The Quarterly Return Monthly Payment scheme, QRMP for short, lets smaller businesses file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B four times a year in place of twelve. Tax is still paid every month. For a shop or a small manufacturer that keeps books monthly, the scheme cuts filing work by two-thirds without changing how much tax is paid.
01Who can opt
You can choose QRMP if your aggregate turnover in the previous financial year was up to ₹5 crore. Aggregate turnover is counted on your PAN across all states, so a business with two GSTINs adds both together.
If your turnover crosses ₹5 crore during a year, you move to monthly filing from the next quarter.
You also need to have filed the last GSTR-3B that was due when you opt in. The option is chosen per GSTIN, so a business with GSTINs in Gujarat and Maharashtra can file quarterly in one state and monthly in the other.
02How a quarter runs
| Month | What you do |
|---|---|
| Month 1 (July) | Pay tax for July by 25 August through PMT-06. Optionally upload B2B invoices in IFF between 1 and 13 August. |
| Month 2 (August) | Pay tax for August by 25 September through PMT-06. Optionally use IFF between 1 and 13 September. |
| Month 3 (September) | File quarterly GSTR-1 by 13 October and quarterly GSTR-3B by 22 or 24 October, paying the balance for the quarter. |
The 22nd or 24th depends on your state. Gujarat, Maharashtra and the southern states file by the 22nd, and most northern and north-eastern states by the 24th, as of October 2026.
03Two ways to pay for months 1 and 2
Fixed sum method
The portal prepares a challan for you. If you filed quarterly last quarter, it is 35% of the tax you paid in cash in that quarter's GSTR-3B. If you filed monthly, it is the full cash tax of the last month of that quarter.
Example: a Surat fabric trader paid ₹60,000 in cash in the GSTR-3B for April to June. The challan for July and for August is ₹21,000 each, split by head in the same ratio as the original payment.
Self-assessment method
You work out the actual tax for the month, after credit, and pay that. This suits businesses whose sales swing from month to month, such as a Rajkot agricultural pump maker whose orders peak before the monsoon.
You can use either method in a month, and switch between them in the quarter.
No challan is needed for a month in which you have no tax to pay after credit, or where the cash and credit ledgers already cover the tax.
04IFF: the invoice furnishing facility
IFF is the optional part of the scheme. A quarterly filer's B2B invoices normally reach buyers' GSTR-2B only after the quarterly GSTR-1. Large buyers who claim credit monthly do not like waiting three months.
With IFF, you upload B2B invoices for month 1 or month 2 by the 13th of the following month. The total value you can upload through IFF is limited to ₹50 lakh a month. Invoices uploaded in IFF are not repeated in the quarterly GSTR-1.
B2C sales to consumers stay out of IFF and are reported in the quarterly GSTR-1.
An IFF for a month cannot be filed after its due date. Invoices that missed it go in the quarterly GSTR-1.
05A worked quarter
A Rajkot engineering unit files quarterly and uses the self-assessment method.
| Month | Tax after credit | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| July | ₹42,000 | ₹42,000 by PMT-06 on 24 August |
| August | ₹18,000 | ₹18,000 by PMT-06 on 23 September |
| September | ₹45,000 | Paid with the quarterly GSTR-3B |
| Quarter | ₹1,05,000 | ₹1,05,000 |
When it files GSTR-3B for July to September, the ₹60,000 already deposited is set off against the quarter's tax, and only the balance of ₹45,000 is paid. Had the unit paid less than the real tax for July, interest would run on the shortfall from 26 August.
06When QRMP is a good fit
- A retailer whose buyers are mostly consumers, with few B2B invoices.
- A small manufacturer whose dealers are happy to receive credit quarterly, or who files IFF for the dealers who ask.
- A service firm with a handful of large clients, using IFF for those clients.
07When monthly filing may suit you better
- Most of your buyers are large companies that check credit every month before paying.
- You want your books closed and returns filed every month as discipline.
- Your turnover is close to ₹5 crore and likely to cross it.
08Opting in or out
You choose the frequency on the GST portal under Services, Returns, Opt-in for quarterly return. The window for a quarter runs from the 1st of the second month of the previous quarter to the last day of the first month of the quarter.
| To file this quarter quarterly or monthly | Choose between |
|---|---|
| April to June | 1 February and 30 April |
| July to September | 1 May and 31 July |
| October to December | 1 August and 31 October |
| January to March | 1 November and 31 January |
Your choice continues for later quarters until you change it.
09Interest and late fee
Paying the 35% challan on time means no interest for that month, even if the real tax was higher. Under self-assessment, interest at 18% a year applies to any tax for the month paid after the 25th. Late fees apply to the quarterly returns, not to the monthly challans.
This guide is general information as of October 2026 and does not amount to tax advice.
MatruOS keeps the month's GST summary up to date, so the PMT-06 figure under self-assessment is ready by the 25th.