GSTR-9C is a self-certified reconciliation statement that matches the figures in your GSTR-9 annual return against your audited annual financial statement. You must file it only if your aggregate turnover in the financial year exceeded ₹5 crore, and it is due on 31 December following the end of that financial year — the same date as GSTR-9, because the two are filed together.
Since FY 2020-21, GSTR-9C no longer needs sign-off from a Chartered Accountant or Cost Accountant — the taxpayer self-certifies it. This guide covers who must file, the due date, how GSTR-9C sits inside the GSTR-9 filing, and where the late-fee rules actually come from.
What GSTR-9C is and how it relates to GSTR-9
GSTR-9 is your annual return — a consolidated summary of the supplies, tax paid and input tax credit you reported across the year's GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B filings. GSTR-9C sits on top of it: it reconciles the turnover and tax figures in GSTR-9 against your audited annual financial statement, and flags any gap between the two with reasons.
It is not a separate, independent return. Rule 80(3) of the CGST Rules requires it to be furnished along with the annual return, by taxpayers above the turnover threshold, in FORM GSTR-9C through the common portal.
Rule 80(3), CGST Rules, 2017.
Who must file GSTR-9C
GSTR-9C applies only if your aggregate turnover in the financial year exceeded ₹5 crore. Below that, you file GSTR-9 (or are exempt from it, depending on your turnover) but you do not need GSTR-9C at all.
The same categories excluded from the annual return under Section 44 of the CGST Act are, by extension, excluded from GSTR-9C: Input Service Distributors, persons paying tax under Section 51 or Section 52 (TDS/TCS deductors and collectors), casual taxable persons, and non-resident taxable persons.
| Aggregate turnover in the FY | GSTR-9C required? |
|---|---|
| Up to ₹5 crore | No |
| Above ₹5 crore | Yes — self-certified, filed along with GSTR-9 |
Rule 80(3), CGST Rules — "whose aggregate turnover during a financial year exceeds five crore rupees". Exclusions from the annual return under Section 44, CGST Act.
Due date for GSTR-9C
GSTR-9C is due on or before 31 December following the end of the financial year — the identical deadline as GSTR-9, because Rule 80(3) requires both to be furnished together.
The government can push this date back for a given financial year by notification, as it has done in past years. Always check for a current-year extension notification close to the deadline rather than assuming 31 December will hold; this guide states the statutory default.
Rule 80(3), CGST Rules, 2017: "on or before the thirty-first day of December following the end of such financial year".
Self-certified, not CA/CMA-certified
Until FY 2019-20, GSTR-9C had to be certified by a Chartered Accountant or Cost Accountant under the audit requirement in the then Section 35(5) of the CGST Act.
The Finance Act, 2021 removed that requirement. Sections 110 and 111 of the Finance Act, 2021 were brought into force from 1 August 2021, and Section 44 of the CGST Act was recast to allow the annual return to include a self-certified reconciliation statement rather than an audited one. From FY 2020-21 onwards, the business itself certifies GSTR-9C — no external CA/CMA sign-off is a statutory requirement.
Notification No. 29/2021-Central Tax dated 30 July 2021 (appointing 1 August 2021 as the effective date for Sections 110 and 111 of the Finance Act, 2021); Section 44, CGST Act, current text — "may include a self-certified reconciliation statement".
Late fee: why there is no separate GSTR-9C figure to quote
There is no standalone late-fee clause for GSTR-9C in the CGST Act. Section 47(2) prescribes the late fee for the annual return under Section 44 as a whole — ₹100 for every day of delay, capped at a quarter per cent (0.25 percent) of turnover in the State or Union Territory. GSTR-9C does not get its own separate late fee on top of this.
CBIC has clarified how this applies when GSTR-9C is filed late. Circular No. 246/03/2025-GST, dated 30 January 2025, states that where GSTR-9C is required, the annual return under Section 44 is not treated as complete until both GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C have been furnished — so the Section 47(2) late fee clock keeps running from the due date until both are in, not just until GSTR-9 is filed.
The per-day rate and percentage cap have themselves been revised by notification before — CBIC rationalised the late fee for the annual return by turnover-based slabs through Notification No. 07/2023-Central Tax, dated 31 March 2023. Because this is set by notification rather than fixed permanently in the Act, do not treat any specific slab as evergreen: check the CBIC notification current for the financial year you are filing, rather than relying on a number quoted in an older article.
Section 47(2), CGST Act, 2017 — "a late fee of one hundred rupees for every day... subject to a maximum of an amount calculated at a quarter per cent of his turnover". Circular No. 246/03/2025-GST dated 30 January 2025. Notification No. 07/2023-Central Tax dated 31 March 2023.
What happens if GSTR-9C is never filed
Beyond the running late fee, the CGST Act has a general penalty provision — Section 125 — for contraventions that have no specific penalty prescribed elsewhere in the Act. It caps the penalty at ₹25,000. This is a general backstop, not a figure written specifically for GSTR-9C.
Separately, Section 44 puts an outer limit on how late an annual return can be filed at all: a registered person cannot furnish the annual return more than three years after its due date, unless the government notifies an extension. Because GSTR-9C is filed as part of the same annual return, that same three-year outer limit applies to it.
CBIC has, in the past, granted one-off amnesty for old GSTR-9C delays: Notification No. 08/2025-Central Tax, dated 23 January 2025, waived the late fee in excess of the amount payable up to the date GSTR-9 was filed, for GSTR-9C relating to FY 2017-18 through FY 2022-23, provided GSTR-9C was filed by 31 March 2025. That window has closed and should not be relied on for current-year delays — it illustrates that CBIC does grant such relief periodically, not that relief is currently open.
Section 125, CGST Act, 2017 — "shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to twenty-five thousand rupees". Section 44, CGST Act — three-year filing bar. Notification No. 08/2025-Central Tax dated 23 January 2025. See also our guide to the GSTR-9 annual return, which GSTR-9C reconciles against.
Primary sources
The dates and fees on this page are read off the statute and CBIC’s own notifications, not copied from other guides. You can check every one of them:
- Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — sections 47 (late fee) and 50 (interest)
- CBIC — GST notifications and circulars
- CBIC — GST portal
- GST portal (gst.gov.in) — where the return is actually filed
Verified against the CGST Act, 2017, the notifications cited above and CBIC circulars as of August 2026. Your exact position depends on your entity and any notifications or circulars issued since — we confirm it for you, and always recommend checking the official CBIC / GST portal. CapEasy is a private consultancy and is not affiliated with any government authority. This page is a guide, not legal advice.