Last updated: 17 August 2026. GSTR-3B for the July 2026 tax period is due on Thursday, 20 August 2026, and GSTR-5A for OIDAR suppliers falls on the same date. Table 3 of the return has been locked to your GSTR-1 since July 2025, which leaves Table 4 as the part of the return you still control, and the part that carries the money. Getting a reversal into the wrong row is not a cosmetic error: one row is credit you never see again, the row beside it is credit you can reclaim later.
Applicability Note: This guide reflects GST provisions, rules and GSTN advisories applicable as of 17 August 2026. No extension to the 20 August 2026 due date has been notified as of this writing. Portal behaviour changes through advisories without amendment to the rules, so verify the current position on gst.gov.in or with a GST professional before filing.
Who Should Care?
This applies to:
- Monthly GSTR-3B filers filing for July 2026 by 20 August 2026, whatever the turnover
- Businesses with exempt or non-business supplies, who compute common credit reversals under Rules 42 and 43 every month
- Anyone carrying unpaid supplier invoices past 180 days, where Rule 37 fixes which month's return the reversal lands in
- Taxpayers with a reclaim ledger balance, which the portal now checks before letting the return file
- OIDAR suppliers filing GSTR-5A, which shares the 20 August date
1. What Is Due on 20 August 2026, and What Is Not
All late fees below are stated as total amounts under CGST + SGST combined, with the per-Act figure in parentheses.
| Who | What is due | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly filers | GSTR-3B for July 2026 (Section 39(1) read with Rule 61(1)(i)) | 20 August 2026 |
| OIDAR suppliers | GSTR-5A for July 2026 (Rule 64) | 20 August 2026 |
| QRMP filers | PMT-06 challan for July 2026 — no GSTR-3B this month | 25 August 2026 |
| QRMP filers | Quarterly GSTR-3B for July–September 2026 | 22 or 24 October 2026 by state |
July is Month 1 of the July–September quarter, so a QRMP filer deposits tax by challan this month and files nothing in Form GSTR-3B until October. If you are a monthly filer buying from QRMP suppliers, that is their timing, not yours.
Miss the 20th and Section 47 late fee runs at ₹50 per day (₹25 per Act), or ₹20 per day (₹10 per Act) for a nil return, capped by your preceding year's aggregate turnover under Notification No. 19/2021-Central Tax dated 1 June 2021: ₹500 total for a nil return, ₹2,000 up to ₹1.5 crore, ₹5,000 for ₹1.5 to ₹5 crore, and ₹10,000 above ₹5 crore. Per-Act caps are half of each figure. Interest under Section 50(1) runs at 18% per annum and is not capped.
2. How Table 4 Is Built
The current shape of Table 4 came in through Notification No. 14/2022-Central Tax dated 5 July 2022, with reporting instructions in Circular No. 170/02/2022-GST dated 6 July 2022. It has been on the portal since 1 September 2022, so this is settled ground rather than a new change.
| Row | What it holds | Does it change your credit ledger? |
|---|---|---|
| 4(A)(1) to 4(A)(5) | Nearly all auto-populated from your GSTR-2B — import of goods, reverse charge, ISD credit and the rest, eligible and ineligible together (import of services in 4(A)(2) is self-declared) | Yes, the starting figure |
| 4(B)(1) | Permanent reversals: Rules 38, 42 and 43, and Section 17(5) | Yes, reduces credit |
| 4(B)(2) | Temporary reversals, reclaimable later | Yes, reduces credit |
| 4(C) | Net ITC available: 4(A) less 4(B)(1) and 4(B)(2) | This is what reaches the ledger |
| 4(D)(1) | ITC reclaimed now, reversed in 4(B)(2) in an earlier period | No, disclosure only |
| 4(D)(2) | ITC unavailable under Section 16(4), and ITC restricted by place-of-supply provisions | No, disclosure only |
Table 4(A) is auto-populated from your GSTR-2B, generated on 14 August 2026 for the July 2026 period, and shaped by whatever you accepted, rejected or kept pending in the Invoice Management System, live since the October 2024 tax period. A QRMP-registered buyer gets one quarterly GSTR-2B instead, generated on the 14th after the quarter closes.
That upstream step matters because rejection and reversal are different tools. An invoice you reject in IMS never enters your GSTR-2B, so there is nothing in 4(A) to reverse. An invoice you accepted, or never actioned, lands in 4(A) whether or not the credit is eligible, and the only way out is a reversal row. Do the GSTR-2B reconciliation before you open the return, not after.
