Last updated: 2 June 2026. The GSTR-4 annual return for FY 2025-26 is due on 30 June 2026. Every taxpayer who was registered under the GST composition scheme at any point during the year (1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026) must file it — even if you opted out partway through or your registration was cancelled. This guide covers who files, the one prerequisite that trips people up, the Table 6 entry that quietly creates a "negative liability" headache, and the late fee if you miss the date.
Applicability Note: This guide reflects GST provisions and CBIC notifications applicable as of 2 June 2026. Due dates and late fees can change through CBIC notifications, and the GST portal is the authoritative source. No extension to the 30 June 2026 GSTR-4 deadline has been notified as of this writing. Always verify the current position on gst.gov.in or with a GST professional before filing.
Who Should Care?
This guide applies to:
- Composition dealers registered under Section 10 of the CGST Act — traders, manufacturers, and restaurants with turnover up to ₹1.5 crore (₹75 lakh in special category states)
- Composition service providers under Notification No. 02/2019-Central Tax (Rate) dated 7 March 2019 — service suppliers with turnover up to ₹50 lakh
- Anyone who was a composition dealer for part of FY 2025-26 — opted out mid-year, crossed the threshold, or had registration cancelled
- Accountants and consultants filing on behalf of composition clients
1. What GSTR-4 Is and Who Must File
GSTR-4 is the annual return for composition taxpayers, filed under Section 39(2) of the CGST Act read with Rule 62 of the CGST Rules. It is the year-end consolidation of everything a composition dealer reported and paid through the four quarterly CMP-08 challans across the financial year.
The composition scheme trades lower compliance for a flat tax rate. Instead of monthly GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B, a composition dealer pays self-assessed tax every quarter via CMP-08 and files one return for the whole year — GSTR-4. That single annual return is what closes FY 2025-26.
You must file GSTR-4 if you held composition registration at any point during FY 2025-26. That includes dealers who later opted out, crossed the turnover ceiling and shifted to the regular scheme, or had their registration cancelled mid-year. If you were under Section 10 for even part of the year, you file for that period. There is no nil-activity exemption — a dealer with no business still files a nil GSTR-4.
Composition dealers do not file GSTR-9. GSTR-4 is the annual return for the composition scheme. GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C apply to regular taxpayers, not to those under Section 10.
2. The 30 June 2026 Deadline (and Why It Changed)
For FY 2025-26, GSTR-4 is due 30 June 2026.
This date is newer than many dealers realise. GSTR-4 annual was historically due on 30 April after the financial year ended. CBIC shifted the deadline to 30 June through Notification No. 12/2024-Central Tax dated 10 July 2024, applicable from FY 2024-25 onwards. The change followed a recommendation of the 53rd GST Council meeting and gave composition dealers two extra months. So if your memory of the GSTR-4 deadline is "30 April," update it — the current cutoff is 30 June.
3. The Prerequisite Everyone Forgets: All Four CMP-08 First
The portal will not let you start GSTR-4 until all four quarterly CMP-08 statements for the year are filed. CMP-08 is the quarterly self-assessed tax challan, due by the 18th of the month following each quarter under Rule 62.
| Quarter (FY 2025-26) | CMP-08 Due Date |
|---|---|
| Apr–Jun 2025 (Q1) | 18 July 2025 |
| Jul–Sep 2025 (Q2) | 18 October 2025 |
| Oct–Dec 2025 (Q3) | 18 January 2026 |
| Jan–Mar 2026 (Q4) | 18 April 2026 |
If you skipped a CMP-08 during the year, file it before you attempt GSTR-4. And be aware of the cost: unpaid CMP-08 tax carries interest at 18% per annum under Section 50 of the CGST Act, running from the original CMP-08 due date — not from 30 June. Filing GSTR-4 does not reset that clock; it simply surfaces the shortfall.
4. What Goes In GSTR-4 — and the Tax Rates That Apply
The return is built around a few key tables. The ones that matter most to a working dealer:
- Table 4 — inward supplies, including purchases that attract reverse charge (RCM)
- Table 5 — tax already paid through your four CMP-08 challans. This is auto-populated from your filings; you do not type it in.
- Table 6 — the GST-rate-wise summary of your tax liability for the whole year. This is manual, and it is where most errors happen (see the next section).
- Table 7 — tax payable and any balance, with the option to pay through Form GST CMP-08-linked cash ledger
The tax you declare in Table 6 depends on your composition category:
| Composition Category | Rate | Applied On |
|---|---|---|
| Traders | 1% (0.5% CGST + 0.5% SGST) | Taxable turnover in the State (exempt supplies excluded) |
| Manufacturers | 1% (0.5% CGST + 0.5% SGST) | Total turnover in the State |
| Restaurants (no alcohol) | 5% (2.5% CGST + 2.5% SGST) | Turnover |
| Other notified service providers | 6% (3% CGST + 3% SGST) | Turnover |
The 6% rate for service providers comes from Notification No. 02/2019-Central Tax (Rate) dated 7 March 2019, which opened the composition scheme to suppliers of services (or mixed suppliers) with turnover up to ₹50 lakh.
5. The Negative Liability Trap — Fill Table 6 Even Though You Already Paid
This is the single most common GSTR-4 mistake, and it produces a problem that follows you into the next year.
