GSTR-1 monthly: 11th-of-next-month due date and the QRMP IFF option

Friday 22 May 2026 sits 20 days ahead of the first hard GST compliance deadline of the new cycle: the GSTR-1 outward-supplies return for the May 2026 tax period, due 11 June 2026 for monthly filers. Tomorrow is not a filing day - GST Network deadlines fall on the 11th, 13th and 20th of each month - but it is a reconciliation day. May invoices, credit notes, debit notes and the amendments raised after the April cycle still have a 20-day window to be cleaned up before the auto-populated GSTR-2B is locked for recipients on 14 June 2026.

This watchlist breaks tomorrow into three buckets. First, the statutory calendar - GSTR-1 monthly versus QRMP quarterly, the Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) window for businesses with turnover up to Rs 5 crore, and the supporting forms (GSTR-1A, GSTR-3B) that sequence behind them. Second, the market-events posture for traders coming off Thursday's F&O expiry. Third, what is left to print in the Q4 FY26 earnings cycle. We cite only the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 provisions, the SEBI listing regulations, and the rate-setting authorities referenced in our published rate config - no invented schedules.

Statutory Deadlines

The single largest event on the 22 May 2026 horizon is the GSTR-1 monthly filing window for the May 2026 tax period. Section 37 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 mandates every registered taxable person to file the outward-supplies return on or before the 11th of the month following the tax period. Monthly filing is compulsory for any registration whose aggregate annual turnover in the preceding financial year exceeded Rs 5 crore. For turnovers up to Rs 5 crore, the Quarterly Return Monthly Payment (QRMP) scheme is the default unless monthly filing has been specifically opted into.

Under QRMP, the full GSTR-1 for the April-June 2026 quarter is due 13 July 2026, but suppliers retain an Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) window for the first two months of the quarter. For May 2026 - the M2 month under the current quarter - the IFF deadline is 13 June 2026. Filing IFF for May pushes B2B invoices into the recipient's GSTR-2B so the recipient can claim input tax credit (ITC) without waiting for the quarterly return in July. IFF for M1 (April 2026) closed on 13 May 2026; the May invoice batch is therefore the only remaining IFF lever in the quarter.

Late fees under Section 47 of the CGST Act apply at Rs 50 per day of delay for returns with tax payable and Rs 20 per day for NIL returns, capped by a state-turnover slab. The return cannot be revised once filed; corrections flow either through the next period's GSTR-1 or, since the 2024 re-introduction, through Form GSTR-1A in the same return month. GSTR-1A is filed after GSTR-1 but before GSTR-3B for the same period, giving the supplier a single in-month opportunity to fix invoice values flagged by the recipient.

For deeper context on the sequencing requirement and the most common GSTR-1 mismatches in this exact cycle, our earlier note on the May 2026 GSTR-1 filing maps the recipient-side ITC chain in detail. The CGST Act provisions cited here are available in full text on the Government of India's e-Gazette portal - see the India Code repository for the consolidated bare act.

Market Events

With F&O contracts having expired on Thursday 21 May 2026, Friday's session opens the new monthly series. NSE's half-yearly lot-size review framework, which determines whether a stock's lot size moves up or down for the new series, is documented in our F&O lot size revision protocol explainer - traders inheriting fresh positions tomorrow should cross-check whether the underlying carries a revised lot for the May-June series before placing orders.

On the monetary-policy front, the next RBI Monetary Policy Committee review is scheduled for 3-5 June 2026, with the rate decision and statement due on 5 June. The April 2026 MPC unanimously held the policy repo rate at 5.25%, with a neutral stance - the second consecutive pause after February 2026, following the cumulative 125 basis points of cuts delivered through 2025 that brought the rate down from 6.50%. Tomorrow's session therefore sits inside the inter-meeting blackout window: no scheduled MPC commentary, and EBLR-linked floating loans continue to reset off the 5.25% benchmark. For the authoritative record, see the RBI's Monetary Policy press releases.

For systematic investors, an inter-meeting stretch with no rate trigger is exactly the kind of window where mechanical SIP discipline beats discretionary timing. Run a scenario through the SIP calculator to see how a Rs 25,000 monthly contribution at 12% CAGR compounds across the next four MPC cycles to March 2027. The step-up SIP calculator lets you layer in an annual escalation - relevant if your appraisal cycle closes in May, as is conventional for many Indian firms.

