How to File a Nil GST Return Online and by SMS

A registration keeps asking for returns even in months when nothing happens. For those months you file a nil GST return: a GSTR-3B, and a GSTR-1, that report no supplies and no tax. This guide covers how to file a nil GST return on the portal in a few clicks and by SMS in under a minute, the conditions that decide whether a month really is nil, and what a late nil return costs.

What makes a return nil

A GSTR-3B is nil for a tax period only if all of the following were zero:

• outward supplies of any kind — taxable, zero-rated, nil-rated, exempt or non-GST;
• inward supplies on which you pay tax under reverse charge;
• input tax credit you want to claim, including credit shown in your GSTR-2B;
• any other amount payable, such as interest or late fee from an earlier period.

A nil GSTR-1 is simpler: no outward supplies to report, and no amendments or credit or debit notes to report for earlier periods.

Why a nil return still has to be filed

The obligation to file comes from being registered, not from trading. A dormant registration that stops filing collects late fees, cannot file later periods out of order, and after a run of missed returns is likely to be suspended and then cancelled by the officer. If the business has stopped for good, apply to cancel the registration rather than filing nil returns indefinitely; see cancellation and revocation. And note the three-year bar: a return not filed within three years of its due date can no longer be filed at all.

Filing a nil GSTR-3B on the portal

1. Log in to gst.gov.in and open Returns Dashboard. Choose the financial year and the period.
2. On the GSTR-3B tile, choose Prepare Online.
3. To the question "Do you want to file Nil return?", select Yes. The portal checks whether GSTR-1 or GSTR-2B for the period show anything, and warns you if they do.
4. Choose File GSTR-3B with EVC (or DSC), enter the OTP, and download the filed return.

If the portal says auto-populated values exist, the period is probably not nil. Read our GSTR-3B filing guide for a full return.

Filing a nil GSTR-1

On the GSTR-1 tile, tick the option to file a nil return, generate the summary and file with EVC or DSC. Quarterly filers under QRMP file the nil GSTR-1 once for the quarter; they do not need to use the invoice furnishing facility in the months in between. The full return is covered in the GSTR-1 filing guide.

Filing a nil return by SMS

The SMS route is the fastest, and it works from the mobile number registered for the authorised signatory on the portal. Messages go to 14409:

Step 1 returns a six-digit verification code, valid for a short time. Step 2 uses that code and, if the filing succeeds, returns an ARN. Quarterly filers use the last month of the quarter as the period. Where a GSTIN has more than one authorised signatory, each must use their own registered number. If the SMS is rejected — for example because an earlier return is pending — file on the portal instead.

Late fee for a nil return

A nil return filed after the due date attracts a late fee under Section 47, reduced by the current waiver to ₹20 per day (₹10 CGST plus ₹10 SGST), capped at ₹500 per return. There is no interest, because interest runs on unpaid tax and there was none. Due dates are in our return due dates guide, and the fee rules in late fee and interest.

When a "nil" return is not nil

• You made only exempt sales. Exempt and nil-rated supplies are still outward supplies and must be reported. The return is not nil.
• You paid rent or a lawyer and owe reverse charge. That is a liability for the month. See GST on rent and legal services.
• Your GSTR-2B has invoices. Filing nil forgoes that credit for now, and the time limit under Section 16(4) keeps running. See the ITC time limit.
• A customer reported you as a supplier because they used your GSTIN by mistake. Find out why before filing nil over it.

Frequently asked questions