Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF): QRMP taxpayers get a 13th-of-month window in months one and two

For Wednesday, 5 August 2026, the item that should sit at the top of a small-business owner's screen is not a headline index level but a quiet portal deadline. The Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) window for July 2026 outward supplies stays open only until 23:59 on 13 August 2026, and once that clock runs out no new entries can be saved or submitted for the month. Everything else on tomorrow's watch list, from the 7 August 2026 tax-deposit cut-off to the SEBI 45-day results deadline, flows from the same first-fortnight compliance crunch that defines every August.

This edition maps the fixed statutory dates that fall in the next ten days, the policy backdrop that frames them, and the corporate-results calendar that the Securities and Exchange Board of India timeline pins to mid-month. Every figure below is drawn from a government rule book or the official portal; where a date depends on a meeting whose outcome we cannot yet verify, we say so rather than guess.

Statutory Deadlines

The Invoice Furnishing Facility is the reason IFF sits first. Under Rule 59(2) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, a taxpayer who has opted for the Quarterly Return, Monthly Payment (QRMP) scheme may upload the business-to-business invoices of the first two months of a quarter using IFF, due by the 13th of the succeeding month. July 2026 is month one of the July-to-September quarter, so July B2B invoices are due through IFF by 13 August 2026, and August invoices by 13 September 2026. The facility is optional, but skipping it has a real cost: your buyer cannot claim input tax credit on those supplies until the quarterly GSTR-1 lands in October 2026, a gap of up to three months in their working-capital cycle. The government's own FAQ at tutorial.gst.gov.in confirms that after the 13th the upload button is disabled for that month.

IFF does not stand alone. The first fortnight of August 2026 stacks four separate filing families on top of each other, and a QRMP taxpayer who forgets the earlier ones will not be spared because IFF is optional. The table below sets out the fixed dates for July 2026 obligations.

Two mechanical points deserve emphasis. First, the 7 August 2026 deposit of tax deducted at source is a hard cash date under Rule 30, and interest at 1.5% per month runs from the date of deduction, not from the due date, the moment you slip. A firm that deducted Rs 2 lakh of TDS on 3 July 2026 and pays on 8 August rather than 7 August still owes interest computed from July. Model the exposure with the TDS calculator before you assume a one-day delay is harmless. Second, the 15 August 2026 provident-fund and ESI deadline collides with Independence Day; when the statutory date is a gazetted holiday, the payment rolls to the next working day, which is 17 August 2026.

For the promoters who file GSTR-1 monthly rather than under QRMP, the 11 August 2026 cut-off is the one that feeds every downstream buyer's credit. Businesses that want to double-check the tax cost of their July supplies before submitting can run the numbers through the GST calculator; those still weighing whether the QRMP quarterly rhythm suits their turnover profile should note that QRMP is available only to registrants with aggregate turnover up to Rs 5 crore in the preceding financial year.

Market Events

The macro backdrop for tomorrow is defined less by a single scheduled release than by two standing settings that shape household and corporate cash. The Reserve Bank of India repo rate was last set at 5.25% at the Monetary Policy Committee review concluded on 8 April 2026, the second consecutive pause after a cumulative 125 basis points of cuts through 2025 took the rate down from 6.50%. Governor Sanjay Malhotra cited West Asia geopolitical risk and Brent crude above USD 100 per barrel as reasons for the April hold, with the Standing Deposit Facility at 5.00% and the Marginal Standing Facility at 5.50%. Readers should confirm the outcome of any subsequent MPC review at rbi.org.in before repricing a floating-rate loan, since External Benchmark Lending Rate resets follow policy changes within roughly three months.

The second standing setting is the small-savings rate sheet. The Finance Ministry left every small-savings rate unchanged for the July-to-September 2026 quarter, the ninth consecutive quarter with no revision, and the next quarterly notification is due at the end of September 2026 for the October-to-December window. The table below is the current rate card that a saver comparing a fresh deposit against an equity plan should keep in view.

