What is the GST annual return?
The GST annual return is Form GSTR-9. A regular dealer files it by 31 December of the next financial year, after every GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B of that year. Company Suggestion prepares it on the GSTR-9 page, and adds GSTR-9C when turnover exceeds ₹5 crore.
What does GSTR-9 summarise?
Section 44 requires one annual return for the financial year. GSTR-9 adds up outward supplies, inward supplies, input tax credit claimed and reversed, and the tax paid, as those figures already stand in the periodic returns. It is not a fresh invoice list, and it is not a second tax payment for the same supplies.
The GSTIN has to have been active during that year, and the year’s returns have to be filed, before GSTR-9 will accept the summary.
Who does not file it?
- A composition dealer. That dealer files GSTR-4 by 30 April. GSTR-9A is not in use.
- An input service distributor, a casual taxable person, a non-resident, and a person who only deducts or collects tax at source.
- A person whose aggregate turnover is up to ₹2 crore, for a year the government has exempted by notification. The exemption is year-specific.
When is GSTR-9C added?
GSTR-9C is filed with GSTR-9 when aggregate turnover in the financial year exceeds ₹5 crore. It reconciles the returns to the books. It is self-certified. It does not replace GSTR-9, and a turnover up to ₹2 crore is not moved into GSTR-9C instead.
Five crore, with the annual return. Above ₹5 crore, GSTR-9C goes in with GSTR-9. It is not a substitute for it.
When is it due?
31 December of the next financial year, unless that year is extended or the turnover exemption applies. A year ending 31 March 2026 is due on 31 December 2026 if no extension is notified. GSTR-9C, where it applies, is filed in the same window.
Frequently asked questions
Four questions cover the monthly returns, the ₹2 crore exemption, composition, and GSTR-9C.
Does GSTR-9 replace the monthly returns?
No. GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B of that year are filed first. GSTR-9 summarises them. It does not collect the month’s tax again.
Is every dealer under ₹2 crore exempt?
The exemption for aggregate turnover up to ₹2 crore is issued for a financial year. It is not a permanent rule in the Act. The year being filed is checked before the form is skipped.
Does a composition dealer file GSTR-9?
No. A composition dealer files GSTR-4 by 30 April. GSTR-9A is not in use.
Is GSTR-9C an audit certificate?
No. It is a self-certified reconciliation of the returns with the books, filed with GSTR-9 when aggregate turnover exceeds ₹5 crore.
Sources
Section 44 of the CGST Act requires the annual return. The filing steps are on the GSTR-9 service page.