figures. Most numbers are pre-filled from your filed returns and you correct them against your books.

GSTR-9 Parts and Tables
Part	Tables	What you report
Part I	1 to 3	Financial year, GSTIN, legal name, trade name
Part II	4 and 5	Outward supplies that are taxable (Table 4) and those not taxable, exempt or nil rated (Table 5)
Part III	6 to 8	ITC availed, ITC reversed, ineligible ITC and a comparison with GSTR-2B
Part IV	9	Tax paid as declared, and tax paid in cash and through ITC
Part V	10 to 14	Amendments and prior year items reported in the current year, ITC reversed or claimed later, and differential tax paid
Part VI	15 to 19	Refunds and demands, supplies from composition taxpayers, HSN summary of outward and inward supplies, and late fee payable

Table 8A compares your ITC with GSTR-2B, and Table 6 reports ITC availed in GSTR-3B. Rate changes took effect on 22 September 2025, so keep your sales records split before and after that date and check them against the GST rates guide.

Reconciliation Before Filing GSTR-9

You must reconcile your sales and your ITC with the returns before filing, since GSTR-9 cannot be revised and errors lock in. Do the sales side and the ITC side separately.

Reconciliations to Complete Before Filing
Check	Compare	What a gap usually means
Sales	Books against GSTR-1	Invoices missed or booked in a different year
Tax liability	GSTR-1 against GSTR-3B	Output tax reported but not paid, or the reverse
ITC claimed	GSTR-3B against GSTR-2B	ITC claimed that suppliers never reported
ITC in books	Purchase register against GSTR-3B	Credit missed, or claimed twice
Reverse charge	RCM ledger against GSTR-3B	RCM tax paid but credit not claimed, or the reverse

Excess ITC and short paid tax found at this stage are paid with interest under Section 50. Speak to suppliers about invoices missing from GSTR-2B before the year closes.

How to File GSTR-9 on the GST Portal

You file GSTR-9 on the GST portal under Services, Returns, Annual Return, either online or through the offline utility. The offline utility and its Excel work file are available from the Downloads section.

File all periodic returns

Complete GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B for every month or quarter of the year.

Reconcile sales and ITC

Match GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, GSTR-2B and your books, and sort out differences with suppliers.

Pay what is short

Pay short paid tax or excess ITC through the cash ledger with interest, using DRC-03 or the payment table.

Prepare the return

Choose the financial year, then prepare online or upload the JSON created with the offline utility.

Review and file

Check the pre-filled tables, compute the liability, pay any late fee and file with a digital signature or EVC. File GSTR-9C too if turnover is above Rs 5 crore.

Verify the GSTIN of each supplier you claim ITC from with the GST number search guide.

GSTR-9 Late Fee and Interest

For FY 2022-23 onwards the GSTR-9 late fee depends on turnover: Rs 50 a day up to Rs 5 crore, Rs 100 a day above Rs 5 crore and up to Rs 20 crore, and Rs 200 a day above Rs 20 crore. Half of each amount is charged under CGST and half under SGST, with no IGST component.

GSTR-9 Late Fee Slabs from FY 2022-23 (CBIC Notification 07/2023-Central Tax)
Aggregate turnover	Per day (CGST + SGST)	Maximum cap (of turnover in the State or UT)
Up to Rs 5 crore	Rs 50 (Rs 25 + Rs 25)	0.04% (0.02% + 0.02%)
Above Rs 5 crore, up to Rs 20 crore	Rs 100 (Rs 50 + Rs 50)	0.04% (0.02% + 0.02%)
Above Rs 20 crore	Rs 200 (Rs 100 + Rs 100)	0.50% (0.25% + 0.25%)

Many guides still quote a flat Rs 200 a day capped at 0.25%, which was the rule only for earlier years. Confirm the slabs in the notification before you compute a penalty.

Late Fee Examples (all figures are illustrative)
Turnover	Days late	Late fee at the daily rate	Cap	Fee payable
Rs 3 crore	30	Rs 1,500	Rs 12,000	Rs 1,500
Rs 10 crore	45	Rs 4,500	Rs 40,000	Rs 4,500
Rs 30 crore	60	Rs 12,000	Rs 1,50,000	Rs 12,000
Rs 2.5 crore	365	Rs 18,250	Rs 10,000	Rs 10,000 (capped)

Interest at 18% a year under Section 50 is charged separately on any tax that was unpaid. The late fee is paid through the electronic cash ledger and cannot be paid from the credit ledger.

Common GSTR-9 Mistakes to Avoid

The most common GSTR-9 mistake is filing straight from the auto-populated figures without reconciling them, and since there is no revision this error stays. These are the other points that cause trouble.

Mixing years: reporting a prior year invoice in the current year outside Tables 10 and 11.

ITC mismatch: claiming ITC in GSTR-3B that is not in GSTR-2B and not explaining it in Table 8.

Turnover mismatch: turnover in GSTR-9 differing from the turnover in the books and the income tax return.

Wrong HSN summary: skipping the HSN tables or using the wrong digit level.

Late filing of GSTR-9C: filing GSTR-9 but forgetting the reconciliation statement above Rs 5 crore.

Ignoring the cap date: leaving a return pending until the 3 year limit has passed.

Treat GSTR-9 as an audit of your own year. A figure you cannot tie to a return or a ledger should be fixed in the books or paid before it goes into the form.

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Frequently Asked Questions: GSTR-9

What is GSTR-9?

