For practising CAs

Compliance calendar: GST, TDS, ROC & income tax due dates.

The recurring due dates a practice tracks every month, every quarter and every year — GSTR-1/3B, TDS challans and returns, ROC filings, and income tax — in one table. Dates shift with notifications and extensions; always verify on the relevant portal before you file.

Reviewed July 2026
6 min read
CA Anil Agarwal & the TatvaBooks team

What a compliance calendar is

A compliance calendar is a standing list of statutory due dates — GST returns, TDS payments and returns, ROC filings, and income tax obligations — set against each client or entity so filings happen on time, every cycle. For a solo practitioner with two or three clients, a diary works. Past that, the failure mode is predictable: dates differ by scheme (regular monthly filer vs QRMP), by entity type (company vs proprietorship vs LLP), and by turnover slab, and something falls through.

The calendar below covers the recurring, general due dates a practice deals with most often. It is a framework, not a filing tool — exact dates move with government notifications, extensions and state-wise staggering, so treat every date here as "verify before you file," not gospel.

Monthly due dates

These repeat every single month for a regular (non-QRMP) taxpayer.

Law	Compliance	General due date
GST	GSTR-1 / IFF (outward supplies)	11th of the following month (monthly filers); IFF for QRMP is optional, 13th
GST	GSTR-3B (summary return + tax payment)	20th of the following month (staggered 20th/22nd/24th by state for some taxpayers)
GST	QRMP — PMT-06 tax payment (for non-return months)	25th of the following month
TDS	TDS/TCS challan payment (Challan No. 281)	7th of the following month (30th April for March)
TDS	TDS certificate — Form 16A (quarterly, issued after return)	Within 15 days of quarterly TDS return due date

GSTR-3B due dates are staggered by state for certain taxpayer categories under the notified scheme (each state/UT is assigned to one of two due-date groups) — check which group a client falls in, and confirm the exact date, on the GST portal.

Quarterly due dates

Law	Compliance	General due date
GST	GSTR-1 (QRMP scheme quarterly filers)	13th of the month after the quarter
TDS	TDS return — Form 24Q/26Q/27Q	31st of the month after the quarter (Q4: 31st May)
Income Tax	Advance tax instalments (15%/45%/75%/100% cumulative)	15 Jun, 15 Sep, 15 Dec, 15 Mar

Annual due dates

These are seasonal but predictable — most cluster around the September-December window once the financial year closes on 31st March.

Law	Compliance	General due date
ROC	Form ADT-1 (auditor appointment/reappointment)	Within 15 days of AGM
ROC	Form AOC-4 (financial statements)	Within 30 days of AGM (roughly late October, for a 30 Sept AGM)
ROC	Form MGT-7 / MGT-7A (annual return)	Within 60 days of AGM (roughly late November)
ROC	DIR-3 KYC (director KYC)	30th September every year
Income Tax	ITR — non-audit taxpayers	31st July
Income Tax	Tax audit report (Form 3CA/3CB-3CD)	30th September
Income Tax	ITR — audit / transfer pricing cases	31st October (30th Nov with TP report)
GST	GSTR-9 (annual return) & GSTR-9C (reconciliation)	31st December

ROC dates for AOC-4 and MGT-7 are expressed relative to the AGM, not a fixed calendar date — a company that holds its AGM on 30th September has different absolute deadlines from one that holds it earlier (companies must generally hold the AGM within six months of financial year-end, subject to the ROC's power to extend).

Verify exact dates before you file

Every date on this page is the general rule as commonly understood — not a live feed. GST due dates have moved with notifications more than once; ITR and tax-audit deadlines get government extensions in most years, sometimes at short notice; GSTR-9/9C deadlines have been extended repeatedly in past years. Before you advise a client or file a return, cross-check the exact date on the GST portal (gst.gov.in), the income-tax e-filing portal, or the MCA portal (mca.gov.in). Build this page into your workflow as the framework, not the final source.

Practical notes for a practising CA

Track by scheme, not just by law. A client on QRMP has a different GSTR-1/3B rhythm than one filing monthly — mixing them up in a shared calendar is the most common source of missed dates in a multi-client firm.
Separate the "due date" from the "safe date." Build in an internal buffer (2-3 working days before the statutory date) so a portal outage or a client's delayed document doesn't turn into an actual miss.
AGM-anchored ROC dates need a per-client base date. AOC-4 and MGT-7 aren't fixed calendar dates — they run off each company's AGM date, so a generic "October/November" reminder isn't precise enough once you're past a handful of clients.
Advance tax instalments are easy to under-track for new clients. A client who came to you mid-year may have missed an earlier instalment — check the full-year position, not just the next due date.
Extensions are the norm around GSTR-9C and ITR season — but you can't plan a season around an extension that hasn't been notified yet. Track the statutory date and adjust only once an extension is actually issued.

How TatvaBooks helps a firm stay on top of this

The Practice plan (₹1,999/month) includes a per-client filing-deadline tracker with email reminders — every client's GST, TDS and ROC dates in one dashboard, instead of a shared spreadsheet that only one person remembers to update. It's built for firms managing multiple client books, alongside firm/client/staff permissions and a document vault. See the full Practice plan on pricing, or book a CA walkthrough to see the tracker against your own client list.

Frequently asked questions

What is a compliance calendar and why does a CA firm need one?

A compliance calendar is a running list of every recurring statutory due date — GST returns, TDS challans and returns, ROC filings, income tax deadlines — mapped against each client so nothing is missed. For a practising CA handling multiple GSTINs and companies, a manual calendar (spreadsheet or diary) breaks down past 10-15 clients because dates differ by scheme (regular vs QRMP), entity type, and turnover. A tracked calendar with reminders is what keeps a multi-client practice out of late-fee and notice territory.

Do GST and TDS due dates ever change from what's listed here?

Yes, regularly. GSTR-3B due dates are staggered by state for certain taxpayer categories, GSTR-1 has seen date changes with notifications, and government extensions around GSTR-9/9C and ITR deadlines are common in most years. Treat this page as the standing framework, not the final word for a specific filing period — always cross-check the exact date on the GST portal, the income-tax e-filing portal, or the MCA portal before you file or advise a client.

What is the QRMP scheme and how does it change the monthly calendar?

QRMP (Quarterly Return Monthly Payment) lets small taxpayers (aggregate turnover up to ₹5 crore in the preceding year, as currently notified — confirm the threshold on the GST portal) file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B quarterly instead of monthly, while still paying tax monthly through a self-assessed challan (PMT-06) or a fixed-sum method. If a client is on QRMP, their monthly obligation is just the tax payment — the return itself follows the quarterly due dates in the table above.

What happens if a GST return or TDS return is filed late?

Late GSTR-3B/GSTR-1 attracts late fee per day (subject to caps that vary by return type and turnover slab) plus interest on any tax paid late. A late TDS return attracts a fee under section 234E for every day of delay, and a late TDS deposit attracts interest under section 201. Beyond the monetary cost, repeated late filings affect a client's GST return-filing status and can trigger scrutiny — which is the real reason a firm invests in a deadline system rather than relying on memory.

How does advance tax interact with the rest of the calendar?

Advance tax is assessed on estimated annual tax liability and paid in four cumulative instalments (15% by 15 June, 45% by 15 September, 75% by 15 December, 100% by 15 March) for most taxpayers; a slightly different single-instalment schedule applies to taxpayers opting for the presumptive scheme under section 44AD/44ADA. It runs independently of GST and TDS deadlines but needs the same tracking discipline — shortfalls attract interest under sections 234B and 234C.

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