Auto-populated outward liability in Table 3.1 has been non-editable since the July 2025 tax period, per GSTN Advisory No. 606 dated 7 June 2025, and Table 3.2 followed from the November 2025 tax period per the GSTN advisory dated 5 December 2025; in both cases corrections route through GSTR-1A. ITC in Table 4 is still editable: no date for hard-locking the ITC side has been notified on the portal as of 16 August 2026. Treat that as the last of the discretion rather than a permanent feature of the form.
3. Table 4(B)(1): Reversals That Do Not Come Back
Circular No. 170/02/2022-GST describes this row as reversals "absolute in nature and are not reclaimable". Four sources feed it:
- Rule 38 — a banking company, financial institution or NBFC that has opted for the 50% route reverses the balance here
- Rule 42 — common credit on inputs and input services attributable to exempt supplies and non-business use, computed monthly and trued up at year end
- Rule 43 — the capital goods equivalent, spread over 60 months
- Section 17(5) — blocked credits, which arrive in 4(A) through GSTR-2B and must be taken out here
The recurring error is putting a Section 17(5) item in 4(B)(2) because it feels reversible. It is not, and a later reclaim then sits on a balance the portal does not recognise.
4. Table 4(B)(2): Reversals You Can Reclaim
Three situations account for most of this row.
Rule 37: the supplier is unpaid after 180 days
Rule 37, as substituted by Notification No. 19/2022-Central Tax dated 28 September 2022 with effect from 1 October 2022, requires a reversal proportionate to the amount not paid where the supplier has not been paid the value of supply plus tax within 180 days of the invoice date. The reversal goes into the GSTR-3B for the tax period immediately following the 180-day period, along with interest under Section 50.
Worked example. Invoice dated 20 December 2025 for ₹5,00,000 plus ₹90,000 IGST, credit availed in the December 2025 return. The 180th day falls on 18 June 2026. If you had paid ₹2,95,000 of the ₹5,90,000 by then — exactly half — you reverse half the credit, ₹45,000, in Table 4(B)(2) of the July 2026 GSTR-3B being filed by 20 August 2026. Pay the balance in September and the ₹45,000 comes back: it goes into 4(A)(5) of the September return and is declared in 4(D)(1).
Two carve-outs sit in the provisos: supplies made without consideration under Schedule I are treated as paid, as are amounts the recipient bears under Section 15(2)(b). Rule 37(4) settles the question everyone asks — the Section 16(4) time limit does not apply to re-availing credit reversed earlier, so a 2024 invoice reversed in 2026 can still be reclaimed in 2027 once you pay.
Rule 37A: the supplier did not file
Rule 37A, inserted by Notification No. 26/2022-Central Tax dated 26 December 2022, works on a yearly cycle rather than an invoice clock. If a supplier has not furnished GSTR-3B for the period of your invoice by 30 September following the end of that financial year, you reverse the credit by 30 November of the same year. Miss that and the amount becomes payable with interest under Section 50. When the supplier eventually files, you reclaim.
For credit taken on FY 2025-26 invoices, check supplier filing status after 30 September 2026 and reverse, if needed, by 30 November 2026. That is a vendor-compliance report, not a return exercise — start it before September.
Section 16(2) conditions not yet satisfied
Credit in your GSTR-2B where goods have not been received, or the supplier's tax has not reached the government, fails Section 16(2)(b) or 16(2)(c). The common case is goods in transit at month end: the invoice sits in your July 2B, the material arrives in August. Reverse in 4(B)(2) for July, reclaim in August.
5. Reclaiming: Two Rows, Not One
A reclaim is reported twice, and this is where returns most often go wrong. The credit goes back through Table 4(A)(5), which is what restores it to your ledger, and is then declared in Table 4(D)(1) so the portal can match it against what you reversed earlier. Enter it only in 4(D)(1) and you have declared a reclaim without taking one; enter it only in 4(A)(5) and your reclaim ledger drifts out of step with your return.
That ledger is the Electronic Credit Reversal and Re-claimed Statement, introduced by a GSTN advisory dated 31 August 2023 and running from the August 2023 return period for monthly filers. It adds each 4(B)(2) entry, subtracts each 4(D)(1) reclaim, and carries a closing balance.
The check that stops your return. Per the GSTN advisory dated 29 December 2025, the portal is moving from warnings to hard validation on this statement. Once active, GSTR-3B cannot be filed where the ITC claimed in Table 4(D)(1) exceeds the closing balance of the reclaim ledger plus the ITC reversed in Table 4(B)(2) of the same period. A negative closing balance has to be cleared by reversing that amount in 4(B)(2). GSTN said the validations would be activated shortly and has not published an activation date since, so check your reclaim ledger balance before you start the return rather than at the point of filing.
