QRMP Payments: The 35% Challan or the Self-Assessment Route

QRMP Payments explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.

QRMP splits the obligation: quarterly returns, monthly payments. The return part is simple. The payment part offers a choice, and the default option misbehaves in a predictable way.

A QRMP taxpayer files GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B quarterly but pays in the first two months of each quarter through FORM GST PMT-06, by the 25th of the following month. Two methods: the Fixed Sum Method — 35% of the tax paid in cash in the preceding quarter where the previous return was quarterly, or 100% of the tax paid in cash in the last month where it was monthly; or the Self-Assessment Method — the actual liability, computed on inward and outward supplies with credit taken into account.

Who can use QRMP

A registered person whose aggregate turnover in the preceding financial year did not exceed ₹5 crore, and who has furnished the return for the preceding month.

The option is exercised on the portal, is available quarterly, and once exercised continues until changed.

Rule 61(1)(ii) provides for the quarterly return; Rule 61A governs the exercise of the option.

The Fixed Sum Method

The amount is system-generated as a pre-filled challan:

• where the preceding quarter's return was quarterly — 35% of the tax paid in cash in that quarter;
• where the preceding return was monthly — 100% of the tax paid in cash in the last month of that quarter.

Two attractions: no computation, and no interest where the prescribed amount is paid by the due date, even if the actual liability was higher.

And one trap.

The trap. The 35% is of the cash paid in the preceding quarter — not of the liability, and not of turnover. So:

• a quarter in which credit covered most of the liability produces a small cash figure, and 35% of it is smaller still;
• a quarter with a large one-off cash payment produces an inflated figure for the following quarter's monthly instalments.

The second case is the one that hurts. A business that paid a large arrear or a demand in cash in one quarter finds the next quarter's two PMT-06 challans set at 35% of that inflated base — money locked in the cash ledger for no reason.

The answer is to switch to self-assessment for that quarter, which the taxpayer may do freely.

The Self-Assessment Method

The actual tax liability for the month, after taking into account input tax credit available.

More work, and two advantages:

Accuracy. No over- or under-payment.

GSTR-2B is available. The auto-generated statement for the month is available on the 14th, so the credit position is known before the 25th payment date.

The disadvantage: interest applies to a shortfall. Where the self-assessed amount falls short of the actual liability for the month, interest runs under s.50 from the due date. Under the Fixed Sum Method, paying the prescribed amount on time is safe even if the actual liability was higher, with the balance settled in the quarterly GSTR-3B.

The Invoice Furnishing Facility

For the first two months of the quarter, a QRMP taxpayer may use the IFF to upload B2B invoice details, so the recipient's credit is not deferred to the end of the quarter.

Features:

• optional;
• available from the 1st to the 13th of the following month;
• B2B invoices, credit notes and debit notes only;
• an overall value limit applies to the IFF for a month;
• invoices uploaded through the IFF are not repeated in the quarterly GSTR-1.

Without the IFF, a QRMP supplier's B2B customers wait until the quarterly GSTR-1 for their credit — which is a real commercial disadvantage and the main reason to use it. Sequential filing and Rule 59(6) →

The quarterly settlement

At the end of the quarter, GSTR-3B is filed with the actual liability for the whole quarter. The two PMT-06 payments are credited against it, and the balance paid or the excess carried in the cash ledger.

Interest on any shortfall runs from the respective due dates, computed under Rule 88B. Section 50: interest on the cash portion →

Late fee applies to the quarterly return, not to the monthly challans — a missed PMT-06 attracts interest but not late fee.

Key takeaways

• QRMP: quarterly GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B, monthly payment through PMT-06 by the 25th.
• Available where preceding year's aggregate turnover did not exceed ₹5 crore.
• Fixed Sum Method: 35% of the preceding quarter's cash payment, or 100% of the last month's where the preceding return was monthly.
• Self-Assessment Method: actual liability, with interest on a shortfall.
• The Fixed Sum figure is based on cash paid, so a one-off large payment inflates the next quarter.
• The IFF is optional but keeps B2B customers' credit current.

Read next

• QRMP Scheme: Quarterly Return, Monthly Payment
• Invoice Furnishing Facility Under QRMP
• Section 50: Interest on the Cash Portion Only
• How to Opt In or Out of the QRMP Scheme

Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on the CGST Rules as amended to 31 March 2026 (ICAI Bare Law, 12th edition) and the ICAI Handbook on Returns and Payments under GST.