GSTR-3B Filing Guide — Table by Table, the Locked Auto-Populated Liability, Table 4 ITC Reversals, Interest and Late Fee, Why It Cannot Be Revised and How to Correct a Wrong Return
Video Explanation & Insights
Filing GSTR-3B with the portal's new features — a practical walkthrough
5 videos on this topic
What GSTR-3B is and how it changed
GSTR-3B is the monthly (or quarterly) self-assessed summary return in which tax is actually paid: outward supplies and tax, inward supplies under reverse charge, input tax credit claimed and reversed, and the net payment from the cash and credit ledgers. It began in 2017 as a stop-gap and became the permanent return. Two changes define it now: the outward-supply tables are auto-populated from GSTR-1, IFF and GSTR-1A and, from the July 2025 tax period, cannot be edited — a wrong figure must be corrected in GSTR-1A before filing or amended in a later GSTR-1; and returns more than three years past their due date cannot be filed at all since 1 August 2025.
The form, table by table
| Table | What goes in | Source / care point |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1(a) Outward taxable supplies | Taxable value, IGST, CGST, SGST, cess | Auto from GSTR-1; locked — check the GSTR-1 summary first |
| 3.1(b) Zero-rated | Exports and SEZ supplies | Auto; exports with IGST paid drive the automatic refund |
| 3.1(c) Nil-rated and exempt | Values only | Auto |
| 3.1(d) Inward supplies under reverse charge | Tax you pay as recipient (GTA, legal, import of services, rent from unregistered landlord…) | Entered by you; must be paid in cash, credit is taken in Table 4 the same month |
| 3.1(e) Non-GST | Petrol, liquor etc. | Entered by you |
| 3.1.1 | Supplies through e-commerce operators under section 9(5) — restaurant, cab, housekeeping | (i) tax paid by the operator, (ii) supplies where the supplier pays |
| 3.2 | Inter-state supplies to unregistered persons, composition dealers and UIN holders, state-wise | Auto from GSTR-1 B2C/B2CL |
| 4(A) ITC available | Import of goods, import of services, reverse charge, ISD, all other ITC | 'All other' comes from GSTR-2B; do not claim what is not in 2B |
| 4(B) ITC reversed | (1) permanent: rules 38, 42, 43 and section 17(5); (2) temporary: 180-day non-payment, invoices not yet received, others | The reversal breakup drives DRC-01C and audit questions |
| 4(C) Net ITC | 4(A) minus 4(B) | Posted to the credit ledger |
| 4(D) | (1) ineligible credit under section 17(5) as per 2B, (2) credit not available for other reasons (place of supply, time-barred) | Disclosure only — it does not reduce 4(C) |
| 5 | Exempt, nil-rated and non-GST inward supplies | Values |
| 5.1 | Interest and late fee | Interest is self-computed; late fee is auto-computed |
| 6.1 Payment | Set-off of liability against credit and cash | Rule 88A order; rule 86B 1% cash where applicable |
Filing sequence and payment
- 1File GSTR-1 (or IFF) by the 11th/13th; review the GSTR-3B auto-draft the portal generates on the 14th along with GSTR-2B. Any change to outward figures now goes through GSTR-1A, which stays open until GSTR-3B is filed.
- 2Enter reverse-charge liability (3.1(d)), Table 4 credits and reversals from the 2B reconciliation, and Table 5.
- 3Generate the challan (PMT-06) for the cash shortfall — net-banking, UPI, NEFT/RTGS or over the counter (up to ₹10,000) — and let it reflect in the cash ledger.
- 4Proceed to payment: the portal proposes the set-off under rule 88A (IGST credit first); confirm and file with DSC (companies/LLPs) or EVC.
- 5Download the filed return and the payment receipt; the ARN and challan CIN go into the monthly audit file. Under QRMP, months 1 and 2 are paid through PMT-06 by the 25th using the fixed-sum (35%) or self-assessment method, and the quarterly GSTR-3B settles the balance.
A wrong GSTR-3B: what you can still do
| Mistake | Correction |
|---|---|
| Outward liability too low (sale missed) | Report the invoice in the next GSTR-1 with its original date; the next GSTR-3B liability rises; pay interest at 18% for the delay through DRC-03 or in Table 5.1 |
| Outward liability too high (invoice duplicated) | Amend or cancel the invoice via credit note / Table 9A in the next GSTR-1; the reduction flows into the next GSTR-3B — no refund of the earlier excess except through a refund application |
| ITC claimed in excess | Reverse it in Table 4(B)(2) of the next return with interest, or pay through DRC-03 if the credit was utilised |
| ITC claimed short | Claim the balance in a later GSTR-3B within the section 16(4) limit |
| Wrong head (CGST paid as IGST) | Pay the correct head and claim refund of the wrong head under section 77 (no interest for the wrong head) |
| Submitted but not filed (old 'submit' stage) | The submit stage no longer freezes the return; edits are possible until 'file' — but the auto-populated liability itself is locked |
Interest, late fee and the amnesties that have closed
- •Interest: 18% a year on the net cash liability (after credit) from the due date to the date of payment — section 50 as amended retrospectively; 18% (not 24%) on wrongly availed and utilised credit.
- •Late fee: ₹50 a day (₹20 for NIL), capped per return at ₹500 (NIL), ₹2,000 (turnover up to ₹1.5 crore), ₹5,000 (up to ₹5 crore) and ₹10,000 (above ₹5 crore).
- •The 2023 amnesty (late fee capped at ₹1,000 for old GSTR-3B) and the section 128A interest-and-penalty waiver for 2017-18 to 2019-20 demands closed on 31 March 2025 — no scheme is currently open; file with the normal late fee.
- •Consequences beyond money: e-way bill generation blocked after two unfiled returns (rule 138E), GSTR-1 blocked, best-judgement assessment under section 62 after a notice, registration suspension and cancellation after six months of non-filing, and recovery under section 79.
- •Three-year bar: a GSTR-3B more than three years past its due date cannot be filed since 1 August 2025; the liability still exists and is recovered through assessment.
GSTR-3B: questions we are asked
No. Since the July 2025 period Table 3.1 and 3.2 are locked to GSTR-1/IFF/GSTR-1A. Correct through GSTR-1A before filing or amend in the next GSTR-1.
No. Corrections are made in a subsequent return, with interest where tax was short-paid, or through DRC-03 for voluntary payment.
A pending earlier return, an unfiled GSTR-1 for the same period, or an unanswered DRC-01B/01C mismatch notice. Clear it and the return opens.
Interest is on the net cash portion only; wrongly availed and utilised credit carries 18% from the date of utilisation.
Yes — a NIL GSTR-3B by the 20th, on the portal or by SMS (NIL 3B GSTIN period). Late fee for NIL is ₹20 a day, capped at ₹500.
Yes — monthly and QRMP filing, reconciliation, payment planning and reply to mismatch notices.