Published 15 October 2026
The GST portal opened annual return filing for 2025-26 in October 2026; GSTN's advisory of 13 October reports the GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C facility enabled from 8 October. The return is due on 31 December 2026, but the date that matters more for most businesses is earlier: 30 November 2026 is the last day to claim input tax credit for 2025-26 that was missed during the year, and to correct errors in that year's outward returns. Filing the annual return early can close that door sooner. Here is the timeline, who must file, and how to use the next six weeks.
Who must file GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C for 2025-26?
- GSTR-9, the annual return under section 44 of the CGST Act and rule 80: regular taxpayers, other than those exempted.
- Exemption: Notification No. 15/2025-Central Tax of 17 September 2025 exempts registered persons whose aggregate turnover in a financial year is up to ₹2 crore from filing the annual return, from 2024-25 onwards. They may still file voluntarily.
- GSTR-9C, the reconciliation statement: taxpayers whose aggregate turnover exceeds ₹5 crore, self-certified and filed with GSTR-9.
- Composition taxpayers file their annual return in GSTR-4 instead; input service distributors, persons deducting or collecting tax at source, casual taxpayers and non-resident taxpayers are outside section 44.
The 30 November trap
Section 16(4) of the CGST Act allows input tax credit on an invoice for 2025-26 only up to the thirtieth day of November following the end of the financial year, or the date of furnishing the relevant annual return, whichever is earlier. The rectification provisos to sections 37 and 39 use the same cut-off for correcting outward supplies and returns. Two consequences follow. Any credit missed in 2025-26 GSTR-3B returns must be claimed in a return filed by 30 November 2026; GSTR-9 cannot be used to claim fresh credit. And a business that files its 2025-26 annual return in, say, October shuts its own window that day. Finish the purchase reconciliation first, file the annual return afterwards.
What to reconcile before filing
- Outward supplies: books against GSTR-1 and IFF, GSTR-3B and e-invoice data, including amendments and credit notes issued during the year.
- Input tax credit: purchase register against GSTR-2B as generated after your actions on the Invoice Management System, invoice by invoice, with reasons for every difference.
- Reversals: credit reversed for blocked items, non-business use, exempt supplies and unpaid suppliers beyond 180 days, and any reclaims.
- Tax paid: cash and credit ledger payments against liability, including payments through DRC-03 during the year.
- Turnover: GST turnover against the audited financial statements, the reconciliation that GSTR-9C formally records for larger taxpayers.
Late fees if you miss 31 December
Under section 47(2) read with Notification No. 07/2023-Central Tax, the late fee for GSTR-9 from 2022-23 onwards is ₹50 a day (₹25 CGST and ₹25 SGST) up to 0.04 per cent of turnover in the State for taxpayers with turnover up to ₹5 crore, and ₹100 a day, with the same 0.04 per cent cap, for turnover above ₹5 crore and up to ₹20 crore. Above ₹20 crore the statutory fee of ₹200 a day applies, up to 0.5 per cent of turnover in the State. The fee runs until the return is filed, so a late return costs more each week.
Portal points to know
GSTN asks taxpayers to file all GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B returns for 2025-26 before the annual return tile becomes available, so a single missing month blocks the whole filing. Download the system-computed draft and the auto-populated tables before working on them, and keep the working papers: the annual return is the document an officer starts from when scrutiny notices are issued.
What the 57th GST Council has proposed
On 8 October 2026 the GST Council recommended aligning the time limits for outward-supply statements and returns under sections 37 and 39 with the credit deadline in section 16(4), and a new mechanism, from the return for April 2027, to correct liability and credit mismatches between GSTR-1, GSTR-2B and GSTR-3B. Neither changes the 2025-26 deadlines above.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the due date for GSTR-9 for FY 2025-26?
31 December 2026, under section 44 of the CGST Act read with rule 80. The portal facility was enabled from 8 October 2026 according to GSTN's advisory of 13 October.
Is GSTR-9 mandatory for turnover below ₹2 crore?
No. Notification No. 15/2025-Central Tax exempts registered persons with aggregate turnover up to ₹2 crore from filing the annual return from 2024-25 onwards, though they may file voluntarily.
What is the last date to claim ITC for FY 2025-26?
30 November 2026, or the date you file the 2025-26 annual return if that is earlier, under section 16(4). Missed credit must be claimed in a GSTR-3B filed within that limit, not in GSTR-9.
Who must file GSTR-9C?
Taxpayers whose aggregate turnover for the year exceeds ₹5 crore, as a self-certified reconciliation statement filed with GSTR-9.
What is the late fee for filing GSTR-9 late?
₹50 a day up to 0.04 per cent of turnover for turnover up to ₹5 crore; ₹100 a day up to 0.04 per cent for ₹5 crore to ₹20 crore; and ₹200 a day up to 0.5 per cent above ₹20 crore.
Sources
CGST Act, 2017, sections 16(4), 37, 39, 44 and 47(2); CGST Rules, 2017, rule 80; Notification No. 15/2025-Central Tax, 17 September 2025; Notification No. 07/2023-Central Tax, 31 March 2023; GSTN advisory of 13 October 2026 on GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C for 2025-26, as reported by A2Z Taxcorp and CAclubindia; PIB release ID 2320934, 8 October 2026.
BookMyTM prepares GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C with full purchase and turnover reconciliations for businesses across Kerala, and files the 30 November credit catch-up first.