File a Nil GSTR-3B or GSTR-1 by SMS: Format, Short Code and Conditions

If a business has no outward supplies and no input tax credit to claim for a period, it still has to file its GST returns. The GST Network provides an SMS route for exactly this case, so a dormant registration does not need a portal login and a browser session every month.

It works for both GSTR-3B and GSTR-1, and for the quarterly statement filed by composition taxpayers.

When you can use it

The SMS facility is only for a genuinely nil return. Every one of the following must be true for the period:

• No outward supplies, including nil-rated, exempt and zero-rated supplies.
• No inward supplies attracting reverse charge.
• No input tax credit being claimed or reversed.
• No tax liability of any kind, and no interest or late fee payable for the period.
• No amendment to any earlier period being made in this return.

If any figure is non-zero, the SMS route is not available and the return must be filed on the portal. Filing a nil return by SMS when the position is not nil is a misdeclaration, not a shortcut.

Who can send the SMS

The message must come from the mobile number of an authorised signatory registered against that GSTIN on the GST portal. If the authorised signatory has changed, or the mobile number on record belongs to a former employee or a previous consultant, update it on the portal first. This is the single most common reason the SMS fails.

Where a GSTIN has more than one authorised signatory, any of them may file, but the verification code goes to the number that sent the original message.

Filing a nil GSTR-3B by SMS

1. Send: NIL<space>3B<space>GSTIN<space>Tax period to 14409. The tax period is written as MMYYYY. For the month of June 2026 that is 062026.
2. You receive a six digit verification code, valid for a limited time.
3. Confirm: CNF<space>3B<space>code to 14409.
4. You receive an Application Reference Number by SMS and on the registered email. That ARN is your evidence of filing.

Filing a nil GSTR-1 by SMS

Identical, with R1 in place of 3B.

1. Send: NIL<space>R1<space>GSTIN<space>Tax period to 14409.
2. Confirm: CNF<space>R1<space>code to 14409.

For a quarterly filer the tax period is the last month of the quarter.

Timing

A return can only be filed on or after the first day of the month or quarter following the period being filed. You cannot file for June before 1 July. The ordinary due dates and late fee rules apply exactly as they would on the portal, so the SMS route saves effort, not time.

If the SMS fails

• Wrong format. The syntax is strict. A missing space, a lowercase entry or extra characters will fail. Send it as a plain text message, not through a messaging app.
• Unregistered mobile number. The sender must be an authorised signatory on the portal for that GSTIN.
• Verification code expired. Start again from the first message.
• Period not open yet, or already filed.
• Position is not actually nil. If there is a liability, credit or amendment, the system will not accept it.

Always confirm on the portal that the return shows as filed. The ARN is the proof; the absence of an ARN means nothing was filed, whatever the first SMS appeared to do.

A word of caution about dormant registrations

The convenience of the SMS route sometimes leads businesses to file nil returns for months on end while activity is actually happening but has not been recorded. Two things follow from that.

First, a nil return that should not have been nil has to be corrected through an amendment in a later period, with interest on the shortfall. Second, a registration that files nil returns indefinitely while the business is not operating should probably be cancelled rather than kept alive, because every month it remains registered is another month of filing obligation and another opportunity for a late fee.

If the business has genuinely stopped, apply for cancellation and file the final return. If it is simply between contracts, keep filing nil returns on time.

Where this fits

Nil filing by SMS is useful for a dormant registration or a genuinely quiet month. It is not a substitute for a monthly reconciliation. Once there is any activity, the return needs to be built from the books, matched against the auto-populated data, and filed on the portal.

Let us handle the returns

We file GST returns monthly or quarterly, reconcile the credit before filing rather than after a notice, and advise on cancellation where a registration has outlived its purpose. See GST return filing, GST services, or GST registration if you are just starting out.

Book a call, or sign in at the TAXAJ client portal.

Procedures on the GST portal are revised from time to time. Confirm the current SMS format and the conditions for nil filing before you rely on them.

Written by

Abhilesh Jha

Chartered Accountant · Founder & CEO

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