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Rule 61A of the CGST Rules, 2017

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GST›CGST Rules, 2017›Chapter VIII, Returns

At a glance

Entitlement and conditions

Rule 61A(1), provisosThe latest return due at exercise of the option must have been furnished. The choice continues for future periods until ineligibility or an electronic switch to monthly filing.

Bars, duties and time limits

Rule 61A(2)Aggregate turnover exceeding five crore rupees in the current financial year requires the person to opt electronically for monthly returns from the first month of the succeeding quarter.

Procedure, powers and definitions

Rule 61A(1)The portal option opens on the first day of the preceding quarter’s second month and closes on the last day of the selected quarter’s first month, subject to notified conditions and restrictions.

A registered person choosing quarterly returns must indicate the preference within rule 61A’s window and meet the notified conditions. The latest due return must already be furnished. Once chosen, quarterly filing continues until the person becomes ineligible or opts for monthly filing. If current-year aggregate turnover exceeds five crore rupees, monthly filing must begin from the first month of the next quarter.^[1]

Quick facts

Rule 61A, CGST Rules, 2017

Manner of opting for furnishing quarterly return

Provision
Act	Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017
Chapter	VIII, Returns
Rule title	Manner of opting for furnishing quarterly return
Amendments
Last amendment	10 November 2020: Inserted vide Notification No. 82/2020-CT dated 10.11.2020.
Amendments	1 footnote in the CBIC text (table)
Related provisions
Other rules	Rule 61
Sections	Section 39 of the CGST Act, 2017
Structure 61A(1)Quarterly preference and option window 61A(1) first provisoContinuation for future periods 61A(1) second provisoLast return due at option date 61A(2)Monthly switch after current-year turnover crossing 61A(1)Separately identified notified restriction
Source
Law text	CBIC tax information portal, served on 17 September 2026^[1]

Text

The text below is the rule as served by the CBIC tax information portal on 17 September 2026, with the portal's own amendment footnote markers (shown as small numerals before a bracket) and its footnotes.^[1] The Rules as published in the Gazette of India is the legal source.

Rule 61A, verbatim (show)

¹[Rule 61A. Manner of opting for furnishing quarterly return .-

(1) Every registered person intending to furnish return on a quarterly basis under proviso to sub-section (1) of section 39, shall in accordance with the conditions and restrictions notified in this regard, indicate his preference for furnishing of return on a quarterly basis, electronically, on the common portal, from the 1st day of the second month of the preceding quarter till the last day of the first month of the quarter for which the option is being exercised:

Provided that where such option has been exercised once, the said registered person shall continue to furnish the return on a quarterly basis for future tax periods, unless the said registered person,-

(a) becomes ineligible for furnishing the return on a quarterly basis as per the conditions and restrictions notified in this regard; or (b) opts for furnishing of return on a monthly basis, electronically, on the common portal:

Provided further that a registered person shall not be eligible to opt for furnishing quarterly return in case the last return due on the date of exercising such option has not been furnished.

(2) A registered person, whose aggregate turnover exceeds 5 crore rupees during the current financial year, shall opt for furnishing of return on a monthly basis ,electronically, on the common portal, from the first month of the quarter, succeeding the quarter during which his aggregate turnover exceeds 5 crore rupees.]

1. Inserted vide Notification No. 82/2020-CT dated 10.11.2020.

Questions to answer on the file

Questions a reviewer answers from the engagement file, grouped by the part of the rule they come from. They describe what the rule asks; they do not decide it.

Quarterly preference and option window 61A(1)

Questions to answer on the file7 questions

Is this person registered?
Was a quarterly preference indicated?
Was the preference indicated electronically?
Was the preference on the common portal?
On what date was the quarterly option exercised?
What is the first day of the second month of the preceding quarter?
What is the last day of the first month of the target quarter?

Ticks stay in this browser only.

Continuation for future periods 61A(1) first proviso

Questions to answer on the file5 questions

Was a quarterly option previously exercised?
Has the person become ineligible under the applicable notification?
Was a monthly preference exercised?
Was that monthly option exercised on the common portal?
Was that monthly preference exercised electronically?

Ticks stay in this browser only.

Last return due at option date 61A(1) second proviso

Questions to answer on the file2 questions

Has the complete filing calendar the last return due on the option date?
Had that last-due return been furnished when the option was exercised?

Ticks stay in this browser only.

Monthly switch after current-year turnover crossing 61A(2)

Questions to answer on the file6 questions

What is the current financial year aggregate turnover?
Was monthly return preference indicated?
Was the monthly preference electronic?
Was that preference on the common portal?
What is the first month of the quarter succeeding the crossing quarter?
What is the effective first month of monthly furnishing shown by the option?

Ticks stay in this browser only.

Separately identified notified restriction 61A(1)

Questions to answer on the file2 questions

Is the relied-on notified condition in retained authoritative text?
Does the taxpayer satisfy this individually notified condition?

Ticks stay in this browser only.

Amendment history

The CBIC text carries 1 footnote. The table gives each in the source's own terms. Effective dates are as the footnotes state them.^[1]

Amendments to Rule 61A as footnoted in the CBIC text
Note	Change
1	Inserted vide Notification No. 82/2020-CT dated 10.11.2020.^[2]

Provisions connected to Rule 61A
Provision	Connection	Words that tie them
Section 39 of the CGST Act, 2017	this provision requires Section 39 of the CGST Act, 2017	61A(1) "under proviso to sub-section (1) of section 39"

Circulars and notifications

Circulars and notifications in the CBIC repository that cite this rule, newest first, by number, date and subject. A listing here does not say what an instrument decides; read the instrument.

Circulars (1)

Number	Date	Subject
Circular No. 143/13/2020-GST	10 November 2020	Provisions relating to Quarterly Return Monthly Payment Scheme

Notifications (1)

Number	Date	Subject
Notification No. 84/2020-Central Tax	10 November 2020	Seeks to notify class of persons under proviso to section 39(1).

Unsettled questions

The words of Rule 61A do not answer this question. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.

No silent question is replaced by a firm-policy fact; external legal prescriptions remain dependencies.

See also

Section 39 of the CGST Act, 2017: furnishing of returns
Rule 61 of the CGST Rules, 2017: form and manner of furnishing of return

References

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Rule 61A. Manner of opting for furnishing quarterly return". Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, CBIC tax information portal, with amendment footnotes 1 to 1. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
Notification No. 82/2020-Central Tax, dated 10 November 2020: Seeks to make the Thirteenth amendment (2020) to the CGST Rules, 2017. Cited in CBIC footnote 1.

External links

CGST Rules, 2017, Rule 61A on the CBIC tax information portal