Published 13 October 2026
A cancelled registration feels finished, but the law leaves one return still due. It counts the goods and capital goods on hand on the last day, and it collects the input tax credit that went into them. Businesses that have closed often miss it, and the department has a set route for that: a notice, then an assessment based on whatever it has. The late fee is also higher than for any other return, because no lasting reduction has ever been notified for it.
Cancellation itself is covered in Cancelling a Registration on Application and Responding to a Notice Proposing Cancellation. This guide picks up once the cancellation order has been issued.
Who files, and who does not
Section 45 applies to “every registered person who is required to furnish a return under sub-section (1) of section 39 and whose registration has been cancelled”. Rule 81 prescribes FORM GSTR-10.
The test is section 39(1), and section 39(1) itself excludes:
- Input Service Distributors
- non-resident taxable persons
- persons paying tax under section 10 (composition)
- persons deducting tax under section 51
- persons collecting tax under section 52
None of these files GSTR-10. The form’s instructions list the same five classes. (Item (iv) of the instruction cites “section 5” where section 51 is meant.) Circular No. 69/43/2018-GST gives the same list.
The portal’s GSTR-10 FAQ adds a sixth class: suppliers of online information and database access or retrieval services. They file under rule 64, not section 39(1).
Casual taxable persons do file under section 39(1). The portal’s GSTR-10 manual shows a version of the form “for Casual Taxable Persons whose status is either Cancelled or Expired”. The portal therefore treats an expired casual registration like a cancelled one for this purpose.
A composition taxpayer whose registration is cancelled files no GSTR-10. It still files the CMP-08 statements and the GSTR-4 for the part of the year it was registered. This is covered in Composition Returns: CMP-08 and GSTR-4.
The due date
Section 45 sets the time: “within three months of the date of cancellation or date of order of cancellation, whichever is later”. The two dates are often different:
- On an application, the officer’s order in REG-19 usually cancels from the date the applicant asked for, which is earlier than the order.
- On the officer’s own motion, the cancellation may be backdated.
For example, a registration cancelled with effect from 31 March 2026 by an order dated 20 May 2026 must file GSTR-10 by 20 August 2026.
Two points follow from the text:
- The return is due whether cancellation came on application or on the officer’s motion. Section 45 draws no distinction, and the portal’s FAQ makes the return “mandatory” in both cases.
- There is no three-year bar. In 2023 the Finance Act barred late filing under sections 37, 39, 44 and 52, but section 45 was not amended. The portal’s list of forms subject to the bar does not include GSTR-10.
What the return contains
GSTR-10 exists to collect the amount due under section 29(5). On cancellation, a person must pay an amount equal to the higher of two figures: the credit on inputs in stock, inputs in semi-finished and finished goods, and capital goods held “on the day immediately preceding the date of such cancellation”, or the output tax on those goods. Rule 44 gives the method:
- Inputs, and inputs contained in semi-finished or finished goods. The credit is worked out “proportionately on the basis of the corresponding invoices”.
- Capital goods. The credit is attributed to the remaining useful life in months, taking the useful life as five years. Instruction 3(ii) to the form reduces the invoice value “by 1/60th per month or part thereof”.
- Goods without invoices. The amount is estimated on “the prevailing market price” (rule 44(3)). Rule 44(5) and instruction 4 to the form require that estimate to be certified by a practising chartered accountant or cost accountant, and a copy of the certificate is uploaded.
The form’s tables are:
| Table | Content |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | GSTIN, names, and an address for future correspondence |
| 5 to 7 | Effective date of cancellation, and the number and date of the cancellation order |
| 8(a) | Inputs held in stock, where invoices are available |
| 8(b) | Inputs contained in semi-finished or finished goods, where invoices are available |
| 8© | Capital goods, plant and machinery held in stock |
| 8(d) | Inputs and inputs in semi-finished or finished goods, where invoices are not available |
| 9 | Tax payable, the amount already paid with the cancellation application (REG-16), and the balance paid through the cash or credit ledger |
| 10 | Interest and late fee payable and paid |
What to have ready
| Item | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| The cancellation order: number, date and effective date | Portal (REG-19, or the order under section 29(2)) |
| Every GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B up to the effective date, filed | Portal. The FAQ says these must be filed before GSTR-10. The manual adds that GSTR-10 is not enabled if any GSTR-3B, GSTR-1, CMP-08 or quarterly GSTR-4 for the year is unfiled |
| Stock list as on the day before the effective date, with quantities and units | Books, and a physical count |
| Purchase invoices or bills of entry for the stock: supplier’s GSTIN (or the VAT or excise number for pre-GST purchases), number, date, value and tax | Books |
| Capital goods register with invoice dates and the credit taken | Books |
| Market-price valuation and accountant’s certificate for stock without invoices | A practising chartered or cost accountant (rule 44(5)) |
| Amount paid with REG-16, if any | Portal (REG-16 Tables 10 and 11) |
| Balances in the cash and credit ledgers | Portal |
Portal steps
The portal’s GSTR-10 user manual (tutorial.gst.gov.in) describes the steps:
- The filer logs in and opens Services > Returns > Final Return. The FAQ notes that this link appears only after a cancellation order has been issued.
- On the GSTR-10 tile, the filer chooses PREPARE ONLINE. There is also an offline tool.
