The Essential Guide
Introduction
Monitoring your GST filing status is crucial for staying compliant, avoiding penalties, managing cash flow, and ensuring seamless operations. Whether you’re checking your own returns or tracking those of suppliers, understanding how to navigate the GST portal effectively can save valuable time and effort. This guide offers a comprehensive walkthrough of the process—login, navigation, status definitions, download steps, and more.
Why Checking Your GST Filing Status Matters
- Prevents Penalties and Interest: Life gets busy, but late filings lead to automatic penalties and interest. Checking status helps you catch missed returns early.
- Ensures Smooth Input Tax Credit (ITC): If a supplier hasn’t filed returns, your ITC claims may be rejected, affecting your working capital.
- Maintains Compliance Trail: Tracking your filings with official status updates provides proof and helps during audits or inquiries.
Helps Track Vendor Compliance: Knowing whether vendors have submitted their returns ensures your business stays protected against GST mismatches.
Step-by-Step Guide to Checking GST Filing Status
1. Log In to GST Portal
- Visit the official GST portal and enter your credentials (GSTIN, username, password).
- Navigate to the Services section, then to Returns, and select Track Return Status.
2. Choose One of Three Search Methods
a. By Return Filing Period
- Select the relevant financial year, month or quarter from the dropdown and click Search.
- The portal will display status details for that specific period and return type.
b. By ARN (Application Reference Number)
- Enter the ARN received post-filing (via email/SMS).
- This returns the filing status tied to that specific return submission.
c. By Status Type
- Choose from available status options such as “To be Filed”, “Submitted but Not Filed”, “Filed–Valid”, or “Filed–Invalid”.
Click Search to filter returns matching the selected status
Understanding Return Status Labels
Here’s what the different statuses indicate:
- To Be Filed: Return is due but not yet submitted.
- Submitted but Not Filed: Draft submitted, but final submission is pending.
- Filed-Valid: Return has been successfully submitted and validated.
Filed-Invalid: Filing is incomplete, incorrect, or tax liability is unpaid/underpaid.
How to View or Download Filed Returns
viewing e-Filed Returns
- Within the Returns section, select View e-Filed Return.
- Choose the financial year, filing period, and return type (e.g., monthly or quarterly).
- Search to view the return details.
Downloading Returns
- After locating your return via filing period or ARN, the portal offers an option to download (usually PDF).
- Ensure accuracy of the period and return type to retrieve the correct document
Checking Vendor Filing Status
To verify whether your supplier has filed returns:
- Use the Search Taxpayer option and enter the supplier’s GSTIN or PAN.
- View the filing table by selecting the financial year. It shows monthly or quarterly filing status.
This helps safeguard your business’s input tax credit claims and reduces audit risks when suppliers remain non-compliant.
Third-Party & Bulk Tracking Tools
Some software platforms offer bulk tracking of GST return statuses across multiple GSTINs. These tools fetch data programmatically, saving time for businesses or tax professionals managing multiple clients or locations.
Important Compliance Update
Effective July 2025, businesses cannot file or revise returns more than three years after the original due date. This new time bar means any returns older than that window will be permanently barred, regardless of delay or mistake.
Conclusion
Checking and downloading your GST filing status is straightforward once you understand portal navigation, available methods, and status meanings. Regular monitoring—especially amid new compliance rules—helps avoid late penalties, ensures smooth credit claims, and maintains governance. For businesses managing multiple GSTINs, consider using bulk tracking tools for real-time oversight
Yes, if you have the ARN, you can check status using the Track Return Status tool on the portal’s home page.
ARN-based lookup provides accurate status tied to the specific submission. Filing period or status dropdown can show broader trends. Combine them for clarity.
They can search GSTIN via Search Taxpayer on the portal, view the filing table, and check the vendor’s return filing status.
This indicates tax is not paid or there’s a validation failure. It’s important to correct and resubmit immediately to avoid penalties.
Yes, some enterprise-level software offers bulk GST status tracking for multiple GST registrations.
Returns outside the three-year window cannot be filed or revised—late or missing filings must be addressed swiftly to stay compliant.
