Zero transactions in a month? You still need to file. Here’s exactly how to do it — fast, penalty-free, and correctly.
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This guide is written by practicing GST professionals at SetupFiling.in — a platform founded by CAs, CSs, and Tax Attorneys with 15+ years of experience. Whether you are a sole proprietor, a startup, or an established business with zero activity in a particular month, this guide gives you a precise, penalty-free path to compliance.
We cover the full process: eligibility, portal steps, SMS filing, late fee rules, common mistakes to avoid, and answers to the questions GST officers are actually asked.
Log in to www.gst.gov.in → Services → Returns → Returns Dashboard → Select period → GSTR-3B Prepare Online → Answer “Yes” to Nil Return → Preview → File with EVC/DSC. Takes under 10 minutes. Alternatively, send an SMS NIL 3B [GSTIN] [MMYYYY] to 14409.
GSTR-3B is a monthly self-declaration return that every regular GST-registered taxpayer must file summarising their sales, purchases under reverse charge, input tax credit (ITC) utilised, and tax paid. A Nil Return is filed when all values in GSTR-3B are zero — meaning the taxpayer had no outward supplies, no inward supplies attracting reverse charge, and no tax liability during the relevant tax period.
Filing a Nil Return is not optional. Under Section 39 of the CGST Act, 2017, every registered person is required to file GSTR-3B for each tax period, regardless of whether any business was conducted. Non-filing — even for a Nil period — attracts a late fee of ₹20 per day (₹10 CGST + ₹10 SGST), capped at ₹500 per return. Persistent default can trigger GST Registration suspension or cancellation under Rule 21A.
The government introduced an SMS-based Nil filing option in 2020 to reduce the compliance burden for small taxpayers with no transactions, making the process faster than ever.
It is not a detailed invoice-level return — just a monthly summary of tax liability and ITC.
Monthly filers file by the 20th. QRMP scheme taxpayers file quarterly but pay tax monthly.
Once GSTR-3B is filed, it cannot be amended. Errors must be corrected in subsequent months.
Nil GSTR-3B can be filed via a simple SMS to 14409 — no portal login required.
Any GST-registered entity with zero transactions in a month is required to file a Nil GSTR-3B. This includes all of the following:
Individual business owners registered under GST with no sales or purchases during a specific month must file Nil GSTR-3B by the 20th of the next month.
Partnership firms with active GST registration but no business activity in a tax period — seasonal businesses, newly registered firms — must file Nil returns.
Pvt Ltd companies, LLPs, and One Person Companies with valid GSTINs that recorded no transactions in a given month must file monthly Nil GSTR-3B.
Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho sellers who were registered but made no sales in a particular month are still required to file GSTR-3B as a Nil return.
Businesses that obtained GST registration but have not yet started operations must file Nil GSTR-3B for every month from the date of registration.
If your GST registration is active (not cancelled), you must file GSTR-3B even if you have temporarily ceased operations. Non-filing can lead to permanent cancellation.
Composition scheme taxpayers file CMP-08 instead of GSTR-3B. Input Service Distributors (ISDs), non-resident taxable persons, UIN holders, and taxpayers whose GST registration has been officially cancelled are not required to file GSTR-3B.
Follow these 7 steps on the official GST portal. Total time: approximately 5–10 minutes with a stable internet connection.
Open your browser and go to www.gst.gov.in. Click on “Login” in the top-right corner. Enter your Username and Password, complete the CAPTCHA, and click Login. Use your 15-digit GSTIN-linked credentials.
🔗 Portal: www.gst.gov.in
Once logged in, hover over the “Services” menu in the top navigation bar. Click on “Returns”, then select “Returns Dashboard” from the dropdown. This is the central hub for all your GST Return Filings.
On the Returns Dashboard, use the dropdown menus to select the Financial Year (e.g., 2025-26) and the Return Filing Period (the specific month for which you are filing the Nil Return). Click “Search”.
📅 Example: For May 2025, select FY 2025-26 and “May 2025”
You will see tiles for various returns. Locate the GSTR-3B tile. Click on “Prepare Online”. The portal will load the GSTR-3B form. A pop-up or prompt will appear asking whether you want to file a Nil Return.
When the system asks “Do you want to file Nil Return?”, click “Yes”. All sections of GSTR-3B — outward supplies, ITC details, Payment of tax — will automatically be populated with zero values. No manual data entry is required.
✅ Zero values are auto-filled. Do not manually enter any figures.
Click “Preview Draft GSTR-3B” to download and review a PDF of the return. Confirm that all values are zero across all sections: 3.1 (Outward Supplies), 3.2 (Inter-state Supplies), 4 (Eligible ITC), 5 (Exempt/Nil/Non-GST), and 6.1 (Payment of Tax). If everything is zero, proceed to filing.
Click “Submit” to freeze the return. Once submitted, click “File GSTR-3B”. You will be prompted to verify your identity
After successful filing, you will receive an Acknowledgement Reference Number (ARN). Save this as proof of filing.
🎉 Your GSTR-3B Nil Return is now filed. ARN = proof of compliance.
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Follow these 7 steps on the official GST portal. Total time: approximately 5–10 minutes with a stable internet connection.
Open your browser and go to www.gst.gov.in. Click on “Login” in the top-right corner. Enter your Username and Password, complete the CAPTCHA, and click Login. Use your 15-digit GSTIN-linked credentials.
🔗 Portal: www.gst.gov.in
Once logged in, hover over the “Services” menu in the top navigation bar. Click on “Returns”, then select “Returns Dashboard” from the dropdown. This is the central hub for all your GST return filings.
On the Returns Dashboard, use the dropdown menus to select the Financial Year (e.g., 2025-26) and the Return Filing Period (the specific month for which you are filing the Nil Return). Click “Search”.