Equity benchmarks aside, the small-and-medium-REIT corner remains a forward watch item. SEBI's SM REIT framework, which our SM REIT explainer breaks down, sets a Rs 50 crore minimum asset value with a Rs 10 lakh retail ticket - a different beast from the large REITs, and one still building secondary-market depth. New SM REIT listing announcements have clustered around month-end, and Friday's session sits inside that window.

Earnings

The Q4 FY26 earnings season formally runs through 30 May 2026 under Regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, which requires listed entities to file audited annual results within 60 days of financial-year end. Friday 22 May 2026 therefore falls inside the eight-trading-day tail of the season, when the smaller mid-caps and small-caps that fell late in the calendar concentrate their filings.

The angle briefing does not confirm specific company earnings for tomorrow, so we will not invent a roster. Instead, here is the framework to scan tomorrow's results filings on the BSE and NSE corporate-announcements pages:

For lumpsum allocations into individual names reporting tomorrow, the lumpsum investment calculator helps frame the discount-cash-flow value of holding versus exiting on the announcement. The Income-tax Department's taxpayer portal clarifies the 10% TDS that listed companies must deduct under Section 194 on dividend payouts above Rs 5,000 in a financial year - relevant if a Q4-reporting name in your watchlist also declares a final dividend on Friday.

FAQ

What is the GSTR-1 due date for May 2026?

Monthly filers - those with aggregate turnover above Rs 5 crore in FY 2025-26 - must file GSTR-1 for the May 2026 tax period on or before 11 June 2026, as mandated by Section 37 of the CGST Act, 2017. QRMP suppliers file the full quarterly GSTR-1 for April-June 2026 by 13 July 2026, with an optional IFF window of 13 June 2026 for May B2B invoices.

Can a QRMP supplier skip the IFF and file only the quarterly return?

Yes. IFF is optional. A QRMP supplier may choose not to file IFF for either M1 or M2 - but every B2B invoice not pushed via IFF will only appear in the recipient's GSTR-2B in July 2026, after the quarterly GSTR-1 is filed. This delays the recipient's ITC claim by up to two months, which can strain the recipient relationship in supply-chain heavy sectors.

What is the late fee for missing the 11 June 2026 GSTR-1 deadline?

Rs 50 per day under Section 47 of the CGST Act for returns with tax payable, or Rs 20 per day for NIL returns. The fee is capped by a state-turnover slab. There is no interest on GSTR-1 itself, but any downstream GSTR-3B delay attracts 18% per annum interest on the unpaid tax under Section 50 of the CGST Act.

Is GSTR-1 revisable after filing?

No. Once filed, GSTR-1 cannot be revised. Corrections flow either through the next return period or through Form GSTR-1A in the same period, which the 2024 amendment re-introduced. GSTR-1A is filed after GSTR-1 but before GSTR-3B for the same tax period, giving a single in-month correction window for invoice values flagged by the recipient.

Does the 11 June deadline apply to taxpayers under the composition scheme?

No. Composition taxpayers file Form GSTR-4 annually, not GSTR-1. The 11th-of-next-month deadline applies only to regular GST taxpayers filing outward-supplies returns. Composition dealers do submit quarterly payment Form CMP-08 by the 18th of the month following the quarter end.

How does GSTR-1 affect the recipient's input tax credit?

GSTR-1 invoices auto-populate the recipient's GSTR-2B, which is the static input statement generated on the 14th of the following month. Under Section 16(2)(aa) of the CGST Act, ITC can only be claimed on invoices appearing in GSTR-2B. Any invoice the supplier omits or misclassifies in GSTR-1 will block the recipient's ITC for that month until corrected.

Are there any market-event triggers scheduled for 22 May 2026 that traders must price in?

The angle briefing does not confirm any scheduled central-bank, regulatory or macro-data event for the date. The next confirmed event of size is the RBI MPC review on 3-5 June 2026, where the policy repo rate of 5.25% is up for decision. Until then, equity-derivative traders sit in the inter-expiry window of the May-June series.