GSTR-4

GSTR-4 is the Annual Return filed by taxpayers registered under the Composition Scheme under GST. It consolidates all the quarterly CMP-08 challan payments made during the financial year and provides a comprehensive summary of outward supplies, inward supplies attracting Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM), and the total tax paid. GSTR-4 is governed by Rule 62 of the CGST Rules, 2017.

Who Files GSTR-4?

GSTR-4 is filed exclusively by taxpayers who have opted for the Composition Scheme — small businesses and manufacturers with annual turnover up to ₹1.5 crore (₹75 lakh for some special category states) who pay GST at a flat rate on their turnover instead of the standard slab rates.

Regular GST taxpayers, QRMP scheme taxpayers, and other categories of taxpayers do not file GSTR-4. They file GSTR-9 as their annual return instead.

Due Date for Filing GSTR-4

GSTR-4 must be filed by 30th April of the year following the relevant financial year. For example, GSTR-4 for FY 2025–26 is due by 30th April 2026.

Quarterly CMP-08 and GSTR-4 — How They Relate

Composition taxpayers do not file monthly or quarterly GSTR-3B returns. Instead, they pay tax every quarter using Form CMP-08 (a simple self-assessment challan) by the 18th of the month following each quarter. GSTR-4 is the annual reconciliation that consolidates all four CMP-08 payments made during the year.

GSTR-4 (annual) is then filed by 30th April, after all four CMP-08 challans are done.

What Does GSTR-4 Contain?

GSTR-4 is divided into the following sections:

Basic details include the GSTIN, legal name, and financial year of the taxpayer.

Table 5 — Outward supplies: Summary of all sales made during the year — both taxable and exempt supplies. This is auto-populated from CMP-08 data but can be edited.

Table 6 — Auto-drafted inward supplies: Details of inward supplies received from registered suppliers, auto-populated from the suppliers' GSTR-1 filings.

Table 7 — Inward supplies attracting Reverse Charge: If the composition taxpayer received any services or goods from an unregistered supplier or from specific notified categories, they must declare these inward supplies and pay GST under Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM).

Table 8 — Tax payable and paid: Summary of the tax liability for the year based on outward supplies, RCM liability, and the tax already paid via CMP-08 challans. Any remaining balance is payable at the time of filing.

Key Features of GSTR-4

No ITC: Composition scheme taxpayers cannot claim Input Tax Credit. This is a fundamental trade-off of the scheme — lower compliance and a flat tax rate, but no ITC benefit.

Flat tax rate: Composition taxpayers pay GST at a flat rate on their total turnover — 1% for traders (0.5% CGST + 0.5% SGST), 2% for manufacturers, and 5% for restaurant businesses. Service providers under the composition scheme (service composition or "CGST notification 2/2019" category) pay 6%.

Bill of Supply: Since composition taxpayers cannot charge GST to their customers, they issue a bill of supply instead of a tax invoice. This means their buyers cannot claim ITC either.

Intra-state only: Composition scheme taxpayers can only make intra-state supplies. They cannot supply goods to other states or make export of services.

Late Fee for GSTR-4

If GSTR-4 is not filed by the due date, a late fee of ₹200 per day (₹100 CGST + ₹100 SGST) applies, subject to a maximum of ₹5,000.

GSTR-4 vs. GSTR-9

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