Chartered Accountant · ICAI M.No. 153926 · FRN 136869W
The fee and interest
₹50/day (₹20 nil), and 18% per year interest on tax paid late. Estimate it with our GST late fee & interest calculator.
Caps and nil returns
Late fees are capped based on turnover, but they still mount per return — file nil returns on time to avoid needless fees. Confirm current caps.
How the caps and interest actually work
The late fee accrues per day per return from the due date until you file — ₹50 a day (₹25 CGST + ₹25 SGST), or ₹20 a day for a nil return — subject to caps that are graded by turnover, so a small taxpayer’s fee is capped lower than a large one’s. The fee is separate from interest, which runs at 18% a year on any tax actually paid late (a higher 24% can apply to certain wrong input-credit claims), calculated from the due date to the date of payment. Crucially, GST returns are sequential: you can’t file a later month until the earlier one is filed, so an unfiled return doesn’t just cost its own fee — it stalls every month after it, and the fees stack across all of them. That’s why filing even a nil return on time, and clearing the oldest pending return first when you’re behind, matters. You can estimate the exact fee and interest for your situation with our GST late-fee and interest calculator before you file, so there are no surprises on the challan. Confirm the current caps, which the Council revises from time to time.