- The filer enters or confirms the address for future correspondence. If the cancellation followed REG-16, the address is carried over from it and can be edited.
- Where stock without invoices is declared, the filer enters the certifying accountant’s firm, name, membership number and certificate date, and uploads the certificate.
- Goods with invoices go in the “8A, 8B & 8C” tile. Goods without invoices go in the “8D” tile, with or without a supplier registration number.
- The filer previews the draft and clicks PROCEED TO FILE. Once the status is “Ready to File”, the tile for Tables 9 and 10 opens. It shows the liability, the ledger balances, any amount paid with REG-16, and any interest and late fee.
- The liability is paid from the cash or credit ledger. If the balance falls short, a challan is created from the same screen. The FAQ says GSTR-10 cannot be filed “without discharging full liabilities as declared”.
- The filer ticks the declaration, selects the authorised signatory and files with DSC or EVC. The portal issues an ARN and sends an SMS and an email.
A nil GSTR-10 may be filed “if facts are so”, according to the FAQ. For example, there may be no stock and no capital goods on which credit was taken.
Signing
Rule 26 allows a digital signature certificate, an e-signature or a notified mode such as EVC. Rule 26(2) says who signs for each kind of person. The portal’s FAQ lists DSC and EVC for GSTR-10. It adds that the portal accepts only PAN-based Class II and III certificates, and that the EVC is sent to the registered mobile of the authorised signatory.
Late fee and interest
Section 47(1) applies to “returns required under … section 45”. It imposes Rs 100 for every day the failure continues, up to Rs 5,000, under the CGST Act. A late fee is also levied under the State or Union territory Act, and Table 10 shows the central and State amounts separately.
The late fee for GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B has been permanently reduced. No such reduction has been notified for GSTR-10. There have been only two time-bound amnesties:
- Notification No. 68/2020-Central Tax waived the excess over Rs 250 for returns filed between 22 September and 31 December 2020.
- Notification No. 08/2023-Central Tax waived the excess over Rs 500 for returns filed between 1 April and 30 June 2023. Notification No. 26/2023-Central Tax extended the window to 31 August 2023.
Both windows have closed. A GSTR-10 filed late today bears the full statutory fee.
Interest under section 50(1), at 18 per cent a year under Notification No. 13/2017-Central Tax, runs on tax paid after it fell due. Table 10 records it.
When the return is not filed
The sequence is set out in the Act, the rules and Circular No. 69/43/2018-GST.
- Notice. Under section 46 and rule 68, the person receives a notice in FORM GSTR-3A requiring the return within fifteen days. The form has a separate version for the final return. It warns that the liability may be determined on the material available, and that the notice is deemed withdrawn if the return is filed before an assessment order. The portal shows it under Services > User Services > View Notices and Orders.
- Assessment. If the return is still not filed, section 62(1) allows the officer to assess the tax “to the best of his judgement”. The order is issued in FORM GST ASMT-13 under rule 100(1). Circular 69 says the assessment determines the section 29(5) liability “on the basis of information available with the proper officer”. The time limit is five years from the due date of the annual return for the year to which the tax relates.
- Withdrawal of the order. Since 1 October 2023, section 62(2) deems the order withdrawn if a valid return is furnished within sixty days of service. If that is missed, a further sixty days is available on payment of an additional late fee of Rs 100 a day. Interest and the ordinary late fee remain payable either way.
Two cautions apply to the withdrawal. Circular 69, issued in 2018 when the period was thirty days, applies it to the final return. But the section speaks of a “valid return”, and section 2(117) defines that term by reference to a return under section 39(1). Whether a late GSTR-10 counts as a valid return under section 62(2) is not settled by the text. The guidance relied on in practice is the circular.
Filing GSTR-10 also does not end liability for earlier periods. Section 29(3) keeps alive the liability for any period before cancellation, whenever it is determined. A cancellation that is revoked, or set aside on appeal, reopens the registration. The portal’s FAQ says an officer can restore a registration “in compliance of an order passed by Appellate or Higher Authority” even after GSTR-10 has been filed. See Getting a Cancelled Registration Back.
After filing
The FAQ says “Final Return/ Form GSTR-10 cannot be revised once filed.” A stock item left out, or credit under-reversed, can be paid through DRC-03 with interest. The general position is in Correcting Mistakes in Returns.
The annual return for the year of cancellation remains due if aggregate turnover exceeds the exemption limit. See Filing the Annual Return, GSTR-9.
The procedure in order
- Confirm that GSTR-10 applies: the person filed under section 39(1), the registration has been cancelled (or, for a casual taxable person, has expired), and the person is not in an excluded class.
- Note the effective date and the order date. The return is due three months after the later of the two.
- File every outstanding GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B up to the effective date.
- Count the stock and capital goods as on the day before the effective date. Value them under rule 44, and obtain a certificate for goods without invoices.
- Enter the stock in Tables 8(a) to 8(d), and confirm the correspondence address.
- Proceed to file, check the liability against any REG-16 payment, and pay the balance with interest and late fee.
- File with DSC or EVC and keep the ARN.
- A GSTR-3A gives fifteen days to file. If an ASMT-13 order follows, filing within sixty days of its service, or within the further sixty days with the additional fee, withdraws the order.
The next guide covers the two returns of a composition taxpayer: the quarterly CMP-08 and the annual GSTR-4.