What is the late fee for filing GSTR-3B late?

₹50 per day of delay (₹25 under CGST and ₹25 under SGST), or ₹20 per day for a nil return. The total is capped per return by your previous year's turnover: ₹500 for nil returns, ₹2,000 up to ₹1.5 crore, ₹5,000 between ₹1.5 crore and ₹5 crore, and ₹10,000 above ₹5 crore. The portal adds the fee in your next GSTR-3B.

How is 18 percent interest on late GST payment calculated?

Interest = net tax paid late x 18% x days late / 365. Days run from the day after the due date to the date of payment. If ₹1,00,000 of net tax for a month due on the 20th is paid 30 days late, interest is ₹1,00,000 x 0.18 x 30 / 365 = ₹1,479. Pay it in the return along with the tax; it is not auto-computed by the portal.

Is interest charged on the ITC portion of my tax liability?

No. Since the retrospective amendment to Section 50 effective from 1 July 2017, interest on delayed filing is charged only on the tax paid through the electronic cash ledger, that is the net liability after input tax credit is set off. Interest on the ITC portion arises only where ITC was wrongly availed and utilised, at 18 percent (24 percent in specified cases).

Is there a late fee for a nil GSTR-3B or nil GSTR-1?

Yes. A nil return filed late attracts ₹20 per day (₹10 CGST plus ₹10 SGST), capped at ₹500 per return. No interest applies because no tax was due. Businesses with no transactions still have to file every period until the registration is cancelled, so a dormant GSTIN can pile up late fees quickly.

Can I file GSTR-3B without paying the late fee?

No. The portal auto-populates the late fee for the previous period in your current GSTR-3B and the return cannot be filed until it is paid in cash; ITC cannot be used for late fee or interest. If you are filing several pending returns in sequence, each one's late fee appears in the next, so budget for all of them.

Does the GST late fee get waived under amnesty schemes?

The government has periodically notified amnesty schemes that reduce or cap late fees for old pending returns, usually for a limited window. Whether one is open, and which periods it covers, changes; the calculator shows the standard fee under the current rates. Check the latest notification or ask your CA before paying the full amount on very old returns.

What happens if I keep filing GST returns late?

Beyond fees and interest, the portal blocks GSTR-1 filing if GSTR-3B for the previous period is pending, blocks e-way bill generation after two consecutive unfiled GSTR-3Bs, and continued non-filing for six months can lead to cancellation of registration. Customers also lose their ITC when your GSTR-1 is late, which strains relationships.

GST Late Fee Calculator

Calculate GSTR-3B and GSTR-1 late fees (₹50/day, ₹20 nil) and 18% interest on delayed tax. Free.

Free · no login neededMade for India · ₹, GST, UPI, WhatsApp

In short

The GST Late Fee Calculator works out what a delayed GSTR-3B or GSTR-1 costs: a late fee of ₹50 a day (₹25 CGST plus ₹25 SGST), or ₹20 a day for a nil return, capped by your turnover, plus interest at 18 percent a year on the net tax paid late from the due date to the payment date. Enter the return, due date, filing date, turnover and tax due, and it shows the fee, interest and total.

Days late

Annual turnover (previous FY)

₹

Tax payable in the return (for interest)

₹

18% p.a. on the net tax paid late

Nil return (no transactions)

Total payable

₹500.00

Late fee ₹500.00

Per day₹50.00 (CGST 25 + SGST 25)

Cap for your turnover₹2,000.00

Days late10

Caps

Nil return ₹500. Turnover up to ₹1.5 crore ₹2,000. Up to ₹5 crore ₹5,000. Above ₹5 crore ₹10,000. Amounts are CGST + SGST combined.

Interest

18% per annum on the tax paid late, counted from the due date to the payment date. Delayed ITC reversal attracts 24%.

About the gst late fee calculator tool

Filing a GST return late is expensive in two separate ways. The late fee is a fixed daily charge under Section 47 for every day after the due date, whether or not any tax was due. Interest under Section 50 is charged at 18 percent a year on the net tax you paid late, from the day after the due date until you actually pay. The late fee is capped depending on your annual turnover; interest is not capped. The portal adds the late fee automatically in the next return, but the interest you must compute yourself and pay, which is where mistakes happen.

