Any GST returns such as GSTR1, GSTR 3B, etc., due on or before June 20, 2022, will be barred from filing from July 2025 onwards as the GST Administration has set a date of July 2025 for barring GST Returns on the expiry of three years. Also, from July itself onwards, auto-populated liabilities in GSTR-3B will become non-editable. This move aims to curb revenue leakages.
According to an advisory posted on the GST portal, the Finance Act 2023 amended the CGST Act, which prescribed that taxpayers will not be allowed to file their GST returns after the expiry of three years from the due date of furnishing the said return. These returns are filed under Section 37 ( Outward Supply), Section 39 (payment of liability), Section 44 ( Annual Return) and Section 52 (Tax Collected at Source). These Sections cover GSTR-1, GSTR 3B, GSTR-4, GSTR-5, GSTR-5A, GSTR-6, GSTR 7, GSTR 8 and GSTR 9.
Now, these returns will be barred from filing after an expiry of three years. “The said restriction will be implemented on the GST portal from July 2025 Tax period,” the advisory said. Further, it advised that the taxpayers are once again advised to reconcile their records and file their GST Returns as soon as possible if not filed till now.
Explaining this, an tax expert said that the due date for filing GSTR-3B for June 2022 would have been July 20, 2022. Therefore, after July 20, 2025, the system will block the filing of that return. In effect, “any return due on or before June 30, 2022 (including GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, etc.) will be barred from filing from July 2025 onwards, unless already submitted,” he clarified.
According to him, this move marks a definitive closure of the return filing window, which is aimed at bringing certainty to the tax system and limiting retrospective compliances. While this step enhances system discipline and curtails prolonged non-compliance, it may severely impact taxpayers who have pending filings due to litigation, system issues, or genuine oversight. The absence of a redressal mechanism for exceptional cases could lead to permanent denial of Input Tax Credit and financial setbacks.
“Taxpayers must act immediately to review, reconcile, and file any pending returns before the restriction is enforced on the portal. Delayed action may result in irreversible compliance failures and revenue loss,” he advised.
In another advisory placed on the GST portal on Saturday itself, the tax administration said that from the July 2025 tax period, for which form GSTR 3B will be furnished in August 2025, auto-populated liability will become non-editable. Thus, “taxpayers will be allowed to amend their auto populated liability by making amendments through form GSTR 1A, which can be filed for the same tax period before filing of GSTR 3B,” it said.
GST Portal provides a pre-filled GSTR-3B, where the tax liability gets auto-populated based on the outward supplies declared in GSTR-1/ GSTR-1A/ Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF). As of now, taxpayers can edit such auto-populated values in form GSTR 3B itself. With the introduction of form GSTR 1A, taxpayers have a facility to amend their incorrectly declared outward supplies in GSTR-1/IFF through GSTR-1A. This allows them to correct their liabilities before filing their GSTR-3B in the same return period.
