If you are GST-registered, one of the first questions you ask before hiring anyone is simple: what does GST return filing actually cost? The answer is not a single number, and any firm quoting one without asking about your business is guessing.
GST return filing charges in India run from roughly ₹499 to ₹1,999 per month for most small and mid-sized businesses. The range is driven by invoice volume, whether ITC reconciliation is included, and how many GSTINs you hold. Annual return (GSTR-9) filing is usually charged separately, between ₹2,000 and ₹10,000.
Want a figure for your business rather than a range? WhatsApp us your invoice count and GSTIN count and we will give you a number.
GST Return Filing Charges: The Actual Ranges
Here is what TaxKitab charges. We publish these because vague pricing wastes everyone’s time:
| Plan | Monthly Charge | Invoice Limit | What Is Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | ₹499/month | Up to 50 invoices | GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B filing |
| Standard | ₹999/month | Up to 200 invoices | GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and ITC reconciliation |
| Premium | ₹1,999/month | Unlimited invoices | All returns, GSTR-9 included, priority support |
If you are looking for ₹200 a month, we are not the right fit and we would rather say so now. At that price nobody is reconciling your ITC, and the credit you lose will cost more than the fee you saved.
What Actually Moves the Price
GST professional fees are not regulated by any government body. Every firm prices differently, but the underlying cost drivers are the same everywhere:
- Invoice volume. B2B sales, B2C sales, credit notes and debit notes all count. Fifty invoices and five hundred invoices are not the same job.
- Business type. Composition scheme, regular, e-commerce operator and exporter each carry different return requirements.
- Reconciliation depth. A business with many vendors needs detailed GSTR-2B matching every month. This is where most of the real work sits.
- Number of GSTINs. Each state registration is a separate set of returns.
- Condition of your books. Clean data costs less to process. Invoices arriving as photographs on WhatsApp cost more.
Do GST Filing Charges Vary by City?
Less than they used to. Returns are filed on a central portal, GSTR-2B arrives the same way everywhere, and most of the work now happens over email and WhatsApp rather than across a desk. What still varies is the local cost of running a practice, and that shows up in the fee.
| City | Typical monthly range, small business | What drives the difference |
|---|---|---|
| Mumbai | ₹800 – ₹2,500 | Highest practice overheads; more multi-GSTIN clients |
| Delhi NCR | ₹700 – ₹2,200 | Large market, wide spread between low and high end |
| Bangalore | ₹700 – ₹2,000 | Startup and e-commerce work carries more reconciliation |
| Pune | ₹500 – ₹1,800 | Strong manufacturing and services mix; competitive market |
| Chennai | ₹500 – ₹1,800 | Established local practices; exporter work is common |
| Hyderabad | ₹500 – ₹1,800 | Similar to Pune; IT and services heavy |
| Tier-2 cities | ₹300 – ₹1,200 | Lower overheads, smaller average invoice volume |
The more useful question is not which city, but whether the person filing your returns has capacity in the week of the 20th. A firm two states away that reconciles your ITC properly is worth more than someone nearby who files on the deadline without checking GSTR-2B.
One thing that genuinely is location-specific: state registrations. If you hold GSTINs in more than one state, each one is a separate set of returns, and the fee usually scales close to linearly with the count.
Your Three Options, Compared Honestly
1. An online tax consultancy
Typically ₹499 to ₹2,000 a month. A team handles filing, communication runs on WhatsApp or email, and there is no office visit. Suits businesses that want the work done reliably without managing it. The trade-off is that you rarely meet anyone face to face.
2. A local independent consultant
Usually ₹300 to ₹1,500 a month depending on the city and their experience. You get a person you can sit across from, which matters to a lot of business owners. The risk is capacity: one person handling a hundred clients in the week of the 20th will deprioritise someone, and it may be you.
3. Filing it yourself
Free, other than your time. Genuinely workable if you have under ten invoices a month and straightforward transactions. It stops being sensible once ITC reconciliation enters the picture, because a mismatch between GSTR-2B and your books is not obvious until a notice arrives.
Charges by Business Type
Two businesses with identical turnover can sit at opposite ends of the range, because the return work is not the same job.
