GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C for FY 2025-26 Now Open on the GST Portal
The GST portal opened the FY 2025-26 annual returns, GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C, on 8 October 2026. GSTN confirmed this in an advisory dated 13 October 2026. The forms are live, but the GSTR-9/9C tile appears only for a GSTIN that has filed every GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B for FY 2025-26. Any gap in the year’s monthly or quarterly returns keeps the annual return locked.
Here is what the advisory says, what it leaves unchanged, and how to use the time before the year-end deadline.
What GSTN announced
- Forms enabled: GSTR-9 (annual return) and GSTR-9C (reconciliation statement) for FY 2025-26.
- Live from: 8 October 2026. The advisory itself was posted on 13 October 2026.
- Precondition: all GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B returns for FY 2025-26 must be filed before the GSTR-9/9C tile is enabled for that GSTIN.
- Help: GSTN asks taxpayers who face a problem while filing to raise a ticket on the GSTN self-service helpdesk.
Who it affects
Every GSTIN that must file an annual return for FY 2025-26. Whether a particular registration has to file GSTR-9, GSTR-9C or both depends on its turnover and registration type, which this advisory does not change. If you have several registrations, check each GSTIN on its own: the precondition applies per GSTIN, so one State’s missing GSTR-3B blocks only that State’s annual return.
Key dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| GSTR-9/9C for FY 2025-26 enabled on the portal | 8 October 2026 |
| GSTN advisory published | 13 October 2026 |
| Due date under Section 44 of the CGST Act (no extension so far) | 31 December 2026 |
As of 16 October 2026 that leaves 76 days. Annual return deadlines have been extended by notification in some earlier years, but nothing has been notified for FY 2025-26, so plan for 31 December.
What it does not change
- The due date. The advisory only opens the forms. It does not move the 31 December deadline.
- Who must file. The advisory is silent on applicability. The existing rules on who files GSTR-9 and who also files GSTR-9C continue.
- The 57th GST Council’s annual return proposal. The Council approved in principle a concept note for an optional Annual Return Quarterly Payment scheme. That is a proposal for the future and has no effect on the FY 2025-26 return you file now.
What to do now
- Clear any pending GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B for FY 2025-26 on every GSTIN, so the annual return tile opens.
- Reconcile before you open the form. Match your books with GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and GSTR-2B for the year: outward supplies, tax paid, input tax credit claimed and credit notes. Investigate the differences now rather than inside the form.
- Treat the filing as final. The portal has no facility to revise a GSTR-9 once it is filed, so review the draft and the auto-filled tables before you submit.
- Keep the GSTR-9C work moving in parallel if your registration needs it. The reconciliation statement takes the longest, and leaving it to December is the usual cause of a rush.
- Log portal errors on the GSTN helpdesk and keep the ticket number with your working papers.
Need a hand with the annual return?
TAXAJ prepares and files GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C for businesses across India, including the year-end reconciliation, from offices in Delhi, Bengaluru, Goa and Bihar. To check whether your registration needs a reconciliation statement, see our explainer on who needs GSTR-9C. For every other GST update, see our GST news and announcements page.
Source: GSTN advisory “Annual Returns in the form of GSTR-9/9C for FY 2025-26”, 13 October 2026, GST portal News and Updates. Last updated 16 October 2026. This is general information, not advice on any particular case, and it will be updated if the due date is extended.
