GSTR-10 Late Fee Waiver 2026: Complete Filing Guide

You cancelled your GST registration months ago — or your registration was cancelled by the department — and now the portal is showing a pending GSTR-10 with a late fee that keeps growing. You are not alone. Thousands of taxpayers find themselves in exactly this spot every year, and the good news for 2026 is that a waiver window exists. This guide walks you through who qualifies, what the waiver covers, and every portal step to file GSTR-10 without paying more than you legally have to.

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What Is GSTR-10 and Why Does It Even Exist?

GSTR-10 is the final return a registered taxpayer must file after their GST registration is cancelled or surrendered. Think of it as a "closing balance sheet" for your GST account — it declares the stock of inputs and capital goods on hand on the cancellation date so the department can recover any Input Tax Credit (ITC) already claimed on those goods.

Under Section 45 of the CGST Act, 2017, filing GSTR-10 is mandatory within three months of:

• the date of cancellation order, or
• the date of order of cancellation, whichever is later.

Miss that three-month window and a late fee of ₹200 per day (₹100 CGST + ₹100 SGST) starts accumulating with no upper cap under the base rules. On a six-month delay, that is ₹36,000 in late fees alone — painful for a small trader who shut down a vegetable wholesale business.

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The 2026 Amnesty: What the Waiver Notification Says

The government has periodically issued amnesty notifications reducing or waiving late fees for GSTR-10 filers who missed the deadline. For 2026, the relevant relief flows from CBIC Notification No. 7/2023 – Central Tax (and subsequent extensions) which capped the late fee for GSTR-10 at ₹1,000 per return (₹500 CGST + ₹500 SGST) for taxpayers who filed during the specified amnesty window.

Always verify the current notification number on the official CBIC portal at cbic-gst.gov.in before filing, because amnesty windows have start and end dates and may be extended by fresh notifications.

The 2026 filing context is important: if your registration was cancelled and GSTR-10 is still pending, you should check whether a fresh amnesty circular has been issued (the CBIC portal lists all Central Tax notifications in chronological order). The principle is consistent even if the notification number changes — file within the window, pay the capped fee, close the return.

Key benefit in plain terms: Instead of ₹200/day accumulating to potentially lakhs, you pay a flat ₹1,000 maximum late fee and the return is accepted.

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Eligibility: Does the Waiver Apply to You?

Not every pending GSTR-10 automatically qualifies. Run through this checklist before logging in:

Condition	Eligible?
GST registration cancelled voluntarily by taxpayer	✅ Yes
Registration cancelled suo motu by the department	✅ Yes
GSTR-10 not yet filed as on the amnesty notification date	✅ Yes
GSTR-10 already filed and late fee already paid in full	❌ No refund of excess fee paid earlier
Registration cancelled but revocation application pending	⚠️ Check — file GSTR-10 only after revocation is rejected
Composition taxpayers with cancelled registration	✅ Yes — same form applies

One important nuance: If your revocation application is still pending, do not file GSTR-10 prematurely. Filing GSTR-10 is treated as acceptance of cancellation. Confirm the status on the GST portal under Services → Registration → Track Application Status first.

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Portal Filing Steps: GSTR-10 from Login to Submit

Here is the exact path on the GST portal (gstin.gov.in):

Step 1 — Log In

Go to gst.gov.in → Login with your GSTIN and password. Even after cancellation, portal access remains for compliance purposes.

Step 2 — Navigate to GSTR-10

Services → Returns → Final Return (GSTR-10)

Select the financial year in which the cancellation order was issued, then click Prepare Online.

Step 3 — Auto-Populated Fields

The portal auto-fills:

• GSTIN
• Legal name
• Trade name
• Cancellation order date
• Effective date of cancellation

Verify these match your cancellation order. If there is a mismatch, raise a grievance at the portal before proceeding.

