Glossary · GST
GSTR-3B
Also known as: summary GST return, GST payment return
GSTR-3B is the summary GST return where a business declares its tax liability and pays the tax due. Monthly filers file by the 20th; QRMP filers by the 22nd or 24th depending on the state. Since July 2025, the tax liability in GSTR-3B is hard-locked and cannot be edited.
GSTR-3B is the summary return through which a registered business declares its net GST liability for the period and pays the tax. Unlike the invoice-level GSTR-1, it reports consolidated totals — output tax, input tax credit claimed and the net amount payable.
How it works
The due date depends on the filing type:
- Monthly filers: due by the 20th of the following month
- QRMP filers: due by the 22nd or 24th of the month after the quarter, depending on the state
(Always confirm near the deadline — government extensions are common.)
A major change took effect from July 2025: the tax liability auto-populated in GSTR-3B is now hard-locked. It is derived from the filed GSTR-1/IFF and can no longer be edited directly in GSTR-3B. This makes accurate GSTR-1 filing more important than ever — any correction has to be made in the source return, not in the summary.
For CA firms, this lock raises the stakes on the sequence of filings. The team has to get GSTR-1 right first, then file GSTR-3B and arrange payment. The data ultimately rolls up into the annual GSTR-9.
Managing the 20th-of-the-month rush across many clients is a core test of any tool’s compliance calendar. See how the leading options handle it in our rankings and our QwikCA review, and explore more GST terms in the glossary.