With the guaranteed rate on a Public Provident Fund holding at 7.1% and equity long-term capital gains taxed at 12.5% above the Rs 1.25 lakh annual exemption since the 23 July 2024 Budget, the after-tax gap between a fixed deposit and a systematic equity plan is narrower than the headline numbers suggest. An investor deciding how to deploy the surplus freed up by a disciplined GST calendar can stress-test a monthly contribution using the SIP calculator. Anyone still unsure how the Employees' Provident Fund rate of 8.25% declared for FY 2025-26 compounds over a career should note that the provident-fund deadline on 15 August 2026 is the same instrument feeding that long-term corpus.

Earnings

We do not publish an unverified earnings calendar, so this section names no company and no specific board-meeting date. What we can state with certainty is the statutory window that clusters results in the first two weeks of August. Under Regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2015, a listed entity must submit its quarterly financial results within 45 days of the end of each quarter. The first quarter of FY 2026-27 ended on 30 June 2026, which fixes the outer deadline at 14 August 2026. That single rule, verifiable at sebi.gov.in, is why the days around tomorrow carry the densest results flow of the quarter.

For an investor, the practical read-through is that the 45-day rule turns the 5 to 14 August 2026 corridor into the moment when Q1 revenue, margin and guidance data become public. Three metrics repay attention in a results season framed by a 5.25% repo rate and cooling inflation: year-on-year revenue growth, operating margin against the same quarter of FY 2025-26, and any management commentary on interest cost, which matters most for balance-sheet-heavy sectors whose borrowing reprices off the External Benchmark Lending Rate. A holder who wants to translate a results-driven price move into a long-run return can model the compounding effect over five or ten years with the lumpsum calculator.

One caution frames the whole section. The 14 August 2026 deadline is the last date, not the announcement date, and a company may report on any day inside the window. Treat any circulating list of exact result dates as provisional until the company files its own intimation with the exchanges under Regulation 29 of the same SEBI framework, which requires at least two working days' advance notice of a board meeting to consider results.

FAQ

What is the IFF due date for July 2026 invoices?

The Invoice Furnishing Facility for July 2026 business-to-business outward supplies is due by 13 August 2026, per Rule 59(2) of the CGST Rules and the official gst.gov.in FAQ. After that date the portal disables fresh uploads for July, and those invoices then wait for the quarterly GSTR-1 due in October 2026.

Who can use the Invoice Furnishing Facility?

IFF is available only to taxpayers who have opted into the Quarterly Return, Monthly Payment (QRMP) scheme, which itself is open to registrants with aggregate turnover up to Rs 5 crore in the preceding financial year. It covers the first two months of a quarter, so July and August 2026 invoices, while the third month is reported through the quarterly GSTR-1.

Is filing IFF mandatory?

No. IFF is optional under the QRMP scheme. Skipping it carries no late fee, but it delays your buyer's input-tax-credit claim until the quarterly return, which can stretch a customer's working-capital cycle by up to three months and strain the commercial relationship.

What is the TDS deposit deadline for July 2026?

Tax deducted at source during July 2026 must be deposited by 7 August 2026 under Rule 30 of the Income-tax Rules 1962. Interest at 1.5% per month accrues from the date of deduction, not the due date, so even a one-day delay attracts a full month's interest on the deducted amount.

When are Q1 FY 2026-27 company results due?

Regulation 33 of the SEBI (LODR) Regulations 2015 requires listed companies to file quarterly results within 45 days of the quarter's end. With the first quarter of FY 2026-27 closing on 30 June 2026, the outer limit is 14 August 2026, which concentrates the bulk of results in the first fortnight of the month.

What is the current repo rate?

The RBI repo rate was last set at 5.25% at the Monetary Policy Committee meeting concluded on 8 April 2026, a second consecutive pause. Because a later MPC review may have changed it, confirm the prevailing rate at rbi.org.in before you reprice a floating-rate home or business loan.

Have small-savings rates changed for this quarter?

No. The Finance Ministry left all small-savings rates unchanged for the July-to-September 2026 quarter, the ninth straight quarter without a revision. The Public Provident Fund stays at 7.1% and the Senior Citizens Savings Scheme at 8.2%, with the next notification due at the end of September 2026.