Guides · GST
GSTR-3B: an overview
GSTR-3B is the summary GST return through which a business declares its tax for a period and pays it. Where GSTR-1 lists the sales invoice by invoice, GSTR-3B is the summary settlement return.
What GSTR-3B does
GSTR-3B summarises a period's outward supplies, input tax credit claimed, and the net tax payable, and it is the return through which the tax is actually paid. It is a summary, not an invoice-level statement.
It is filed periodically, with the frequency and dates depending on turnover and scheme, so those are worth confirming for your own registration.
Why it has to agree with GSTR-1
GSTR-3B and GSTR-1 look at the same business from two angles — a summary of tax against an invoice-level list of sales. When they disagree, it signals that something was missed or double-counted, and reconciling them is part of clean GST compliance.
The credit claimed in GSTR-3B also has to line up with what the purchase-side statements support, which is where matching purchases against supplier reporting comes in.
How Lekha supports the numbers
Lekha keeps the sales and purchase sides in one two-sided ledger with the tax fields on each, so the figures that feed a summary return come from a single, consistent record.
Lekha records and tracks; it does not file GSTR-3B or compute your final liability — that stays with you and your accountant.
Questions
- What is GSTR-3B?
- The summary GST return where a business declares its outward supplies, input tax credit, and net tax payable for a period, and pays the tax.
- How is GSTR-3B different from GSTR-1?
- GSTR-1 is an invoice-level statement of sales; GSTR-3B is a summary return through which the tax is declared and paid. The two need to agree.
- Why reconcile GSTR-3B with GSTR-1?
- Because they view the same business two ways. A gap between them signals a missed or double-counted figure that needs fixing.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm the current rules and your own circumstances for any specific case.