Owners and even accountants often get the arithmetic wrong: applying the ₹50 rate to a nil return, forgetting the cap for small turnover, counting interest on the gross tax instead of the net cash liability after ITC, or using 365 days for one month and 30 for another. The calculator takes the return type, the due and filing dates, whether it is a nil return, your turnover bracket and the net tax, and shows each figure with the working: days late, daily rate, cap applied, interest formula and the total payable.

Use it with the GST Due Date Calendar to see which date you missed, and check your GSTR-3B liability from the invoices and purchase bills you have recorded. If you are paying interest regularly, turning on reminders costs nothing.

How to calculate GST late fee and interest

1
Pick the return
Choose GSTR-3B or GSTR-1 and the tax period. Late fee applies to both; interest applies only where tax was paid late, which in practice means GSTR-3B.
2
Enter the due date and the date you filed
The calculator counts days late as filing date minus due date. For a return not yet filed, enter the date you intend to file to see the cost of waiting.
3
Mark nil return and turnover
Tick Nil return if there were no outward supplies and no tax to pay; the rate drops to ₹20 a day. Choose your previous year's turnover bracket so the cap is applied: nil ₹500, up to ₹1.5 crore ₹2,000, up to ₹5 crore ₹5,000, above ₹10,000.
4
Enter the net tax paid late
For GSTR-3B, enter the tax you paid through the cash ledger for that period, after setting off input credit. Interest is not charged on the portion paid from ITC.
5
Read the result
The tool shows the late fee split into CGST and SGST, interest at 18 percent a year for the days late, and the total. Pay the interest along with the return; the late fee is added by the portal.

The rules, with a worked example

Late fee (Section 47): ₹50 per day of delay for GSTR-3B and GSTR-1, made up of ₹25 CGST plus ₹25 SGST; ₹20 per day (₹10 plus ₹10) for a nil return.
Caps per return, based on the previous year's aggregate turnover: ₹500 for a nil return; ₹2,000 for turnover up to ₹1.5 crore; ₹5,000 for turnover between ₹1.5 crore and ₹5 crore; ₹10,000 for turnover above ₹5 crore. Each cap is the CGST plus SGST total.
Interest (Section 50): 18 percent per annum on the net tax liability paid late, that is the tax paid in cash after utilising ITC, from the day after the due date to the date of payment, computed day-wise.
Interest at 24 percent applies only to excess ITC claimed or excess reduction in output tax, not to ordinary late filing.
Worked example: a trader with turnover of ₹80 lakh files GSTR-3B for May on 2 July instead of 20 June, 12 days late, with a net cash tax liability of ₹40,000. Late fee = 12 x ₹50 = ₹600 (₹300 CGST + ₹300 SGST), below the ₹2,000 cap. Interest = ₹40,000 x 18% x 12 / 365 = ₹236.71, about ₹237. Total cost of the delay: about ₹837.
Same trader with a nil return, 12 days late: late fee = 12 x ₹20 = ₹240; no interest, since no tax was due.
A return 60 days late for a business with ₹80 lakh turnover would be 60 x ₹50 = ₹3,000 by the daily rate, but the cap limits the late fee to ₹2,000; interest still runs for all 60 days.
The late fee is auto-populated by the portal in the next GSTR-3B and must be paid in cash; the interest is to be self-computed and paid in the return for the period.
GSTR-1 late fee follows the same daily rates and caps; no interest, because GSTR-1 is a statement and involves no tax payment.

Who uses the gst late fee calculator

Traders who missed the 20th

A garment trader in Ahmedabad forgot the May GSTR-3B during a family wedding and filed 12 days late. The calculator showed ₹600 late fee and ₹237 interest on ₹40,000 net tax, so the interest was paid correctly with the return.

Dormant registrations

A consultant who stopped working but kept the GSTIN active has several nil returns pending. At ₹20 a day capped at ₹500 each, the calculator totals the cost before she decides between filing and cancelling.

CA firms quoting clients

A CA office uses the calculator to tell a new client, whose previous accountant left returns unfiled, exactly what it will cost to regularise six months of GSTR-3B before any amnesty scheme.

Businesses deciding whether to delay

A distributor short on cash wants to know the cost of filing GSTR-3B a week late versus taking an overdraft. At 18 percent a year, the interest on ₹2 lakh for 7 days is about ₹690, which makes the comparison simple.