QRMP stands for Quarterly Return Monthly Payment scheme. A GST-registered business with aggregate turnover up to ₹5 crore in the preceding financial year can use it to file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B once a quarter instead of every month, while still depositing tax every month through a challan in FORM GST PMT-06. The scheme has applied since 1 January 2021, under Notification No. 84/2020-Central Tax, dated 10 November 2020.
Two things catch new QRMP filers out. First, the monthly deposit in the first two months of a quarter is not a return, only a cash deposit — the actual liability is worked out and settled when the quarterly GSTR-3B is filed. Second, the quarterly GSTR-3B due date is not the same everywhere: it falls on the 22nd or the 24th of the month after the quarter, depending on the state or Union Territory where the business is registered.
Who can opt for the QRMP scheme
A registered person who is required to file GSTR-3B and had an aggregate turnover of up to ₹5 crore in the preceding financial year is eligible. The turnover is calculated automatically by the GST portal from the returns already filed for that year — the taxpayer does not have to compute it separately.
The option is exercised GSTIN by GSTIN. If a PAN holds several GSTINs, some can be on QRMP and others can stay on monthly filing.
If turnover crosses ₹5 crore during any quarter of the current financial year, the business is no longer eligible for the scheme from the following quarter and must move to monthly return filing.
Eligibility and the ₹5 crore threshold: Notification No. 84/2020-Central Tax, dated 10 November 2020, as explained in CBIC Circular No. 143/13/2020-GST, dated 10 November 2020, paragraphs 3, 4.6 and 4.7.
When you can opt in or opt out
The facility to opt in or out is open on the GST portal throughout the year, but for any given quarter it can only be exercised in a fixed window: from the first day of the second month of the preceding quarter to the last day of the first month of that quarter.
For example, to opt for the July–September quarter, the window runs from 1 May to 31 July. To exercise the option, the last return due on that date must already have been filed — so opting in on 27 July for the July–September quarter requires the June GSTR-3B (due on the 22nd or 24th of July) to have been filed first.
Once the option is exercised, it carries forward to future quarters automatically. There is no need to opt in again each quarter unless the choice is being changed.
Rule 61A of the CGST Rules, inserted vide Notification No. 82/2020-Central Tax, dated 10 November 2020; Circular No. 143/13/2020-GST, dated 10 November 2020, paragraphs 4.1 and 4.2.
How the monthly payment works
For the first two months of every quarter (M1 and M2), tax due must be deposited in FORM GST PMT-06 by the 25th of the following month. This is a payment, not a return — no GSTR-3B is filed for M1 or M2.
Two methods are available for working out how much to deposit each month:
- Fixed Sum Method — the portal auto-generates a pre-filled PMT-06 challan. The amount is 35% of the tax paid in cash in the preceding quarter, if the last return was filed quarterly; or an amount equal to the tax paid in cash in the last month of the immediately preceding quarter, if the last return was filed monthly.
- Self-Assessment Method — the actual tax liability is worked out from that month’s outward and inward supplies, net of available input tax credit, and deposited in PMT-06. GSTR-2B is generated monthly to help with this even though GSTR-3B itself stays quarterly.
| Last return filed as | Deposit due for each of M1 and M2 |
|---|---|
| Quarterly (previous quarter’s GSTR-3B) | 35% of the tax paid in cash in that preceding quarter |
| Monthly (last month before the scheme quarter) | An amount equal to the tax paid in cash in that last month |
CBIC Circular No. 143/13/2020-GST, dated 10 November 2020, paragraph 6.1(a)–(b); the 25th-of-the-month PMT-06 due date is at Rule 61(3) of the CGST Rules. If the cash or credit ledger balance already covers the month’s liability, or the liability is nil, no deposit is required for that month (Circular, paragraph 6.3). Any amount left in the deposit after the quarterly GSTR-3B is filed can be claimed as refund or carried forward — but a refund of the M1/M2 deposit itself is not allowed before that quarterly return is filed (Circular, paragraph 6.4).
The Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF)
QRMP filers report most of their sales in the quarterly GSTR-1. But a buyer registered under regular monthly filing may want input tax credit on a specific invoice in the same month it was issued, not three months later. The Invoice Furnishing Facility exists for exactly that case.
In each of the first two months of the quarter, invoices can be uploaded and furnished through the IFF, up to a cumulative value of ₹50 lakh per month. The window runs from the 1st to the 13th of the month following the invoice month; after the 13th, that month’s IFF closes. Invoices furnished through the IFF flow into the recipient’s GSTR-2B for that month and are not reported again in the quarterly GSTR-1 — only the remaining invoices for the quarter go into GSTR-1.
Using the IFF is entirely optional. A business can choose to report everything in the quarterly GSTR-1 instead and skip it, with no late fee for not using it.
Rule 59(2) of the CGST Rules, substituted vide Notification No. 82/2020-Central Tax, dated 10 November 2020; CBIC Circular No. 143/13/2020-GST, dated 10 November 2020, paragraphs 5.2 and 5.3.
Quarterly GSTR-3B due date: the 22nd/24th split
Once the quarter ends, GSTR-3B for that quarter is due on either the 22nd or the 24th of the following month — the date depends on the state or Union Territory of the business’s principal place of registration, not on turnover or any other factor. GSTR-1 for the quarter, separately, is due on the 13th of the month after the quarter.
| Due date | States and Union Territories |
|---|---|
| 22nd of the month after the quarter | Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh; and the UTs of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep |
| 24th of the month after the quarter | Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha; and the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Chandigarh, Delhi |
State-wise due dates: Rule 61(1)(ii) of the CGST Rules, as amended vide Notification No. 82/2020-Central Tax, dated 10 November 2020. The 22nd/24th mechanism for QRMP quarterly GSTR-3B is confirmed in CBIC Circular No. 143/13/2020-GST, dated 10 November 2020, paragraph 7. The 13th-of-the-month quarterly GSTR-1 due date is set by Notification No. 83/2020-Central Tax, dated 10 November 2020 — a separate notification, not covered by Circular 143/13/2020-GST.
Interest and late fee if a monthly deposit is missed
Under the Fixed Sum Method, no interest is charged on the M1/M2 deposits even if the actual liability for that month later turns out to be higher — provided the fixed-sum challan was paid by the 25th, and the full quarter’s liability is cleared in GSTR-3B by its due date. If the fixed-sum amount itself is not deposited by the 25th, interest runs from that due date until the date it is actually paid.
Under the Self-Assessment Method, interest applies under Section 50 of the CGST Act on any part of the month’s actual liability, net of ITC, that is unpaid or paid after the 25th.
Late fee is a separate matter from the monthly deposit. It is charged under Section 47 of the CGST Act only for delay in filing the quarterly return itself (GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B) — never for a late or missed M1/M2 payment on its own.
CBIC Circular No. 143/13/2020-GST, dated 10 November 2020, paragraphs 8.1 to 8.3 (interest) and paragraph 9 (late fee). Work out the cost of a missed quarter with our GST late fee calculator.
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.