Here is the mechanism. The portal reads your tax payable from Table 6 (which you enter manually) and your tax paid from Table 5 (auto-populated from CMP-08). If you leave Table 6 blank — reasoning that you already paid everything quarterly, so why repeat it — the system sees payments in Table 5 with no matching liability in Table 6. It concludes you overpaid. That "excess" is pushed into a Negative Liability Statement and carried forward to the next year's first quarter.
The result looks harmless at first but causes real trouble: the carried-forward negative balance can wrongly reduce a future quarter's CMP-08 payment, leaving you with an actual tax shortfall and interest when the system later reconciles or nullifies the balance.
The fix is simple: declare your full annual liability in Table 6 — the same amount you already paid through CMP-08. Tables 5 and 6 then net to zero. You are not paying twice; you are telling the portal that the tax it sees in Table 5 was actually due. Leaving Table 6 empty is what creates the phantom overpayment.
If a negative liability balance already exists from an earlier year, GSTN has in the past nullified such balances and adjusted the cash ledger. Where the ledger turned negative as a result, the dealer had to deposit the difference through a challan; where the amount was paid twice, a refund could be claimed in Form RFD-01. If you see an unexpected negative liability entry, reconcile it before filing rather than filing over it.
6. Late Fee and Interest if You Miss 30 June
Miss the deadline and the late fee starts the next day. The figures below are total amounts under CGST + SGST combined.
| Type of Return | Late Fee Per Day | Maximum Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Nil GSTR-4 (no tax payable) | ₹20/day (₹10 CGST + ₹10 SGST) | ₹500 total |
| Regular GSTR-4 (tax payable) | ₹50/day (₹25 CGST + ₹25 SGST) | ₹2,000 total |
These caps come from Notification No. 21/2021-Central Tax dated 1 June 2021, which rationalised the GSTR-4 late fee from the earlier ₹10,000 figure, applicable from FY 2021-22 onwards. The cap is on the late fee only — it does not limit interest.
Interest is the part that can sting. Any tax that should have been paid through CMP-08 but was not carries 18% per annum under Section 50, calculated from the original CMP-08 due date. A late GSTR-4 does not create that interest, but it is usually the moment the unpaid quarterly tax becomes visible.
7. How to File GSTR-4 — Step by Step
- Confirm all four CMP-08 challans for FY 2025-26 are filed. If any is pending, file it first (with interest if tax was short-paid).
- Log in to gst.gov.in → Services → Returns → Annual Return → select FY 2025-26 → GSTR-4.
- Fill Table 4 with inward supplies, separating any reverse-charge purchases.
- Check Table 5 — it auto-populates from your CMP-08 filings. Verify it matches your records.
- Enter your full year liability, rate-wise, in Table 6. This is the step that prevents negative liability. The total here should reconcile with what you paid via CMP-08.
- Review Table 7 for any balance payable. Pay through the cash ledger if needed.
- File using DSC or EVC. Download the filed return for your records.
For a refresher on how the scheme itself works, see our guide to the GST Composition Scheme 2026, and the full month's deadlines in the June 2026 GST filing calendar.
Key Takeaways
- GSTR-4 for FY 2025-26 is due 30 June 2026 — the deadline moved from 30 April to 30 June via Notification No. 12/2024-Central Tax dated 10 July 2024.
- Anyone registered under composition for any part of the year must file, including part-year and nil dealers.
- All four CMP-08 challans must be filed before the portal opens GSTR-4. Unpaid CMP-08 tax carries 18% interest from its original due date.
- Always fill Table 6 with your full annual liability — even though CMP-08 already paid it. Leaving it blank creates a false negative liability that hurts you next year.
- Late fee is ₹50/day (₹20 nil), capped at ₹2,000 total for regular returns and ₹500 total for nil, per Notification No. 21/2021-Central Tax dated 1 June 2021.
- Composition dealers file GSTR-4, not GSTR-9 — there is no separate annual return for them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the GSTR-4 due date for FY 2025-26?
The GSTR-4 annual return for FY 2025-26 is due 30 June 2026. The due date was extended from 30 April to 30 June by Notification No. 12/2024-Central Tax dated 10 July 2024, applicable from FY 2024-25 onwards.
Do I have to file GSTR-4 if I had no business during the year?
Yes. There is no activity-based exemption. A composition dealer with no turnover files a nil GSTR-4. The late fee for a nil return is ₹20 per day, capped at ₹500 total, so a missed nil return still costs money.
What is the negative liability issue in GSTR-4?
It arises when Table 6 (your manual annual liability) is left blank while Table 5 (CMP-08 tax paid, auto-populated) shows payments. The portal then treats your CMP-08 tax as excess and carries it forward as a negative liability. Avoid it by declaring your full annual liability in Table 6 so Tables 5 and 6 reconcile — you are not paying twice.
Can I file GSTR-4 without filing CMP-08?
No. The portal requires all four quarterly CMP-08 statements for the year to be filed before it lets you start GSTR-4. File any pending CMP-08 first — along with 18% interest under Section 50 if tax was short-paid from the original due date.
Do composition dealers file GSTR-9?
No. GSTR-4 is the annual return for composition taxpayers. GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C apply to regular taxpayers. A dealer under Section 10 for the whole year files only GSTR-4 (plus the quarterly CMP-08).
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 your GSTR-4 or the composition scheme? Our GST experts can help → gstconsultancy.com