📅 Example: For May 2025, select FY 2025-26 and “May 2025”
You will see tiles for various returns. Locate the GSTR-3B tile. Click on “Prepare Online”. The portal will load the GSTR-3B form. A pop-up or prompt will appear asking whether you want to file a Nil Return.
When the system asks “Do you want to file Nil Return?”, click “Yes”. All sections of GSTR-3B — outward supplies, ITC details, payment of tax — will automatically be populated with zero values. No manual data entry is required.
✅ Zero values are auto-filled. Do not manually enter any figures.
Click “Preview Draft GSTR-3B” to download and review a PDF of the return. Confirm that all values are zero across all sections: 3.1 (Outward Supplies), 3.2 (Inter-state Supplies), 4 (Eligible ITC), 5 (Exempt/Nil/Non-GST), and 6.1 (Payment of Tax). If everything is zero, proceed to filing.
Click “Submit” to freeze the return. Once submitted, click “File GSTR-3B”. You will be prompted to verify your identity
After successful filing, you will receive an Acknowledgement Reference Number (ARN). Save this as proof of filing.
🎉 Your GSTR-3B Nil Return is now filed. ARN = proof of compliance.
Even a Nil Return attracts late fees if filed after the due date. The fee structure for Nil returns is lower than regular returns but still mandatory. Here is the complete breakdown:
| Return Type | CGST Late Fee | SGST Late Fee | Total Per Day | Maximum Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
GSTR-3B Nil Return | ₹10/day | ₹10/day | ₹20/day | ₹500 per return |
GSTR-3B with Transactions | ₹25/day | ₹25/day | ₹50/day | ₹5,000 per return |
For monthly filers: GSTR-3B for January must be filed by 20th February. Late fee begins from the 21st.
Filing GSTR-3B for 6 or more consecutive months can lead to automatic suspension and cancellation of GSTIN under Rule 21A of CGST Rules.
Businesses under QRMP scheme file GSTR-3B quarterly but still pay tax monthly via PMT-06. Nil quarterly filers have one filing deadline per quarter.
Run through this checklist before filing your GSTR-3B Nil Return to avoid mistakes or inadvertent compliance issues.
Businesses in India with seasonal operations — such as tourism operators in hill stations, fireworks retailers, or agricultural equipment suppliers — often have months with zero activity. These businesses must file Nil GSTR-3B for every off-season month to avoid penalties and protect their GSTIN.
Many Indian startups obtain GST registration proactively at incorporation but begin trading weeks or months later. Every month from the date of GST registration until the first invoice — even if the business has not yet launched — requires a Nil GSTR-3B filing.
Platforms like SetupFiling.in handle post-registration compliance including Nil return filings as part of their GST Return Filing packages.
Indian e-commerce sellers registered under GST who had no sales in a given month must still file Nil GSTR-3B. The GST portal does not automatically link to marketplace platforms — it is the seller’s responsibility to file regardless of platform activity. GST-registered Meesho, Amazon, and Flipkart sellers must treat every quiet month as a Nil filing month.
The process of filing GSTR-3B Nil Return is identical across all Indian states — Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Telangana, and others. The GST portal (gst.gov.in) is centralised. There is no state-specific sub-portal for GSTR-3B filing.
If you are in Delhi and need professional assistance, setupfiling.in offers GST services in Delhi and across all Indian cities.
Our CA team files it correctly — same day, guaranteed compliance. Talk to an expert now on WhatsApp.
GSTR-3B Nil Return is a monthly GST summary return filed by registered taxpayers who had no outward supplies (sales), no inward supplies attracting reverse charge, and zero tax liability during a particular tax period. All values in the return are zero. Under Section 39 of the CGST Act, 2017, filing this return is mandatory even when business activity is nil.
Every regular GST-registered taxpayer — sole proprietors, partnership firms, private limited companies, LLPs, OPCs, and any entity with an active GSTIN — that recorded zero transactions in a month must file a Nil GSTR-3B. This includes businesses that just registered and have not yet started operations, seasonal businesses in their off-season, and e-commerce sellers with no sales.
Late filing of a Nil GSTR-3B attracts a late fee of ₹20 per day (₹10 CGST + ₹10 SGST), subject to a maximum of ₹500 per return. This is lower than the ₹50/day for non-Nil returns. However, repeated defaults — failing to file for 6 consecutive months — can trigger suspension and eventual cancellation of your GST registration under Rule 21A of CGST Rules.
Yes. You can file a GSTR-3B Nil Return via SMS without logging into the portal. Send an SMS to 14409 from your GST-registered mobile number in the format: NIL 3B [GSTIN] [MMYYYY]. You will receive an OTP; reply with the OTP to confirm filing. You will then receive an ARN (Acknowledgement Reference Number) confirming successful filing. This option is only for Nil returns — not available if you have any transactions.
No. GSTR-3B cannot be revised or amended once it has been filed. If you filed a Nil Return but later realised you had transactions in that period, you must report those transactions in the next available GSTR-3B and pay the applicable tax along with 18% per annum interest from the original due date. This is why it is critical to verify GSTR-2B before filing a Nil return.
If your vendor has uploaded invoices in their GSTR-1 against your GSTIN, those will appear in your GSTR-2B for that period. Filing a Nil GSTR-3B when GSTR-2B shows inward supplies does not automatically cause a legal error, but it means you have not claimed the available ITC. The GST department may issue a notice if there is a significant mismatch between your GSTR-2B and GSTR-3B over time. Consult a GST professional if this situation arises.
After successful filing of GSTR-3B (Nil or otherwise), the GST portal immediately generates and displays an Acknowledgement Reference Number (ARN). This ARN is also sent to your registered email ID and mobile number. You can track the status of your return by visiting Services → Returns → Track Return Status on the GST portal and entering your ARN.