E-commerce sellers
Usually the upper end. Sales come through operators who collect TCS under Section 52, and that has to be matched against what the operator has reported. Add returns, cancellations and multi-state stock, and the reconciliation is a monthly exercise rather than a check.
Exporters
Middle to upper end. The returns themselves are not unusual, but LUT renewal, zero-rated invoicing and refund applications sit alongside them. Refund work is often quoted separately rather than folded into the monthly fee — worth confirming before you sign.
Manufacturers
Middle of the range, sometimes higher. Vendor counts are large, HSN classification has to hold up, and job work movements need tracking. Most of the fee here is buying attention on ITC rather than on filing.
Service providers and professionals
Lower end, usually. Few purchase invoices, limited ITC, and a short GSTR-1. A consultant billing ten clients a month is a straightforward file.
Composition dealers
Lowest. A quarterly statement in CMP-08 and an annual return in GSTR-4, with no monthly cycle and no ITC to reconcile.
We have written up the recurring problems in several of these areas in more depth — see Books & Guides for the sector-specific ones.
GSTR-9 Annual Return: Separate Charge
GSTR-9 is due by 31 December following the financial year, and it is mandatory only if your aggregate turnover exceeds ₹2 crore. Below that you are exempt. If turnover crosses ₹5 crore, GSTR-9C also applies. Since FY 2020-21 that reconciliation statement is self-certified by the taxpayer rather than certified by a professional.
Typical market fees for annual return work:
| Turnover | Typical GSTR-9 Fee |
|---|---|
| Up to ₹2 crore | Not applicable, exempt |
| ₹2 crore to ₹5 crore | ₹2,000 to ₹5,000 |
| Above ₹5 crore | ₹5,000 to ₹10,000, including GSTR-9C |
Our Premium plan includes GSTR-9 at no extra charge.
What Late Filing Costs
Worth knowing, because it is often larger than the fee you were trying to avoid. Late filing of GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B attracts ₹50 per day (₹25 CGST plus ₹25 SGST), or ₹20 per day for a nil return. The maximum is capped by turnover:
- Nil return: ₹500
- Turnover up to ₹1.5 crore: ₹2,000
- Turnover ₹1.5 crore to ₹5 crore: ₹5,000
- Turnover above ₹5 crore: ₹10,000
Interest of 18% per annum runs separately on any unpaid tax, and it is not capped. Late fees must be paid in cash and cannot be settled using input tax credit. GSTR-3B also cannot be filed more than three years after its due date, after which the return becomes permanently unfiled.
The Full Cost of GST Compliance, Not Just Filing
The filing fee is the line item you can see. It is rarely the largest one. When a business works out what GST actually costs it in a year, four other things usually turn out to be bigger.
- Your own time collecting documents. Chasing purchase invoices from vendors every month is unpaid work that someone in your office is doing. For most small businesses this is several hours a month.
- Accounting software. Tally, Zoho Books, QuickBooks or similar, plus any reconciliation add-on. This is a recurring annual cost that sits outside the filing fee.
- ITC you never claim. The quiet one. A vendor does not upload an invoice, nobody notices, and the credit lapses. On a business buying ₹10 lakh a year with 18% GST, missing even a small share of that credit costs more than a full year of filing fees.
- Late fees and interest. Charged per return, per day, and they run separately for the central and state components. Interest on unpaid tax runs alongside. The exposure is covered in the section above.
- Notices and their aftermath. A mismatch that goes unaddressed becomes a notice, and a notice becomes professional time you had not budgeted for.
Set against that, the difference between a ₹500 and a ₹1,200 monthly fee is small. What matters is whether the higher fee buys reconciliation that actually catches missing credit. If it does not, you are paying more for the same filing.
If you would rather have the whole cycle handled on a fixed monthly rhythm rather than piece by piece, that is what Managed Compliance covers.
What About GST Registration Fees?
Different question, and worth separating because people often assume the two are bundled.
The government charges nothing for a regular GST registration. There is no statutory fee on the application itself. What you pay a professional for is the work around it: assembling and formatting the documents the portal will accept, choosing the right constitution and place of business, responding when the officer raises a query, and dealing with Aadhaar authentication or physical verification if either is triggered.