GSTR-9 is the annual return under GST that a regular taxpayer files for each financial year. It consolidates the outward and inward supplies, tax paid and input tax credit (ITC) already reported in GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and GSTR-2B during the year.

What is the GSTR-9 due date for FY 2025-26?

The GSTR-9 due date for FY 2025-26 is 31 December 2026. The annual return for any financial year is due on 31 December of the following year, unless the government extends it by notification.

What was the GSTR-9 due date for FY 2024-25?

The statutory due date for the FY 2024-25 annual return was 31 December 2025. If you have not filed it, file now, because late fee and interest keep running.

Is GSTR-9 mandatory?

GSTR-9 is mandatory for regular taxpayers whose aggregate turnover is above Rs 2 crore in the financial year. Below that, the government has exempted taxpayers from filing it through an annual notification, so filing is optional.

What is the turnover limit for GSTR-9?

The turnover limit for mandatory GSTR-9 filing is Rs 2 crore, and the exemption below it has been renewed through a yearly notification. For FY 2024-25 it was CBIC Notification 15/2025-Central Tax, and the notification for FY 2025-26 should be checked on the CBIC website.

Is GSTR-9 optional for turnover below Rs 2 crore?

Yes. A regular taxpayer with aggregate turnover up to Rs 2 crore can skip GSTR-9 once the exemption notification covers that year. Filing voluntarily is still allowed and helps you reconcile your records.

Who is not required to file GSTR-9?

Composition taxpayers, casual taxable persons, input service distributors, non-resident taxable persons, and persons who deduct TDS under Section 51 or collect TCS under Section 52 do not file GSTR-9. Composition taxpayers file the annual return in GSTR-4 instead.

What is GSTR-9C and who must file it?

GSTR-9C is the reconciliation statement between your audited financial statements and your GSTR-9. It must be filed by taxpayers whose aggregate turnover exceeds Rs 5 crore, and it is self-certified, with no CA certificate needed.

What is the difference between GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C?

GSTR-9 is the annual return of your GST filings, while GSTR-9C reconciles the books of account with that return. A taxpayer above Rs 5 crore files both, and the GSTR-9C is uploaded after GSTR-9 data is ready.

What is GSTR-9A?

GSTR-9A was the annual return for composition taxpayers up to FY 2018-19. From FY 2019-20 it was replaced by the annual return in Form GSTR-4, due 30 April after the year ends.

What is the late fee for GSTR-9?

The GSTR-9 late fee depends on turnover for FY 2022-23 onwards: Rs 50 a day up to Rs 5 crore, Rs 100 a day from Rs 5 crore to Rs 20 crore, and Rs 200 a day above Rs 20 crore. Half is paid under CGST and half under SGST, subject to a cap on turnover.

What is the maximum late fee for GSTR-9?

The cap is 0.04% of turnover in the State or Union Territory for taxpayers up to Rs 20 crore, and 0.50% for those above Rs 20 crore. The cap is split equally between CGST and SGST.

Is there late fee on IGST for GSTR-9?

No. Section 47 charges the late fee only under the CGST and SGST (or UTGST) Acts, so there is no separate IGST component.

Is interest charged if GSTR-9 is filed late?

Interest at 18% a year under Section 50 is charged on any unpaid tax from the date it was due, and it is separate from the late fee. A delay in filing the annual return does not by itself attract interest if no tax is short paid.

Can GSTR-9 be revised after filing?

No. A GSTR-9 cannot be revised once it is filed, so reconcile fully and check every table before you submit. Any mistake has to be handled through later returns or a DRC-03 payment.

How do I pay tax found short in GSTR-9?

You pay tax short paid or ITC claimed in excess through the electronic cash ledger, by Form DRC-03 or in the payment section of Table 9 while filing. Interest under Section 50 applies on the amount.

Is GSTR-9 filed at PAN level or GSTIN level?

GSTR-9 is filed separately for each GSTIN. A business with registrations in several states files one annual return for every registration.

Do I file GSTR-9 if I registered during the year?

Yes, if your aggregate turnover is above the limit. A taxpayer registered for only part of the year files for that part of the financial year.

Can I file a nil GSTR-9?

Yes. A registered person with no business activity in the year can file a nil GSTR-9, or skip it if turnover is below the exemption limit.

How many parts and tables does GSTR-9 have?

GSTR-9 has 6 parts and 19 tables, numbered 4 to 19 after the basic details in Tables 1 to 3. They cover outward supplies, ITC, tax paid, previous year adjustments, other information and the HSN summary.

Which data does GSTR-9 auto-populate?

The GST portal pre-fills GSTR-9 from your filed GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and GSTR-2B for the year. You must check these figures against your books and correct them where they differ.

Where can I download GSTR-9 in Excel?

The GST portal offers an offline utility for GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C that you download from the Downloads section of gst.gov.in. The Excel work file prepares the data, which you then upload as JSON.

Is there a time limit for filing an old GSTR-9?

Yes. Under amendments to Section 44, an annual return cannot be furnished after 3 years from its due date, and the portal enforces this. File any pending return before that window closes.

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Disclaimer: Dates, limits and late fee slabs reflect the CGST Act, 2017 and CBIC notifications as understood for FY 2025-26, and can change by notification. Confirm the current position on the GST portal or the CBIC website, or with a qualified Chartered Accountant, before filing. This page is general information and not tax advice.

GSTR-9 Annual Return: Due Date, Applicability, Turnover Limit, Late Fee and Filing Steps