GST compliance calendar: the recurring dates that matter
Not a list of due dates. A list of the dates on which something is irrecoverably lost.
Most compliance calendars list filing dates. The dates that matter more are the ones after which a right is lost: the credit window under Section 16(4), the credit note window under Section 34, the Rule 37A reversal dates, the two year refund limitation, the appeal limitation, and the three year filing bar. Build the calendar around those.
The monthly cycle
Outward supply data validated and GSTR-1 filed, with the e-invoice reconciliation completed first.
IMS actions completed with a stated reason for every rejection, before GSTR-2B is generated.
GSTR-3B filed after the four way reconciliation of books, GSTR-1, GSTR-2B and GSTR-3B.
Reverse charge register reconciled to the foreign payment extract and the specified domestic services.
Ledgers downloaded and archived. E-way bill exception log reviewed. Job work ageing reviewed.
The dates that close a door
30 November following the financial year: the outer date for availing credit under Section 16(4), and for credit notes under Section 34. Do not file the annual return before this work is done.
30 September following the financial year: the Rule 37A supplier filing check, with the reversal due by 30 November.
Two years from the relevant date: the refund limitation under Section 54, computed category by category.
Three months from communication of an order: the appeal limitation, with the pre-deposit arranged before the last week.
Three years from the due date: the filing bar under Sections 37, 39 and 44.
The annual cycle
Within three months of the year end: the eleven item audit reconciliation pack and the three way turnover bridge.
Aggregate turnover computed formally and circulated, because several obligations depend on it.
Rate master, place of supply notes and benefits matrix reviewed against the year's amendments.
Registration particulars reviewed against the corporate record and the actual premises.
Cash ledger balances across all registrations reviewed for refund.
What to do on Monday
Rebuild the calendar around the dates on which rights are lost, not only filing dates.
Put 30 September and 30 November in the business calendar, not only the tax calendar.
Assign one named owner with an escalation path.
Run the annual cycle items on fixed calendar dates rather than when time permits.
This page states the general position. A reader with a specific question on their own facts may write to the GST practice at AMLEGALS.
Write to the GST practiceQuestions we are asked on this
Why not just track filing dates?
Because a late filing costs a late fee, while a missed 16(4) or Section 54 date costs the money permanently.
Who should own the calendar?
One named person, with the closing dates visible to the business and not only to the tax team.
What is the single most valuable date?
30 November. It closes the credit window and the credit note window at once.
In this cluster
- GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and the hard locking of auto populated values
- The Invoice Management System: accept, reject, pending and the consequences
- Bharti Airtel: the limits of rectifying a filed return, and what to do instead
- Credit notes, debit notes and the recipient reversal linkage
- The three year filing bar under Sections 37, 39 and 44
- Interest on delayed payment: Section 50 and Rule 88B
- Records, retention and the documents you must produce in year six
GST Insights is published by AMLEGALS for general information. Law stated as on 3 September 2026. Not advice on any particular set of facts; not an advertisement or a solicitation under Rule 36 of the Bar Council of India Rules. Readers with a question on their own facts may write to the GST practice of their own accord.