GSTR 9 Filing in Delhi for FY 2025-26

What is GSTR 9 filing and who needs it for FY 2025-26?

GSTR-9 is the annual return of a regular GST taxpayer. It restates, for the whole year, the outward supplies already reported in GSTR-1, the tax paid through GSTR-3B and the input tax credit taken, and it shows the corrections made after the year closed. Whether you must file depends on aggregate turnover.

Aggregate turnover is worked out on the PAN, so a Delhi trader with a second GSTIN in Haryana adds both registrations together to test the limit. The return itself is filed separately for each GSTIN. Reports say businesses up to ₹2 crore have been exempt from GSTR-9 since FY 2024-25 under Notification 15/2025-Central Tax, but we could not find that notification on the CBIC website, so confirm your position before you skip the return.

The table shows what each turnover band files for FY 2025-26. Composition taxpayers, input service distributors and casual taxable persons follow different annual rules, so check those cases separately.

Sources: CBIC Circular 246/03/2025 for self-certified GSTR-9C, GSTN combined FAQ on GSTR-9 and 9C (17 December 2025), checked October 2026. The ₹2 crore exemption is from secondary coverage of Notification 15/2025-CT.

What is different about the FY 2025-26 annual return?

FY 2025-26 is harder to close than earlier years for three reasons: the GST rate structure changed mid-year on 22 September 2025, GSTR-3B liability became locked to GSTR-1 from the July 2025 tax period, and corrections now run through GSTR-1A. Each one changes how the annual figures must be matched.

• Two rate structures in one year. Under GST 2.0, the 12% and 28% slabs were removed from 22 September 2025, leaving 5% and 18% as the main rates plus 40% for sin and luxury goods. The HSN summary has to agree with the invoices on both sides of that date. Our GST rates 2026 guide lists the current slabs.
• The GSTR-3B hard-lock. From the July 2025 tax period, the outward liability auto-filled into GSTR-3B could not be edited. Mistakes had to be fixed through GSTR-1A before filing GSTR-3B, so the annual return must pick up those GSTR-1A amendments, not just the original GSTR-1.
• Self-certified GSTR-9C. Businesses above ₹5 crore still reconcile audited books with GSTR-9, but the statement is now certified by the taxpayer. The reconciliation work has not gone away; the responsibility now sits with the business.

Documents and data needed for GSTR-9

Before opening the return, collect the full year's GST filings, the books of account and the purchase register, then match them month by month. Most of the time on a GSTR-9 goes into this preparation, not into typing the form.

Rate change date from the GST Council press release of September 2025, checked October 2026.

How to file GSTR-9 on the GST portal: step by step

GSTR-9 is filed online at gst.gov.in. The portal pre-fills most figures from your GSTR-1, GSTR-1A and GSTR-3B, and you correct or complete them from your books before paying any shortfall and submitting.

1. 1

   Reconcile first

   Match the books with GSTR-1, GSTR-1A, GSTR-3B and GSTR-2B for every month, and list each difference with its reason.

2. 2

   Open the annual return

   Log in, go to Services, Returns, Annual Return, choose FY 2025-26 and answer the questions on turnover and HSN reporting.

3. 3

   Download the summaries

   Download the system-computed GSTR-9 summary and the GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B summaries, and compare them with your reconciliation.

4. 4

   Fill the outward and credit details

   Enter or edit taxable supplies, exempt and non-GST supplies, credit availed and reversed, and the HSN summaries for sales and purchases.

5. 5

   Report later corrections

   Show amendments, credit notes and credit for FY 2025-26 that were reported in returns filed after March 2026.

6. 6

   Pay any extra tax

   If the reconciliation shows tax short paid, pay it through Form DRC-03 with interest before you submit.

7. 7

   Preview, compute and file

   Generate the draft PDF, check every figure, compute liabilities and file with DSC or EVC. Download the filed copy for your records.

Worked example: a GSTR-9 reconciliation for a Wazirpur trader

This illustrative example uses made-up figures for a wholesale trader in Wazirpur with ₹3.4 crore turnover in FY 2025-26, whose main product line moved from 12% to 5% under GST 2.0. That turnover is above ₹2 crore and below ₹5 crore, so the business files GSTR-9 but not GSTR-9C. Three gaps appear when the books are matched with the portal.

