GSTR-3B Due 20 October 2026: The Late Fee Waiver Isn't Law Yet

Last updated: 15 October 2026. GSTR-3B for September 2026 is due on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, the same day as GSTR-5A, and the date falls on Dussehra. The 57th GST Council has recommended waiving the late fee for small taxpayers who file by the end of the due month, but as of 15 October 2026 that waiver has not been notified. Until it is, a late September return pays the late fee in the usual way.

Applicability Note: This guide is based on GST provisions applicable as of 15 October 2026. No extension of the 20 October due date and no notification giving effect to the late fee waiver had been issued on that date. Always verify the current position on gst.gov.in or with a GST professional before taking action.

Who Should Care?

• Monthly GSTR-3B filers, who file the September return by 20 October in every State.
• QRMP filers, whose July–September quarterly GSTR-3B is due on 22 or 24 October depending on the State.
• Overseas OIDAR and online money gaming suppliers who file GSTR-5A.
• Small businesses with turnover up to ₹5 crore who read about the 57th Council's late fee relief and plan to file a few days late on the strength of it.

1. The Dates: 20, 22 and 24 October 2026

The monthly date comes from Rule 61(1)(i) of the CGST Rules: the return for each month is due "on or before the twentieth day of the month succeeding such month". Rule 61 in its current form was substituted with effect from 1 January 2021 by Notification No. 82/2020-Central Tax dated 10 November 2020.

GSTR-5A shares the 20th under Rule 64, as substituted by Notification No. 51/2023-Central Tax dated 29 September 2023. It is filed by suppliers of online money gaming from a place outside India to a person in India, and by OIDAR suppliers outside India serving a non-taxable online recipient or a registered person other than a non-taxable online recipient.

Dussehra doesn't move the date. No rule moves a GST due date automatically for a festival, and the portal stays open. As of 15 October 2026, the GST portal's News & Updates feed carried no extension; its newest item, dated 13 October 2026, is about annual returns (more on that in section 6). Extensions have come late in the past, so check the portal again on the 19th. Our October 2026 GST calendar has every other date this month.

2. What the 57th Council Recommended on Late Fees

The GST Council met on 8 October 2026. Paragraph 15 of the PIB release (Release ID 2320934) reads:

"The GST Council recommended waiver of late fee on delayed filing of return under section 39(1) of the CGST Act, 2017, for taxpayers with an annual turnover up to Rs. 5 crore in the preceding financial year, if the said delayed return is filed by the end of the month in which it was due."

The same release closes with a note that its recommendations "would be given effect through the relevant circulars/ notifications/ law amendments which alone shall have the force of law".

Read that against today's date and the position is this:

• It is not law yet. As of 15 October 2026 no notification giving effect to paragraph 15 has been issued. The FAQ on the 57th Council recommendations that GSTN posted on 13 October 2026 doesn't address the late fee waiver at all.
• No start date was announced. The release names no tax period. When the notification comes, it may or may not reach the September 2026 return. Nobody can tell you which until it is published.
• Interest is not part of it. The recommendation is about late fee under Section 47. Interest under Section 50 on tax paid late is untouched, notified or not.

Section 39(1) is the GSTR-3B. The QRMP quarterly return is filed under the proviso to Section 39(1), so the likely reading is that it would be covered too, but that depends on how the notification is worded. Our 57th Council explainer covers the other recommendations.

3. The Late Fee You Pay Today

Section 47(1) of the CGST Act sets the statutory late fee at ₹100 a day per Act, up to ₹5,000. Two notifications cut that down for GSTR-3B:

• Notification No. 76/2018-Central Tax dated 31 December 2018 waives anything above ₹25 a day per Act (₹50 total), or ₹10 a day per Act (₹20 total) where the total central tax payable in the return is nil.
• Notification No. 19/2021-Central Tax dated 1 June 2021 added caps for tax periods from June 2021 onwards (and quarters ending June 2021 onwards), keyed to aggregate turnover in the preceding financial year.

All figures are totals across CGST and SGST, with the per-Act amount in brackets. 19/2021 has no cap class above ₹5 crore, so those filers fall back to the Section 47(1) maximum. The fee is not governed by Notification No. 21/2021-Central Tax dated 1 June 2021, which is the GSTR-4 notification.

The aggregate turnover test is the Section 2(6) figure, computed PAN-wide for FY 2025-26. It isn't the AATO number on your portal dashboard.

Worked example: filing on 31 October

Assume the due date stays 20 October and you file on Saturday 31 October. Section 47(1) charges "for every day during which such failure continues", and the failure starts on 21 October. That is 21 to 31 October inclusive: 11 days.

• Aggregate turnover up to ₹1.5 crore, tax payable: 11 × ₹50 = ₹550 (₹275 per Act), under the ₹2,000 cap.
• Central tax payable in the return is nil: 11 × ₹20 = ₹220 (₹110 per Act), under the ₹500 cap.

If the waiver is notified and if it reaches the September return, an eligible taxpayer filing by 31 October would pay no late fee. Interest would still run on any tax paid late. Filing on 20 October costs nothing either way.

4. Interest Runs From 21 October

Interest is charged at 18% a year under Section 50(1), at the rate set by Notification No. 13/2017-Central Tax dated 28 June 2017. Under Section 50(2) it runs "from the day succeeding the day on which such tax was due to be paid", which for September is 21 October.