Professional fees for that typically run ₹1,000 to ₹3,500 as a one-time charge, depending on the entity type and whether the application goes through cleanly. A proprietorship with a clear rent agreement sits at the lower end. A company with multiple directors and a shared premises sits higher, because queries are more likely.
This is a one-time cost and separate from the monthly filing fee, which starts once the GSTIN is live and the first return falls due. Details of what the registration involves are on the GST Registration page.
| Charge | Type | Typical market range |
|---|---|---|
| Government fee for registration | Statutory | Nil |
| Professional fee, registration | One-time | ₹1,000 – ₹3,500 |
| Monthly return filing | Recurring | ₹300 – ₹2,500 |
| Annual return, GSTR-9 | Yearly | See section above |
Is the Fee Tax Deductible?
Yes. Professional fees paid for GST return filing are allowable as a business expense under Section 37 of the Income Tax Act, provided the expenditure is wholly and exclusively for the business. Keep the tax invoice from your consultant, since the claim rests on it.
How to Bring Your Own Cost Down
- Keep clean books. Organised data is less work, and most firms price accordingly.
- Send invoices on time. Documents arriving on the 19th create rework, and rework is billable.
- Check whether QRMP suits you. Turnover below ₹5 crore may allow quarterly filing instead of monthly.
- Bundle services. GST with bookkeeping or ITR usually costs less than buying each separately.
Why Businesses Choose TaxKitab
- 3,000+ businesses served across India, rated 4.9 by our clients
- Published pricing, with no hidden charges or surprise bills
- A dedicated compliance manager assigned to your account
- WhatsApp-based communication, so no office visits are needed
- All-India service, including Pune, Mumbai and overseas clients
- GST, ITR, bookkeeping and company registration under one roof
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum GST return filing charge in India?
Around ₹300 to ₹500 a month for a basic plan covering GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B on low invoice volume. Below that, something is usually missing, most often ITC reconciliation.
What should a small business expect to pay?
Most small businesses under 200 invoices a month land between ₹499 and ₹999. If you are being quoted ₹3,000 for that volume, ask specifically what is included beyond the two monthly returns.
What does nil GST return filing cost?
Nil returns are usually the cheapest tier, commonly ₹200 to ₹500 a month. The returns still have to be filed even with no transactions, and a late nil return attracts ₹20 per day capped at ₹500.
How much does GSTR-9 filing cost?
Between ₹2,000 and ₹10,000 depending on turnover and whether GSTR-9C is required. Businesses under ₹2 crore turnover are exempt from GSTR-9 altogether.
Are GST filing charges fixed by the government?
No. Professional fees are not regulated. They are set by each firm based on business size, invoice volume and the complexity of the work.
What is usually included, and what is not?
Standard plans cover GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B. ITC reconciliation, GSTR-9, notice handling and dedicated support are often priced separately. Confirm this before signing up, because it is the most common source of a bill you did not expect.
What happens if I do not file on time?
Late fees of ₹50 per day apply, capped between ₹500 and ₹10,000 depending on turnover, and 18% annual interest runs on any outstanding tax. Repeated non-filing can lead to cancellation of your GST registration.
Are these charges tax deductible?
Yes, under Section 37 of the Income Tax Act, as long as you hold a proper tax invoice from the firm.
These figures apply to which period?
Late fees, caps and turnover thresholds are as notified currently. Rates change through GST Council notifications, so verify against the CBIC site or ask us before relying on a figure for a filing decision.
Related Reading
- GST 2.0 Explained
- GST Composition Scheme 2026: Who Should Actually Opt In
- GSTR-9 Late Fee by Turnover Slab
- GSTR-9 and 9C Mistakes That Cost SMEs the Most
Related Reading
- GST 2.0 Explained
- GST Composition Scheme 2026: Who Should Actually Opt In
- Financial Year End Checklist in India
Need help with this? TaxKitab handles GST Return Filing for businesses across India and overseas. You may also find our Managed Compliance useful. Talk to us.
Call or WhatsApp: +91 7448200422 | Email: info@taxkitab.com
See our GST Return Filing service, or explore Managed Compliance if you want GST, ITR and bookkeeping handled together. Get in touch.
