Chartered Accountants Demand GSTR-3B Deadline Extension Amid GST Portal Malfunctions

A large number of chartered accountants have voiced their concerns about the GST portal being down and they're asking for an extension of the GSTR-3B deadline which is set for April 20, 2026 for the March 2026 tax period.

For those who might not know, Form GSTR-3B is a simplified summary return. Its main goal is for taxpayers to report their summary GST liabilities for a specific tax period and discharge these liabilities. Regular taxpayers need to file Form GSTR-3B returns for each tax period.

Due date to file GSTR-3B: For monthly filers, the due date for filing Form GSTR-3B is the 20th day of the month following the month (tax period) for which the return pertains. For quarterly filers, the due date for filing of Form GSTR-3B, as notified for different States/UTs, is 22nd and 24th day of the month following the quarter for which the return pertains. However, the due date for filing Form GSTR-3B can be extended by the Government through notification.

Gujarat based Chartered Accountant Deep Koradia said to ET Wealth Online: "For March 2026 month GSTR-3B filing, many tax payers and tax professionals were experiencing slow response from the GST portal since couple of days."

Koradia says that today (April 20, 2026), it's extremely slow as either one can't logged in, if incase succeeded, portal will throw him out as soon as one clicks return filing tab.

According to Koradia, it is pertinent to note that even if payment is made from bank, it's not reflecting or reflecting very late on gst portal. If a tax payer couldn't file GSTR-3B on 20th, he can be charged late fees and interest (as the GST portal is not working, one can't even make the payment smoothly).

Koradia says: "Further, if GST return due date is missed, some of the state government suspends the number and sends cancellation notice within couple of days from the due date (say Gujarat SGST), so it's very harsh consequences."

Chartered Accountant Abhas Halakhandi says that the GST Portal has not been working properly for the last several days. From the due date of quarterly GSTR-1 till today's due date of March GSTR-3B, taxpayers have been facing one technical issue after another, including template loading failures, repeated login problems, OTP issues, and several other glitches.

Halakhandi says: "The situation is worse today. With such strict compliance deadlines, a properly functioning portal is the minimum that taxpayers and professionals can expect. The due date for March GSTR-3B should therefore be extended to save taxpayers from the undue burden of interest and late fee"

When this reporter tried to open the GSTN portal using his laptop, he faced issued accessing the portal and the following message came on the screen: "There seems to be an inadvertent problem while communicating with GST System. This may be on account of one of the following: Server is unable to fetch data from backend application. The data from your internet browser (may be Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari etc.) is corrupted during transmission to GST System. The network connectivity between your computer system and GST Server is interrupted, which may be on account of poor connectivity. Please check your internet connectivity. You may retry reloading the web page now and perform the activity again. In case the problem persists, you may raise your concern/complaint at Grievance Redressal Portal at https://selfservice.gstsystem.in or contact our helpdesk at 1800-103-4786. Inconvenience caused is deeply regretted and your patience is appreciated."

Here's what professionals are saying about GST portal issues and deadline extension:

The Gujarat State Tax Bar Association said on X: "#GST Portal is not working properly since many days. Major Time Portal Crash. Unable to Login. Unable to save GSTR-3B, payment & proceed-to-file. Authorities requested to kindly extend the due date of March-26 GSTR-3B at earliest."

Chartered Accountant Abhas Halakhandi said on X: GST Portal again failing on crucial due dates!! With strict GST timelines, a working portal is the bare minimum.Faulty systems on last dates waste thousands of man-hours, burden taxpayers with undue interest. Due date should be extended immediately @Infosys_GSTN @cbic_india

Advocate V. K. Jain said on X: "Facing major issues on the (GST Portal) since morning Login not working Captcha not loading Frequent auto logout Unable to save GSTR-3B Payment/filing works only after multiple attempts Kindly resolve this urgently"

CA Rishika Gupta said on X: "GST website doesn't seem to be working @Infosys_GSTN please help"