GST compliance in 2025-26: what changed for small and mid-sized businesses

GST compliance in 2025-26 leans more than ever on data that is already on the portal. Four changes matter most for small and mid-sized businesses: the 30-day e-invoice reporting limit now applies from ₹10 crore turnover, the Invoice Management System (IMS) shapes what reaches your GSTR-2B, e-way bills come with stricter checks, and GSTR-1A gives you a window to fix a month’s sales before GSTR-3B. This post explains each one as of November 2026, and ends with a checklist for owners and accountants.

1. The 30-day e-invoice rule now covers ₹10 crore businesses

From 1 April 2025, a business with annual aggregate turnover (AATO) of ₹10 crore or more cannot report an invoice, credit note or debit note to the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) more than 30 days after its date. Earlier, from 1 November 2023, the limit applied only from ₹100 crore.

The document date counts as day 1. Example: a packaging maker in Ahmedabad with ₹18 crore turnover issues a credit note dated 25 October 2026. The last day to report it is 23 November 2026. From 24 November the IRP refuses it, and there is no late option.

What this means in practice:

• Generate the IRN when you bill, not at month-end.
• Fix rejected invoices (wrong GSTIN, HSN code or PIN code) the same day.
• Watch a daily list of invoices without an IRN, with the days left for each.

Businesses between ₹5 crore and ₹10 crore must still e-invoice, but have no time limit, as of November 2026. More examples are in the 30-day e-invoice rule.

2. IMS now shapes your GSTR-2B

The Invoice Management System went live in October 2024 and became part of the monthly routine in 2025-26. Each invoice or note your supplier reports appears in your IMS, where you can:

• accept it, so it counts in GSTR-2B;
• reject it, so it stays out;
• keep it pending, so it waits until you decide.

Records you do not touch are deemed accepted when GSTR-2B is generated on the 14th. If you change actions after that, you can recompute GSTR-2B before filing GSTR-3B.

The effect is simple. Your GSTR-2B, and so your input tax credit (ITC), now reflects your decisions as well as your suppliers’ filings. A fake invoice raised on your GSTIN, if left alone, becomes credit you may later have to reverse. A credit note you reject changes your supplier’s tax as well, and the handling of credit notes in IMS has been adjusted since launch, so check the latest advisory before rejecting or holding one.

Read IMS explained and GSTR-2B and input tax credit.

3. E-way bills: the same basics, stricter checks

The core rules have not changed. An e-way bill is needed when goods worth more than ₹50,000 move, and each state sets its own limit for movement within the state. Validity is one day per 200 km for normal cargo. You can extend a bill from 8 hours before to 8 hours after expiry, cancel within 24 hours, and the recipient can reject within 72 hours.

Around these basics, the portal has added checks. Its advisories limit new e-way bills to invoices and challans up to 180 days old, and cap extensions at 360 days from when a bill was first generated. Missing GSTR-3B for two consecutive tax periods can also block e-way bill generation for your GSTIN. Check the latest advisories on the e-way bill portal, and your state’s notification, before relying on any limit.

For dispatch teams, the habits that matter are simple: get the vehicle number right, update Part B when the vehicle changes, and set an alert before expiry. Read e-way bill rules and limits.

4. GSTR-1A: a window to fix the month before GSTR-3B

GSTR-1A lets you add sales you missed, or correct ones you reported, in GSTR-1 for the same period. You file it after GSTR-1 and before GSTR-3B, and the changes flow into that period’s GSTR-3B. It is optional.

It matters more as GSTR-3B becomes less editable. GSTN has announced that the liability auto-filled into GSTR-3B from GSTR-1 will be locked, with corrections made through GSTR-1A. Check the latest advisory for the current position. Either way, the habit is the same: compare GSTR-1 with your books before you file it, and use GSTR-1A, not GSTR-3B, to fix the month. See GSTR-1 explained and GSTR-3B explained.

Also worth knowing

• ITC deadline for 2025-26: claim credit on 2025-26 purchases by 30 November 2026, or by the date you file the 2025-26 annual return, if earlier.
• Old returns: the law now bars filing returns more than three years after their due date. If any are pending, talk to your tax professional and check the latest advisory.
• Late filing costs: a late fee of ₹50 a day (₹20 for a nil return), capped, plus 18% interest on tax paid late.

What to do now: a checklist

1. Confirm your AATO across all GSTINs under your PAN, and whether the 30-day rule applies to you.
2. Make IRN generation part of billing, and check invoices without an IRN every day.
3. Clean your masters: party GSTINs, states and PIN codes, and HSN codes on stock items (6 digits above ₹5 crore turnover).
4. Review IMS every week, and decide pending records before the 14th.
5. Match purchases with GSTR-2B every month, and chase suppliers who have not filed.
6. Claim any remaining 2025-26 ITC by 30 November 2026.
7. Use GSTR-1A for corrections in the same period, before filing GSTR-3B.
8. Check your state’s limit for e-way bills within the state, and train dispatch staff on Part B, extensions and the 72-hour rejection window.
9. File GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B on time; two missed GSTR-3B returns can stop your e-way bills.
10. Plan the annual return: GSTR-9 above ₹2 crore turnover, and the GSTR-9C reconciliation above ₹5 crore.

How Auditer helps

Auditer brings these tasks together, working from your TallyPrime books. When the 30-day rule applies, it tracks e-invoices with days left and alerts at 10, 5, 2 and 0 days; it handles e-way bills for every movement type, with state limits and expiry alerts. It matches GSTR-2B with your purchase vouchers, lets you act on IMS, and prepares GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B from the books for comparison with the portal, while the Owner decides under Settings whether Auditer only prepares, saves drafts or files. It does not prepare GSTR-1A, GSTR-9 or GSTR-9C. See GST compliance.

This article is general information, not tax advice. GST rules change; check the GST portal or your tax professional before acting.