Is the GSTR-1 Due Date Extended This Month? Here Is How to Actually Find Out.

Every month, the same question comes up in accountant groups, CA forums, and taxpayer WhatsApp chats.

"Has the GSTR-1 due date been extended this month?"

And every month, someone forwards a message claiming the date has been extended to the 13th or the 15th or some other date. Half the time it is true. Half the time it is an old notification from six months ago, or it only applies to a specific category of taxpayers, or it is simply made up.

People file late based on these forwards. Then they get a late fee. Then they are confused about why they got a late fee when "the date was extended."

Let me clear all of this up once and for all.

The Standard Due Dates — These Are Fixed

First, know your default due dates. These do not change unless CBIC issues a specific notification.

Monthly GSTR-1 filers — Due on the 11th of the following month. So August's GSTR-1 is due September 11th.

Quarterly GSTR-1 filers (QRMP scheme) — Due on the 13th of the month after the quarter ends. So April–June GSTR-1 is due July 13th.

GSTR-3B (monthly filers above ₹5 crore) — Due on the 20th of the following month.

GSTR-3B (quarterly filers under QRMP) — Due on the 22nd or 24th depending on which state your business is in. Category 1 states get the 22nd. Category 2 states get the 24th.

These are the default dates. They run every month whether or not you know about them, whether or not your CA reminded you, and whether or not someone in a WhatsApp group told you the date was extended.

When Does the Government Actually Extend Due Dates?

Extensions happen. They are real. But they are not as common as the forwards make them seem.

CBIC extends due dates in two situations mainly:

Technical issues on the GST portal. When the portal goes down or slows significantly during peak filing time, CBIC sometimes extends by a day or two. This happened in April 2024 when GSTN noticed taxpayers were facing difficulties filing GSTR-1 and extended the date from the 11th to the 12th. It happened again in April 2026 when GSTR-3B for March was extended from April 20th to April 21st due to portal issues.

Special circumstances. Natural disasters, state-specific events, or major changes in law sometimes lead to extensions for specific regions or specific return types. After flooding in parts of Maharashtra, CBIC extended GSTR-3B deadlines for Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, and Palghar districts. The extension was real — but only for those districts. Businesses in Delhi or Bengaluru were not covered.

In October 2025, GSTR-3B due date for September was extended to October 25th during the festive season to give businesses extra time.

These extensions are real. But they are specific. A forward saying "GST due date extended" without specifying which return, which month, which category of taxpayer, and the notification number — that forward is not trustworthy.

The WhatsApp Forward Problem

Here is what actually happens in most of these situations.

Someone files a GST return in February. At that time, CBIC had genuinely extended the January GSTR-1 due date to the 13th. They save the notification or the news article.

Eight months later, in October, they forward it to their group with the message "GSTR-1 date extended to 13th." Their group members see it. Some of them think it applies to October's return. They wait until the 13th to file.

The October GSTR-1 was not extended. It was due on the 11th. They are now two days late. The late fee is ₹50 per day. Small amount — but it was completely avoidable.

This happens every single month across thousands of taxpayers.

How to Actually Check If the Date Is Extended

This is the only reliable method.

Go to the CBIC website directly. The URL is cbic.gov.in. Under the Notifications section, look for the most recent Central Tax notifications. A genuine due date extension always comes as a numbered notification — for example, Notification No. 01/2026-Central Tax. If you see a notification with the current month and your return type mentioned, the extension is real.

Check the GST portal. Log into gst.gov.in and go to your Returns dashboard. The portal itself reflects the actual current due date, including any extensions. If the portal shows the 11th, the 11th is your deadline. If it shows the 13th, it was extended to the 13th. The portal is the ground truth.

Check the GSTN Twitter or X account. When GSTN extends a due date because of technical issues, they post about it on X (formerly Twitter) within hours. Their handle is @gstindia. If there is a portal issue causing an extension, it will be there.

Ask your CA. A CA who is on top of compliance will know within hours if a due date has been extended. They receive CBIC notifications through their professional channels.

What you should not rely on: WhatsApp forwards, random websites without notification numbers, news articles from previous years, and friends who "heard" the date was extended.