Illustrative figures only. Rates from the GST Council release on GST 2.0, effective 22 September 2025.

How much does GSTR 9 filing cost, and how long does it take?

The portal does not charge for filing the return. Your real costs are the professional fee, any tax and interest found during reconciliation, and late fees if you miss 31 December 2026. Online platforms advertise GSTR-9-only packages from about ₹2,499 a year (seen October 2026).

The fee depends on how clean the year was: one GSTIN with books and returns kept by the same person needs far less work than three GSTINs and unmatched supplier credit. Either way, the quote is fixed and agreed before any reconciliation begins.

Price seen on published online platform pages, October 2026. Interest rate from secondary sources; check the GST portal for the current position.

What happens if GSTR-9 is late or wrong?

A late GSTR-9 attracts a late fee for every day after 31 December 2026, and a wrong one cannot be corrected because the portal allows no revision. Errors often surface later as a notice from the Delhi State GST or Central GST office asking you to explain gaps between returns.

Ranking pages publish different late-fee figures for GSTR-9, so we do not repeat a number here. Check the current fee on the GST portal before deciding to file late. Secondary sources also report that, from July 2025, returns cannot be filed once three years have passed from their due date, which makes very old pending annual returns a closed door rather than a late filing.

If you have already received a notice that points to annual return gaps, our GST notice reply page explains how replies are prepared.

Common GSTR-9 mistakes Delhi businesses make

Most GSTR-9 problems come from copying the auto-filled figures without checking them against the books. The list below covers the errors we see most often in returns prepared at the last minute.

1. Ignoring GSTR-1A. Amendments filed in GSTR-1A after the hard-lock are left out, so the annual sales do not match GSTR-3B.
2. One HSN line for the whole year. Goods whose rate changed on 22 September 2025 are shown at a single rate for all twelve months.
3. Trying to claim missed credit. GSTR-9 does not give fresh input tax credit; unclaimed credit had to be taken in a GSTR-3B within the legal time limit.
4. Credit notes only in the books. A credit note that was never uploaded in GSTR-1 cannot reduce turnover in the annual return.
5. Testing the ₹2 crore limit on one GSTIN. Aggregate turnover covers every registration on the same PAN.
6. Filing before the books are final. Businesses above ₹5 crore then find that the audited figures in GSTR-9C do not agree with GSTR-9, which can no longer be changed.
7. Leaving it to the last week. Quarterly QRMP filers in Delhi, who file GSTR-3B on the 24th after each quarter, often have the fewest monthly checks and the most to fix.

Can you do GSTR 9 filing yourself?

Yes, if your turnover is just above ₹2 crore, you have one GSTIN, one rate of tax for most goods, and the same person filed every monthly return from the same books. In that case the auto-filled figures will usually match and the job is mainly a careful check.

Get help when any of these apply: more than one GSTIN on the PAN, goods whose rate changed on 22 September 2025, supplier credit in GSTR-2B that does not match what you claimed, a change of accountant during the year, turnover above ₹5 crore needing GSTR-9C, or a pending GST notice.

Careful monthly GST return filing is the cheapest way to make the annual return easy. The month-by-month dates are on our GST due dates calendar.

GSTR 9 filing services in Delhi: who can help

A CA or GST consultant reconciles your books with the year's returns, explains each gap, computes any tax to pay and files GSTR-9, and GSTR-9C where it applies. Two of the firms in our directory include GST return work in their listed services, and both agree a fixed fee for the annual return before starting.

• Khubchandani & Co. Chartered Accountants is a chartered accountant firm; the firm says its CAs bring more than 35 years of experience, and its listed work covers GST and TDS returns and accounting.
• Moneymji, at 208 Pearls Business Park in Netaji Subhash Place, is a business registration and compliance firm that lists GST, income tax, ROC work and accounts outsourcing.

If your books need catching up before the annual return can be prepared, see accounting and bookkeeping services in Delhi. Traders near the industrial area can read our CA in Wazirpur page, or compare every listed firm on the chartered accountant firms in Delhi page.

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