GSTR-1 Errors and How to Fix Them — Portal Error Codes, JSON Upload Failures, HSN Table 12, Wrong GSTIN, Amendments, GSTR-1A and the Three-Year Filing Bar
11th
Monthly GSTR-1 due date; QRMP filers file quarterly by the 13th (IFF optional for months 1 and 2)
₹1 lakh
Inter-state B2C invoice value above which the buyer's state must be reported invoice-wise (B2CL)
3 years
A GSTR-1 cannot be filed once three years have passed from its due date (portal bar since 1 Aug 2025)
₹50 / day
Late fee (₹20 for NIL), capped by turnover — the cap is ₹500 for a NIL return
Guide by BookMyCA's Chartered Accountants · pan-India serviceLast verified against official guidelines on 6 September 2026.
Video Explanation & Insights
How to remove errors in GSTR-1 before filing
5 videos on this topic
Why GSTR-1 errors matter more than they used to
GSTR-1 is the outward-supply return: every B2B invoice, credit and debit note, export, B2C summary and HSN summary for the month or quarter. Since July 2025 the tax liability in GSTR-3B is auto-populated from GSTR-1 (or IFF) and cannot be edited, so a mistake in GSTR-1 flows straight into the tax you must pay; the only routes to correct it are GSTR-1A (same period, before GSTR-3B is filed) or an amendment in a later period. Your customer's GSTR-2B is also built from your GSTR-1, so an invoice that is missing, late or filed against the wrong GSTIN blocks their input tax credit until you fix it.
Three-year bar: from 1 August 2025 the portal does not accept a GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, GSTR-4, GSTR-9 or other return more than three years after its due date. Old pending returns must be filed now or the liability, the credit and the customer's ITC are frozen permanently.
The errors the portal throws, and the fix for each
| Error you see | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| 'Error in JSON structure validation' / RET191106 on upload | The JSON was made with an old offline tool version, edited by hand, or contains a sheet the portal no longer accepts | Download the latest GSTR-1 offline tool, re-import the Excel/CSV, validate each section, regenerate the JSON and upload again; never edit the JSON in a text editor |
| 'Invalid GSTIN' / 'GSTIN of recipient is not valid' | Typo, cancelled GSTIN, or the customer's GSTIN belongs to another state than the place of supply you entered | Verify the GSTIN on 'Search Taxpayer' on the portal; use the customer's GSTIN as on the tax invoice and match the state code to the place of supply |
| 'Invoice number already exists' / duplicate | Same number used twice in the year, or the invoice was already reported in IFF and is being reported again in the quarterly GSTR-1 | Invoice numbers must be unique per financial year (max 16 characters, letters, digits, '-' and '/'); IFF invoices are not re-entered in the quarter's GSTR-1 |
| 'Invoice date is before GSTIN registration date' | Backdated invoice or a wrong date format | Only invoices from the effective date of registration can be reported; earlier sales go through the first-return revised-invoice route within 30 days of registration |
| HSN Table 12: 'HSN not valid' / 'summary does not match' | Free-text HSN, wrong digit length, or B2B and B2C totals not tallying with the invoice sections | Pick the HSN from the portal dropdown (4 digits if turnover ≤ ₹5 crore, 6 digits above), report B2B and B2C HSN separately, and let the tool tally the values against Tables 4 to 11 |
| Table 13 'Documents issued' missing | Table 13 became mandatory in 2025 | Enter the invoice, credit note, debit note and delivery challan series with numbers issued and cancelled |
| Inter-state B2C invoice above ₹1 lakh reported in B2C-others | The B2C-large threshold fell from ₹2.5 lakh to ₹1 lakh from 1 August 2024 | Report such invoices invoice-wise in Table 5 (B2CL) with the buyer's state |
| E-invoice auto-populated data differs from your books | Invoice cancelled on IRP after 24 hours, or amended in books but not on the IRP | Do not edit auto-populated e-invoices casually; issue a credit note or amend in the next period so the IRP, GSTR-1 and books agree |
| 'Tax rate is not valid for this HSN' | Old 12% or 28% rate used after the 22 September 2025 rate change | Apply the rate in force on the date of supply — most goods and services now sit at 5% or 18%, with a 40% rate for a short de-merit list |
| Negative value / 'value cannot be less than tax' | Credit note entered as an invoice, or a discount larger than the invoice | Report reductions as credit notes in Table 9B and keep taxable value ≥ 0 per line |
Correcting a GSTR-1 you have already filed
- 1Same tax period, GSTR-3B not yet filed — file GSTR-1A: add a missed invoice, correct a value or a GSTIN, and the auto-populated GSTR-3B liability updates. GSTR-1A is available from the GSTR-1 due date until GSTR-3B is filed for that period.