Step 4 — Declare Closing Stock (Table 5 and Table 6)

This is the section most filers get wrong. You must declare:

• Table 5 — Details of closing stock of inputs (raw material, trading goods) on the cancellation date
• Table 6 — Details of closing stock of capital goods and plant & machinery

Worked example: Suppose Meena ran a small footwear trading firm in Chennai. On her cancellation date (say, 31 March 2025), she had:

• Stock of finished footwear: ₹2,00,000 (ITC claimed at 12% GST = ₹24,000)
• Laptop (capital good, 2 years old): ₹40,000 original value; useful life under GST rules = 60 months; remaining life = 36 months; ITC reversal = ₹14,400 × (36/60) = ₹8,640

She must enter these values in Tables 5 and 6 respectively. The portal will compute the payable tax (ITC reversal).

Step 5 — Pay Any Tax Liability

If the ITC reversal from Tables 5/6 results in a payable amount, it must be settled via Challan (PMT-06) before submission. Navigate to Services → Payments → Create Challan.

Step 6 — Pay the (Waived/Capped) Late Fee

The portal auto-calculates the late fee. Under the amnesty, it will cap at ₹1,000. Pay this via the same challan process under the head "Tax" → "Late Fee".

Step 7 — File with DSC or EVC

• Proprietors / individuals: can use EVC (OTP on registered mobile)
• Companies / LLPs: mandatory DSC (Digital Signature Certificate)

Click File GSTR-10 → confirm with EVC/DSC → download the Acknowledgement Reference Number (ARN). Save this — it is proof that you have complied.

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Common Errors That Delay or Reject Your Filing

Students advising clients (or CA trainees doing articleship) frequently see these mistakes:

1. Entering stock at selling price instead of purchase price. Tables 5 and 6 require the original purchase value from invoices, not the market value on cancellation date.

2. Forgetting capital goods ITC reversal formula. The rule under Rule 44(1)(b) of CGST Rules is: ITC to reverse = (ITC availed × remaining useful life in months) ÷ 60. Many filers enter the full ITC amount, which overstates the liability.

3. Filing before settling the tax liability. The portal will not let you file GSTR-10 if there is an outstanding tax payable from Table 5/6. Pay the challan first, wait 15–20 minutes for it to reflect, then attempt to file.

4. Trying to access the return on the wrong GSTIN. If a business had multiple GSTINs (state-wise registrations), each GSTIN needs a separate GSTR-10.

5. Missing the amnesty window end date. The waiver is time-bound. Filing even one day after the notified last date means the full late fee (₹200/day) applies. Set a calendar reminder.

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After Filing: What to Keep for Records

Once your ARN is generated, download and preserve:

• GSTR-10 filed return (PDF from the portal)
• Payment challans for tax and late fee
• Cancellation order (REG-19 or REG-20 as applicable)
• Stock valuation working sheet (your own calculation for Tables 5/6)

If you are a B.Com student or CA Inter candidate doing articleship, this documentation set is also excellent practical training in client file management. Knowing how to prepare the ITC reversal working for closing stock is a tested concept in CA Inter – GST Paper and is also examined in university-level taxation papers.

For a broader look at how the 2026 amnesty scheme covers multiple pending returns (GSTR-3B, GSTR-1, GSTR-10 together), the post on GST Amnesty Scheme 2026 – Notification & Eligibility on this blog covers the full picture.

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Quick Recap: GSTR-10 Waiver Filing Checklist

• Confirm cancellation order date from REG-19/REG-20
• Check current amnesty notification on cbic-gst.gov.in
• Verify revocation application is not pending
• Prepare closing stock list with purchase invoices
• Calculate ITC reversal for capital goods (Rule 44 formula)
• Create and pay tax challan (if any ITC reversal payable)
• Pay capped late fee of ₹1,000 via challan
• File GSTR-10 with DSC/EVC before amnesty window closes
• Download and archive ARN + payment receipts

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I file GSTR-10 after the amnesty window closes? Yes, but the full ₹200/day late fee applies from the original due date. There is no guarantee another waiver will be announced, so file during the open window.

What if I had zero stock on the cancellation date? Still file. Tables 5 and 6 will be nil. The only amount payable may be the late fee (capped at ₹1,000 under amnesty). A nil GSTR-10 closes your compliance record cleanly.

Does filing GSTR-10 affect my ability to register under GST again later? No. Filing GSTR-10 simply closes the old registration. You can apply for fresh registration under Section 22 or Section 25 of the CGST Act whenever you resume business.

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