Filing Nil Returns by SMS or on the Portal

A registration with no business in a month still has returns to file. Section 39(8) requires a return “for every tax period whether or not any supplies of goods or services or both have been made during such tax period”. The nil return is the simplest filing in GST, but it is also the one most often missed, and a missed nil return carries the same late fee, the same notices and the same risk to the registration as any other. The difficulty is less in filing it than in knowing when a return truly qualifies as nil. A return can be eligible for the reduced late fee for nil returns without being one that can be filed by SMS.

This guide covers nil GSTR-1, nil GSTR-3B and nil CMP-08, filed by SMS or on the portal. The returns themselves are covered in Filing GSTR-1, and Correcting It in GSTR-1A, Filing GSTR-3B and Paying the Tax and Composition Returns: CMP-08 and GSTR-4.

What the rules mean by “nil”

Rule 67A of the CGST Rules allows a nil return to be filed by SMS. It covers a nil GSTR-3B under section 39, nil details of outward supplies in GSTR-1 under section 37, and a nil CMP-08 statement under rule 62. Its Explanation defines the term:

“a nil return or nil details of outward supplies or nil statement shall mean a return under section 39 or details of outward supplies under section 37 or statement under rule 62, for a tax period that has nil or no entry in all the Tables in FORM GSTR-3B or FORM GSTR-1 or FORM GST CMP-08, as the case may be.”

The test is every table. A GSTR-3B with an exempt sale, a reverse-charge purchase, a credit claimed or reversed, or interest or late fee payable is not nil, though the tax on it may be nil. The notified GSTR-3B has a table for exempt, nil-rated and non-GST inward supplies (table 5), and its payment table (6.1) has columns for interest and late fee paid in cash. The portal’s version adds a table 5.1 for interest and late fee of earlier periods. An entry in any of them takes the return out of the definition.

The portal’s FAQs turn this into questions. For GSTR-3B, the return is not nil if the person has made any supply, “including nil rated, exempt and non-GST supplies”. It is also not nil if the person has received supplies liable to reverse charge, or “exempt, nil rated and non-GST inward supplies”. The same follows if it intends to reverse credit, has “any interest or late fee (including carry forward late-fee) liability”, or has any other liability. For GSTR-1, the FAQ requires no outward supplies at all. This includes “supplies on which tax is to be charged on reverse charge basis, zero rated supplies and deemed exports”. It also requires no amendments to earlier supplies, no credit or debit notes, and no advances to declare or adjust. For CMP-08, it requires no outward supplies, no reverse-charge liability and no other tax liability for the quarter.

Rule 67A rests on rule 26, which allows documents to be verified “by any other mode of signature or verification as notified by the Board”. Rule 67A itself provides that a return filed by SMS “shall be verified by a registered mobile number based One Time Password facility”.

What to have ready

Item	Where it comes from
Confirmation that there were no supplies, inward or outward, of any kind in the period	Books: sales and purchase registers, bank statements
Confirmation that no credit is to be claimed or reversed, and no notes or amendments are due	Books; GSTR-2B and IMS on the portal
Confirmation that no tax, interest or late fee of an earlier period is outstanding	Portal: electronic liability register and the auto-drafted table 5.1 of GSTR-3B
ARNs of all earlier returns of the same type, and of the previous GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B	Portal, return dashboard
The GSTIN, and the mobile number of an authorised signatory registered on the portal	Registration certificate; portal profile
Confirmation that no data is saved for the period in the online form	Portal

Who can file by SMS

The portal’s FAQs set out who may use SMS.

GSTR-3B by SMS. The person must be registered as a normal or casual taxpayer, or as an SEZ unit or developer, with a valid GSTIN. An authorised signatory and that signatory’s mobile number must be registered on the portal. There must be “no pending liability of previous period tax, interest or late fee”. All GSTR-3B returns of earlier periods must be filed. No data may be saved in the online GSTR-3B for the period.

GSTR-1 by SMS. The same categories qualify, and the person “must have opted for the filing frequency as either monthly or quarterly”. No data may be in saved or submitted state in the online GSTR-1. The portal’s FAQ on nil GSTR-1 filed online adds a condition. For a monthly filer, the previous month’s GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B must be filed. This follows from rule 59(6) and section 37(4).

CMP-08 by SMS. The person must be a composition taxpayer, registered as such or opted in through CMP-02. All CMP-08 statements of earlier quarters must be filed, and no data may be saved in the online form.

Any authorised signatory with a unique mobile number may file. The FAQs say that where two signatories share a number, neither can file by SMS until one changes it through a non-core amendment. One signatory may file for several GSTINs from the same number.

Filing by SMS, step by step

All three returns go to the same number, 14409, and follow the same pattern. Only the return code differs: R1 for GSTR-1, 3B for GSTR-3B and C8 for CMP-08. The portal’s FAQs give the steps:

1. Send the filing message. The format is NIL <Return Type> <GSTIN> <Return Period>, with a space between each part. The return period is the month and year, written as six digits. The FAQ’s examples are NIL 3B 07AQDPP8277H8Z6 042020 for GSTR-3B for April 2020 and NIL R1 07AQDPP8277H8Z6 042020 for a monthly GSTR-1. For a quarterly GSTR-1 or a CMP-08, the period is the last month of the quarter: NIL R1 07AQDPP8277H8Z6 062020 and NIL C8 07AQDPP8277H8Z6 062020 are both for April to June 2020.
2. Receive the verification code. The portal checks the conditions. If they are met, it sends a six-digit code to the same mobile number. If not, it replies with an error message.
3. Confirm. In a new message to 14409, the filer sends CNF <Return Type> <Code>, for example CNF 3B 324961.
4. Receive the ARN. The portal sends an ARN to the mobile number and the registered email. The return’s status on the portal changes to “Filed”.

