GST rule change: Returns pending over 3 years to become time-barred from November tax period; should businesses rush to file before the deadline?

Businesses that have not filed their pending GST returns for three years or more will no longer be able to do so beginning the November tax period, according to an advisory from the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN).The GSTN, which manages the technology backbone of the indirect tax system, said that monthly, quarterly, and annual GST returns will be permanently barred from filing after the expiry of three years from their original due date.“The said restriction will be implemented on the GST portal from the November 2025 tax period, which means any return whose due date was three years back or more and hasn’t been filed till the November tax period will be barred from filing,” the GSTN said in its advisory.The government had amended the Goods and Services Tax (GST) law in 2023 to introduce a time limit for filing returns. The move is aimed at tightening compliance and ensuring that taxpayers clear their dues within a reasonable timeframe.According to the GSTN, with effect from December 1, 2025, the monthly GST return forms GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B due for October 2022, as well as the annual GST return GSTR-9 for the 2020-21 fiscal year, will become time-barred.