- 2Later period — amend in the next GSTR-1: Table 9A amends B2B/B2CL/export invoices, 9C amends credit and debit notes, Table 10 amends B2C summaries. An invoice can be amended once; report the original invoice number and date exactly.
- 3Wrong GSTIN on a filed invoice — amend the invoice to the correct GSTIN in Table 9A; the wrong recipient sees it disappear from their GSTR-2B and the right one sees it appear in the month of amendment.
- 4Missed invoice altogether — add it in the next period's GSTR-1 with its original date; the recipient's credit lands in that month's GSTR-2B. Under IMS the recipient may keep it pending and claim it later within the section 16(4) time limit.
- 5Time limit — amendments for a financial year are allowed until the GSTR-1 for October of the following year (due 11 November) or the annual return, whichever is earlier.
There is no 'revise' button for GSTR-1. Filing GSTR-3B with a wrong GSTR-1 behind it now means paying the auto-populated tax and adjusting only in the next month — check the GSTR-1 summary and the GSTR-3B preview before you submit either.
NIL returns, late fees and the QRMP trap
- •NIL GSTR-1: file it every period even with no sales — from the portal (Generate summary → file with EVC/DSC) or by SMS from the registered mobile: NIL R1 GSTIN period.
- •Late fee: ₹50 a day (₹20 for a NIL return), capped at ₹500 for NIL, ₹2,000 for turnover up to ₹1.5 crore, ₹5,000 up to ₹5 crore and ₹10,000 above that, per return.
- •QRMP: quarterly filers with turnover up to ₹5 crore report B2B invoices of months 1 and 2 through the optional IFF (by the 13th of the next month) so customers get credit monthly; the quarterly GSTR-1 must not repeat them.
- •Sequence: GSTR-1 for a period cannot be filed until the previous period's GSTR-1 is filed, and GSTR-3B cannot be filed until the same period's GSTR-1 is filed.
- •E-way bill block: two consecutive unfiled GSTR-3B (or one quarter for QRMP) blocks e-way bill generation under rule 138E — a GSTR-1 backlog quickly becomes a dispatch problem.
The five-minute reconciliation that prevents most errors
- 1Match the sales register total and tax to the e-invoice IRP data (for turnover above ₹5 crore) and to e-way bills issued in the period.
- 2Verify every new customer's GSTIN and state code once, on the portal, and save it in the master — most 'invalid GSTIN' errors are master-data errors.
- 3Check the HSN master: dropdown HSN codes, correct digit length, and one rate per HSN line as on the date of supply.
- 4Preview the GSTR-1 summary, then the GSTR-3B auto-draft; the two must agree before either is filed.
- 5File with DSC (companies and LLPs) or EVC and download the filed PDF and ARN for the audit file.
GSTR-1 errors: questions we are asked
No. Correct the same period through GSTR-1A before filing GSTR-3B, or amend the invoice in a later month's GSTR-1 (Tables 9A, 9C, 10).
Either the invoice is missing from your GSTR-1, was filed after the 11th (it lands in the next 2B), or carries a wrong GSTIN. Check the filed return's B2B table and amend or add in the next period.
The upload file does not match the portal's current schema — usually an outdated offline tool or a hand-edited file. Regenerate with the latest tool.
Yes. Table 12 now has separate B2B and B2C tabs; both are validated, with 4-digit HSN for turnover up to ₹5 crore and 6-digit above.
No. Returns more than three years past their due date are barred on the portal since 1 August 2025.
Yes — sales-register reconciliation, error fixing, GSTR-1A and amendments, and monthly filing for traders, manufacturers and exporters.