What Happens If You File Late Based on a Wrong Forward

The government does not care why you filed late.

"I thought the date was extended" is not an accepted reason for waiving late fees. The fine is ₹50 per day for GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B. For nil returns it is ₹20 per day. The fee applies from the actual due date — not from the date you thought the due date was.

If you file GSTR-1 on the 13th because you believed a forward saying it was extended, and the extension was not actually notified, you owe two days of late fees. That is ₹100. Not devastating. But if you do this six months in a row, that is ₹600 in fees and six months of your buyers' ITC being delayed because your GSTR-1 came in late.

More importantly — your buyers do not know why your invoices showed up late in their GSTR-2B. They just know they did not get the ITC on time. Enough of that and they stop working with you.

The QRMP Scheme — A Common Source of Confusion

A lot of confusion about due dates comes from the QRMP scheme, and it is worth explaining clearly.

QRMP stands for Quarterly Return Monthly Payment. It is for businesses with annual turnover up to ₹5 crore.

If you are on QRMP:

You file GSTR-1 quarterly — due on the 13th of the month after the quarter ends. You file GSTR-3B quarterly — due on the 22nd or 24th depending on your state. But you pay GST every month using PMT-06 — due on the 25th of each month.

In the first two months of a quarter, you can optionally upload invoices using the IFF — Invoice Furnishing Facility. This is not GSTR-1. It is a separate optional form. Its due date is the 13th of the month.

Many QRMP taxpayers confuse IFF with GSTR-1 and vice versa. They think they need to file GSTR-1 monthly because someone told them the 13th is their due date. But for a QRMP taxpayer, the 13th in month 1 and month 2 of the quarter is for IFF — which is optional. The actual GSTR-1 is quarterly.

If you are not sure whether you are on QRMP or monthly filing, log into the GST portal and check your profile. Your filing frequency is displayed clearly.

The State-Specific Extension That Most People Miss

Some due date extensions are not for everyone. They are for specific states or districts.

When CBIC extended GSTR-3B for flood-affected parts of Maharashtra in 2025, the extension was for Mumbai City, Mumbai Sub-Urban, Thane, Raigad, and Palghar — five specific districts. A business in Pune or Nagpur was not covered, even though they are in Maharashtra.

When you see news about a due date extension, the first question to ask is: which states or districts does this cover? An extension for Manipur after a local event does not help a business in Chennai.

The CBIC notification always specifies the geography. Read it before assuming it applies to you.

A Complete Picture — All the Due Dates You Need to Know for FY 2026-27

Standard dates. No extensions assumed.

GSTR-1 (monthly): 11th of following month GSTR-1 (quarterly — QRMP): 13th of month after quarter end IFF (optional, QRMP month 1 and 2): 13th of the same month GSTR-3B (monthly, above ₹5 crore): 20th of following month GSTR-3B (QRMP, Category 1 states): 22nd of month after quarter GSTR-3B (QRMP, Category 2 states): 24th of month after quarter PMT-06 (QRMP monthly tax payment): 25th of each month GSTR-9 (annual return): December 31, 2026 for FY 2025-26 ITC last date for FY 2025-26: November 30, 2026 or GSTR-9 filing date, whichever is earlier

Set these dates in your calendar now. Add a reminder three days before each one. When a forward comes saying a date has been extended, check the CBIC website before you act on it.

One Simple Rule for the Rest of Your Filing Life

Assume the date is not extended until you can verify it from an official source.

File as if the standard date applies. If there is an extension and you have already filed — great, you filed early. If there is no extension and you waited because of a forward — you just paid a late fee for no reason.

The risk of filing early is nothing. The risk of filing late based on unverified information is a fine and delayed ITC for your buyers.

It is a very simple calculation.

Clean invoice records make GSTR-1 filing fast — fast enough that filing on the 8th or 9th instead of waiting for the 11th becomes easy.

👉 GST Maker keeps your invoice data GSTR-1 ready all month — free at gstmaker.com

When filing takes 20 minutes, due date extensions stop mattering.