The FAQs add some operating details. The text is not case-sensitive. The code is valid for 30 minutes and can be used once. A fresh code cancels the previous one, and the FAQ asks for at least five minutes between requests. A wrong code entered more than three times in a day blocks SMS filing for that GSTIN and mobile number for 24 hours. Online filing is unaffected. Help is available by sending HELP R1, HELP 3B or HELP C8 to 14409.

Filing a nil return on the portal

The same returns can be filed nil online, and the online route has fewer conditions. The portal’s user manuals describe it as follows.

GSTR-3B. The filer opens the return from Services > Returns > Returns Dashboard and selects “Prepare Online”. The return opens on a questionnaire, and the nil option is answered “Yes”. The manual says the nil option is enabled only if four conditions hold:

• nothing is auto-populated from GSTR-1 or IFF (unless GSTR-1 was itself filed as nil);
• nothing is auto-populated from GSTR-2B;
• no manual entries have been made; and
• “there is no outstanding interest or late fee liability”.

Otherwise the option is disabled. The return is previewed in draft, the declaration is ticked, the authorised signatory is selected, and the return is filed with DSC or EVC.

GSTR-1. The filer selects the “File Nil GSTR-1” checkbox on the GSTR-1 page and files. The manual says an error appears if records are already saved or auto-populated for the period. The records must be deleted, or the form reset, before the nil option can be used. The return is filed with DSC or EVC, and the manual says an email and SMS follow.

Rule 26(1) requires a company to file with DSC. The SMS route is verified by OTP under rule 67A instead.

Nil, zero and the late fee

The portal’s GSTR-3B manual distinguishes a nil return from what it calls zero filing. Zero filing is a return in which the filer sets auto-populated or other fields to zero, “regardless of any late fees, interest, or positive Input Tax Credit”. Such a return is filed online in the ordinary way, not through the nil option, and cannot be filed by SMS.

The late fee for a late nil return is reduced, but the test for the reduction is not the rule 67A test:

• GSTR-3B. Notification No. 19/2021-Central Tax caps the late fee at Rs 250 where “the total amount of central tax payable in the said return is nil”. Notification No. 76/2018-Central Tax fixes the daily rate in that case at Rs 10. A return with exempt sales but no tax payable qualifies for this cap, though it is not a nil return under rule 67A.
• GSTR-1. Notification No. 20/2021-Central Tax caps the fee at Rs 250 for “registered persons who have nil outward supplies in the tax period”. Notification No. 4/2018-Central Tax fixes the daily rate at Rs 10 “where there are no outward supplies”.

These are central tax amounts. The State and Union territory GST laws levy their own late fee under the corresponding section 47. A nil GSTR-3B also cannot be filed by SMS while an earlier period’s tax, interest or late fee is outstanding, because the portal’s SMS conditions exclude any pending liability. The full table of late fees is in Late Returns: Late Fee, Interest, the Three-Year Bar and Notices.

When the nil return can be filed

The FAQs say a nil GSTR-3B or GSTR-1 can be filed from the first day of the month after the tax period. For a quarterly GSTR-1, that is the first day after the quarter. A nil CMP-08 can be filed from the first day after the quarter, and is due by the 18th under rule 62. The due dates are those of the ordinary return: the 11th or 13th for GSTR-1, and the 20th, 22nd or 24th for GSTR-3B. The QRMP dates are set out in The QRMP Scheme.

What cannot be changed afterwards

The FAQs are explicit that a nil GSTR-3B, GSTR-1 or CMP-08 filed by SMS cannot be revised. The same holds for any filed return. A supply that should have been reported is reported in a later return, subject to the time limits in sections 37(3) and 39(9). A nil return filed where there were supplies is therefore an error to be corrected in a later period, with interest on any tax short paid. The routes and their limits are in Correcting Mistakes in Returns.

The procedure in order

1. Check every table of the return: no outward or inward supplies of any kind, no credit, no reversal, no notes, no amendments, and no interest or late fee (rule 67A Explanation; portal FAQs).
2. Check that all earlier returns are filed and no data is saved for the period online.
3. For SMS: from the registered mobile of an authorised signatory, send NIL <R1, 3B or C8> <GSTIN> <MMYYYY> to 14409. For a quarter, use the last month of the quarter.
4. Reply CNF <return code> <six-digit code> within 30 minutes, and keep the ARN sent by SMS and email.
5. Or, online, choose the nil option in GSTR-3B or the “File Nil GSTR-1” checkbox, and file with DSC or EVC. A company must use DSC.
6. File by the ordinary due date. A late nil return attracts the reduced late fee set by Notifications 19/2021 and 20/2021.

The next guide in this set covers the annual return, GSTR-9.