The proviso to Section 50(1) limits interest to the part of the tax paid by debiting the electronic cash ledger, where September's supplies are declared in the September return and that return is filed late. The relief doesn't apply if the return is filed after proceedings under Section 73, 74 or 74A have started for the period. Under the proviso to Rule 88B(1), inserted by Notification No. 12/2024-Central Tax dated 10 July 2024, cash credited to your ledger on or before the due date and left there until it is debited is excluded from the calculation. If the money is ready but the return isn't, deposit it by 20 October.

On ₹1,00,000 of cash tax paid with an 11-day delay, 18% a year comes to about ₹542. Our Rule 88B interest guide sets out the three ways interest is calculated.

5. Paying Around Dussehra

Online payment is unaffected by bank holidays. Under Rule 87(3) you can pay by internet banking, UPI, IMPS, card, NEFT or RTGS. Over-the-counter payment at an authorised bank is limited by Rule 87(3)(iv) to "ten thousand rupees per challan per tax period", by cash, cheque or demand draft.

If you pay at a counter:

• For 20 October (monthly GSTR-3B): deposit by Saturday 17 October, a third Saturday, and check your state's list. Monday 19 October and Tuesday 20 October are bank holidays in some states.
• For 22 October (quarterly, Category I): closures around Dussehra vary, so deposit before them and check your state's list.
• For 24 October (quarterly, Category II): that is a fourth Saturday, a bank holiday nationally under the Government of India notification dated 20 August 2015. Deposit by Friday 23 October and check your state's list.

GSTR-5A filers are overseas and usually pay electronically. The second proviso to Rule 87(3) adds an international money transfer route through SWIFT for them, but only "from the date to be notified by the Board", so confirm it is live before relying on it.

6. What Else the September Return Carries

The FY 2025-26 Rule 42 true-up

Under Rule 42(2), the final calculation of common credit for FY 2025-26 has to be made before the due date of the return for September 2026. For monthly filers that is this return. For QRMP filers, the quarterly July–September return is the settled practitioner reading, not the rule's words. Our Rule 42 true-up guide has the worked numbers.

QRMP: no PMT-06 for September

September is Month 3 of the quarter. Rule 61(3) limits PMT-06 to "each of the first two months of the quarter", so September's tax is paid with the quarterly GSTR-3B on 22 or 24 October:

• 22 October (Category I): Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and the UTs of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
• 24 October (Category II): Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, and the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Chandigarh and Delhi.

Pending FY 2025-26 returns now block the annual return

GSTN's advisory dated 13 October 2026 says GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C for FY 2025-26 have been enabled from 8 October 2026, and asks taxpayers to "ensure that all returns (GSTR 1 and GSTR 3B) for FY 2025-26 are filed to enable the tile of GSTR-9/9C". If any FY 2025-26 return is still pending, clear it alongside September's. The FY 2025-26 cut-off guide covers what else closes on 30 November.

7. GSTR-5A: No Reduced Late Fee

GSTR-5A doesn't get the GSTR-3B concessions. Its reduced fee under Notification No. 6/2018-Central Tax dated 23 January 2018 was rescinded by Notification No. 13/2018-Central Tax dated 7 March 2018, so the full ₹200 a day applies, up to ₹10,000. Whether the 57th Council recommendation, worded around returns under Section 39(1), would reach GSTR-5A depends on how the notification is worded.

Key Takeaways

• GSTR-3B for September 2026 and GSTR-5A are due Tuesday, 20 October 2026. Dussehra doesn't move the date, and no extension had been notified as of 15 October.
• The 57th Council's late fee waiver for taxpayers with annual turnover up to ₹5 crore is a recommendation. No notification, no start date, and no word yet on whether it reaches September.
• Today's fee is ₹50 a day total (₹20 where the central tax payable is nil), capped by aggregate turnover at ₹2,000, ₹5,000 or ₹10,000 (₹500 for nil).
• Interest at 18% runs from 21 October on late cash tax whatever happens to the waiver. Cash credited to the ledger by 20 October and left there until you file is excluded.
• Paying at a bank? Deposit by 17 October for the 20th and by 23 October for the 24th, and check your state's list.
• QRMP filers pay September's tax with the quarterly return on 22 or 24 October; there is no PMT-06 for Month 3.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the GSTR-3B due date for September 2026?

Tuesday, 20 October 2026 for monthly filers in every State, under Rule 61(1)(i). QRMP filers file the July–September quarterly return by 22 or 24 October 2026 depending on their State, under Rule 61(1)(ii).

Is the GSTR-3B late fee waived for turnover up to ₹5 crore?

Not yet. The 57th GST Council recommended it on 8 October 2026 (PIB Release ID 2320934, para 15), for returns filed by the end of the month in which they were due. As of 15 October 2026 no notification had been issued, so the late fee under Notification No. 76/2018-Central Tax dated 31 December 2018, as amended by Notification No. 19/2021-Central Tax dated 1 June 2021, still applies.

How much is the late fee if I file GSTR-3B on 31 October 2026?

Eleven days late, so ₹550 total (₹275 per Act) with tax payable, or ₹220 total where the central tax payable is nil, assuming the due date stays 20 October. Interest at 18% a year is extra on any cash tax paid late.

Is the GSTR-3B due date extended because of Dussehra?

No extension had been notified as of 15 October 2026. Festivals don't move GST due dates automatically. Check the GST portal's News & Updates before 20 October in case one is issued.

What is the late fee for GSTR-5A?

₹200 a day, up to ₹10,000. The reduced fee in Notification No. 6/2018-Central Tax was rescinded by Notification No. 13/2018-Central Tax dated 7 March 2018.

⚠️ For informational purposes only.

Have a specific question about your September GSTR-3B or late fees? Ask our GST experts → gstconsultancy.com