6. What Errors in Table 4 Actually Cost
Interest here turns on utilisation, not availment. Section 50(3) read with Rule 88B(3) applies only where wrongly availed credit has been utilised, and runs from the date of utilisation until the credit is reversed or the tax paid. The rate is 18% per annum, after section 116 of the Finance Act, 2022, read with its Sixth Schedule, retrospectively amended Notification No. 13/2017-Central Tax dated 28 June 2017 with effect from 1 July 2017, replacing the earlier 24%. Credit that sat unused in the ledger and was reversed before utilisation does not attract interest by this route.
Where a reversal increases your cash liability for the month, Section 50(1) interest at 18% applies to the delay in payment. Since the January 2026 tax period the portal computes that figure in Table 5.1: per the GSTN advisory dated 30 January 2026, it gives the benefit of the minimum balance in your electronic cash ledger under the proviso to Rule 88B(1), and can be revised upward but not downward. A later advisory — Advisory No. 657 dated 16 April 2026 — added a RE-COMPUTE INTEREST option in Table 5.1 after the system understated interest for the February 2026 period, and taxpayers are told not to declare less than the recomputed figure.
Separately, ITC on FY 2025-26 invoices must be taken by 30 November 2026 or the date you file the annual return for that year, whichever is earlier, under Section 16(4). Filing GSTR-9 early closes the window early. Re-availment of previously reversed credit sits outside this limit, per Rule 37(4).
7. Five Checks Before You File
- Note the reclaim ledger closing balance first — anything going into 4(D)(1) must fit inside it plus this month's 4(B)(2).
- Split every reversal into permanent and temporary before you type: Rules 38, 42, 43 and Section 17(5) to 4(B)(1); Rule 37, Rule 37A and unmet Section 16(2) conditions to 4(B)(2).
- Run the 180-day report on unpaid purchase invoices — those crossing 180 days in June 2026 belong in this return.
- Check that each reclaim appears in both 4(A)(5) and 4(D)(1), for the same amount.
- Confirm 4(D)(2) carries the Section 16(4) and place-of-supply items, which are disclosure only and do not change 4(C).
Key Takeaways
- GSTR-3B for July 2026 and GSTR-5A are both due 20 August 2026. QRMP filers pay by PMT-06 on 25 August instead, with no GSTR-3B until October.
- 4(B)(1) is permanent, 4(B)(2) is recoverable. Rules 38, 42, 43 and Section 17(5) belong in the first; Rule 37, Rule 37A and unmet Section 16(2) conditions in the second.
- A reclaim is entered twice — restored through 4(A)(5) and declared in 4(D)(1) — and the Electronic Credit Reversal and Re-claimed Statement is the balance both are measured against.
- Hard validation on that statement has been announced by the GSTN advisory dated 29 December 2025, so a reclaim larger than the available balance can leave the return unfileable.
- Interest under Section 50(3) and Rule 88B(3) bites only on utilised credit, at 18% per annum from the date of utilisation; Rule 37(4) keeps re-availment outside the Section 16(4) clock, even though fresh credit on FY 2025-26 invoices must be taken by 30 November 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Table 4(B)(1) and 4(B)(2) in GSTR-3B?
4(B)(1) is for reversals that are permanent — Rules 38, 42 and 43, and blocked credits under Section 17(5). 4(B)(2) is for reversals that can be reclaimed once the condition is met, such as a Rule 37 reversal for non-payment within 180 days. Circular No. 170/02/2022-GST dated 6 July 2022 sets out both.
Where do I show ITC reclaimed after paying a supplier late?
In two places in the same return. The credit is restored through Table 4(A)(5) and separately declared in Table 4(D)(1). Only 4(A)(5) affects the net ITC in 4(C); 4(D)(1) is the disclosure the portal matches against your reclaim ledger.
Can the portal block my GSTR-3B over an ITC reclaim?
The GSTN advisory dated 29 December 2025 announced hard validation where Table 4(D)(1) exceeds the reclaim ledger's closing balance plus the same period's Table 4(B)(2) reversal, and where either ledger runs negative. GSTN said activation would follow shortly and has published no date since, so verify the current position on gst.gov.in before filing.
Does the Section 16(4) time limit apply when I reclaim reversed ITC?
No. Rule 37(4) of the CGST Rules states that the time limit in Section 16(4) does not apply to a claim for re-availing credit that was reversed earlier. The limit still applies to credit being taken for the first time — 30 November 2026 for FY 2025-26 invoices, or the date of the annual return if earlier.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional tax advice. GST rules are subject to frequent changes through notifications and circulars. Please consult a qualified tax professional or verify the current provisions on the official GST portal (gst.gov.in) before making any compliance decisions.
Have a specific question about an ITC reversal or reclaim in your GSTR-3B? Our GST experts can help → gstconsultancy.com