How to File GSTR-3B on the GST Portal: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough

GSTR-3B is the summary return through which a regular taxpayer declares the month's (or quarter's) tax liability, claims input tax credit, and actually pays the tax. It is due on the 20th of the following month for monthly filers, or the 22nd or 24th of the month after the quarter for taxpayers on the QRMP scheme, depending on the state. The portal will not let you file GSTR-3B for a period until the GSTR-1 for the same period is filed, so always file GSTR-1 first.

Before you start

A free GST return data-collection workbook is available to organise your sales, purchases and input tax credit before you open the portal — its GSTR-3B summary sheet rolls the figures up into the shape of this return.

• GSTR-1 for the period is filed. Its values pre-fill parts of GSTR-3B.
• GSTR-2B is generated and downloaded. This is the static, auto-drafted ITC statement for the period; Table 4 of GSTR-3B is auto-populated from it.
• Your figures are ready — total outward taxable value and tax, zero-rated and exempt supplies, reverse-charge liability, and eligible ITC split into IGST, CGST and SGST. A GSTR-3B calculator is useful here to check the set-off and cash payable before you touch the portal.
• Electronic cash ledger balance checked — Services → Ledgers → Electronic Cash Ledger. If it will not cover the cash portion of the tax, you will need to create a challan.

Step 1 — Open the return

Log in at gst.gov.in and go to Services → Returns → Returns Dashboard. Select the Financial Year and the Return Filing Period (month, or quarter for QRMP) and click Search. On the Monthly Return GSTR-3B tile, click Prepare Online. (You can instead prepare it offline and upload a JSON, but for most taxpayers the online form is faster.)

Step 2 — Answer the questionnaire

The portal first asks a short set of Yes/No questions to decide which tables to show you:

• Do you want to file a Nil return? Choose Yes only if there is no outward supply, no ITC, and no liability of any kind for the period.
• Have you made any supplies of goods or services, or received any supplies liable to reverse charge?
• Have you made any inter-state supplies to unregistered persons, composition taxpayers or UIN holders?
• Do you have any claim, reversal or reclaim of ITC?
• Have you received nil-rated, exempt or non-GST inward supplies?
• Do you have any interest or late fee (including for earlier periods) payable?

Answer honestly — a wrong answer here just hides a table you then cannot fill. You can go back and change the answers before saving.

Step 3 — Table 3.1 and 3.1.1: outward supplies and reverse charge

Table 3.1 has five rows. Enter the taxable value and the tax under each head (IGST, CGST, SGST/UTGST, Cess):

Table 3.1.1 appears if you are an e-commerce operator liable under Section 9(5), or a supplier making such supplies through one. Table 3.2 then asks you to break out, from rows 3.1(a) and 3.1.1, the inter-state supplies made to unregistered persons, composition taxpayers and UIN holders, state by state. The 3.2 figures must not exceed the corresponding 3.1 figures or the portal shows a validation error.

Step 4 — Table 4: eligible ITC

Table 4 is auto-populated from GSTR-2B. Check every figure against your purchase register before accepting it.

• 4(A) ITC Available — split across import of goods, import of services, inward supplies liable to reverse charge, inward supplies from an ISD, and "all other ITC". You may edit "all other ITC" downward for invoices you are not claiming this period; an upward edit beyond the GSTR-2B value triggers a warning.
• 4(B) ITC Reversed — row (1) is reversal under Rules 38, 42 and 43 and Section 17(5); row (2) is other reversals. Use the Rule 42 reversal calculator if you have common credit used partly for exempt supplies.
• 4(C) Net ITC Available = 4(A) − 4(B). This is what lands in your electronic credit ledger.
• 4(D) — reporting-only rows: ITC reclaimed that was reversed earlier, and ineligible ITC (Section 16(4) time-bar, or blocked by place-of-supply rules).

Step 5 — Tables 5 and 5.1

Table 5 reports the value of exempt, nil-rated and non-GST inward supplies, split into inter-state and intra-state. Table 5.1 shows interest and late fee. Late fee is system-computed and cannot be edited; interest on a late tax payment you may need to enter yourself. The late fee and interest calculator gives you the figure to expect.

Step 6 — Save and generate the summary

Click Save GSTR-3B. Then click Proceed to Payment — the portal computes a summary showing tax payable against each head and your available cash and credit ledger balances.

Step 7 — Set off ITC and check the cash shortfall

On the payment screen the portal auto-suggests how much credit to use against each head. The set-off follows a fixed order: IGST credit first (against IGST, then CGST and SGST), then CGST credit (against CGST, then IGST), then SGST credit (against SGST, then IGST); CGST and SGST credit can never offset each other. You can adjust the IGST-credit split between CGST and SGST. Reverse-charge liability in 3.1(d) must be paid in cash. Whatever the credit does not cover is your cash shortfall.

Step 8 — Create a challan and pay

If your cash ledger will not cover the shortfall, click Create Challan. The amount is pre-filled per head. Choose a payment mode — net banking, NEFT/RTGS, or over-the-counter (OTC is only allowed up to ₹10,000 per challan) — and pay. The cash ledger updates once the payment clears (instant for net banking, up to a working day for NEFT/RTGS).

Step 9 — Offset liability and file

Back on the payment screen, click Make Payment / Offset Liability. The liability is discharged from cash and credit as shown. Then:

• Click Proceed to File.
• Tick the declaration checkbox and select the authorised signatory.
• Click File GSTR-3B with DSC (mandatory for companies and LLPs) or File GSTR-3B with EVC. EVC sends a one-time password to the authorised signatory's registered mobile and email — enter it to complete filing.

An ARN (Acknowledgement Reference Number) is generated and the return status changes to Filed. Download the filed return for your records.

Common errors and how to clear them

Key takeaways

• File GSTR-1 first — GSTR-3B for the same period is locked until you do.
• Table 4 comes from GSTR-2B; reconcile it against your purchase register rather than accepting it blind.
• Reverse-charge tax and any cash shortfall after ITC set-off are paid by challan; the rest is discharged from the credit ledger.
• Filing is completed with a DSC or an EVC OTP — the return is not filed until the ARN is generated and the status reads "Filed".
• The portal's table numbers and layout change from time to time; the field references here match the current GSTR-3B format — confirm against gst.gov.in when you file.