A business under the Quarterly Return Monthly Payment (QRMP) scheme files GSTR-1 once a quarter. Its B2B customers, most of whom file monthly, would otherwise wait up to three months to see its invoices in their GSTR-2B. The Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) closes that gap: it lets the supplier upload selected B2B invoices for the first two months of the quarter, so that credit reaches the customer on a monthly cycle. This guide explains who can use IFF, the ₹50 lakh monthly cap, the 13th-of-the-month window, how IFF sits with quarterly GSTR-1, and how the monthly tax payment works alongside it, with three worked examples.
Who is in QRMP and who can use IFF
The GST Portal FAQ on the QRMP scheme states that taxpayers whose aggregate annual turnover (PAN based) is up to ₹5 crore in the current and preceding financial year can opt in, provided they have filed their latest GSTR-3B. Under QRMP, both GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B are filed quarterly, but tax is paid every month. The opt-in windows are:
| Quarter | Window to opt in or out |
|---|---|
| April to June | 1 February to 30 April |
| July to September | 1 May to 31 July |
| October to December | 1 August to 31 October |
| January to March | 1 November to 31 January |
The GST Portal FAQ on IFF describes it as a facility for quarterly taxpayers in the QRMP scheme to file details of outward supplies in the first two months of the quarter. Only QRMP taxpayers can use it; a monthly GSTR-1 filer has no need for it.
The rules in CBIC Circular 143/13/2020-GST
CBIC Circular No. 143/13/2020-GST dated 10 November 2020 sets out how IFF works. Four points decide how a business uses it.
1. It is optional
The circular reiterates that the facility is not mandatory and is only an optional facility for registered persons under the QRMP scheme. A QRMP taxpayer that files nothing in IFF simply reports the whole quarter in GSTR-1.
2. The window runs from the 1st to the 13th
Details for a month are furnished between the 1st and the 13th day of the succeeding month. The IFF FAQ adds that if IFF is not submitted or filed by the due date, it expires, and the taxpayer cannot pass on credit to recipients for that month through IFF. The invoices are then reported in the quarterly GSTR-1 instead.
3. The ₹50 lakh monthly cap
The details of outward supplies furnished in IFF shall not exceed a value of fifty lakh rupees in each month. The IFF FAQ confirms that if the cumulative value of records reported in IFF is more than the limit, the system will not allow filing.
4. No repetition in GSTR-1
Invoices furnished in IFF in the first two months are not required to be furnished again in GSTR-1. The quarterly GSTR-1 carries only what was not already filed through IFF.
What can go into IFF
IFF is limited to supplies to registered persons. The IFF FAQ lists the tables available:
- Tables 4A, 4B, 4C, 6B and 6C: B2B invoices, including supplies under reverse charge and supplies to SEZ units and deemed exports;
- Table 9B: credit and debit notes issued to registered persons;
- Tables 9A and 9C: amendments of earlier B2B invoices and of credit or debit notes.
B2C invoices and other supplies to unregistered persons are not reported in IFF. They go in the quarterly GSTR-1.
How IFF reaches the customer
The IFF FAQ states that invoices saved, submitted or filed in IFF flow to the recipient's GSTR-2A and, on filing, reflect in the recipient's GSTR-2B. According to the GST Portal FAQ on GSTR-2B, a monthly filer's GSTR-2B is generated on the 14th of the succeeding month. An April IFF filed by 13 May therefore lands in the customer's April GSTR-2B, generated on 14 May. Without IFF, the same invoice would reach the customer only after the quarterly GSTR-1 is filed.
Monthly tax payment under QRMP
IFF deals with invoice reporting; payment is a separate obligation. Under the circular, a QRMP taxpayer pays the tax due for each of the first two months of the quarter in FORM GST PMT-06 by the 25th of the following month, using one of two methods:
- Fixed sum method: a pre-filled challan for 35% of the tax paid in cash in the preceding quarter, where the taxpayer filed quarterly in that quarter. The GST Portal QRMP and IFF FAQ confirms that a monthly filer in the preceding quarter is instead given the tax paid in cash in the last month.
- Self-assessment method: actual tax due, worked out from the tax liability on inward and outward supplies and the input tax credit available.
No deposit is needed for the month if the balance in the electronic cash or credit ledger is enough for that month's tax due, or if there is nil tax liability.
Worked examples
Example 1: April invoices above the cap
A QRMP distributor raises B2B invoices of ₹62 lakh in April. Its two largest customers, who account for ₹48 lakh, want monthly credit. The distributor files the ₹48 lakh in April IFF between 1 and 13 May, staying under the ₹50 lakh cap. The remaining ₹14 lakh of April B2B invoices go into the April to June GSTR-1, alongside June's supplies and all B2C details. None of the ₹48 lakh is repeated in GSTR-1.
Example 2: a missed window
A consultant prepares May IFF but does not file it by 13 June. The facility for May expires. The May invoices are reported in the quarterly GSTR-1, and the customers see that credit only after the quarterly return is filed, not in their May GSTR-2B.
Example 3: monthly payment by the fixed sum method
A trader paid ₹3,00,000 in cash through GSTR-3B for January to March and chooses the fixed sum method for April to June. The pre-filled PMT-06 challan for April is ₹1,05,000 (35% of ₹3,00,000), payable by 25 May. May's challan is also ₹1,05,000, payable by 25 June, a total of ₹2,10,000 before the quarterly GSTR-3B. If the cash and credit ledgers already hold enough to cover April's tax due, no April deposit is needed.
A quarter at a glance (April to June)
| Month | Invoice reporting | Tax payment |
|---|---|---|
| April (M1) | Optional April IFF, 1 to 13 May, up to ₹50 lakh | PMT-06 by 25 May |
| May (M2) | Optional May IFF, 1 to 13 June, up to ₹50 lakh | PMT-06 by 25 June |
| June (M3) | No IFF; quarterly GSTR-1 covers June and anything not filed in IFF | Quarterly GSTR-3B for the balance |
Deciding whether IFF is worth it
- Confirm QRMP status for the quarter; IFF is not open to monthly filers.
- Look at the customer base. A business selling mainly to consumers gains little. One selling to GST-registered companies that reconcile monthly often gains a lot.
- Rank invoices if B2B value exceeds ₹50 lakh in a month, filing first those for customers who press for credit.
- Diary the 13th for months 1 and 2.
- Tag filed documents in the accounting system as filed in IFF.
- Reconcile before the quarterly GSTR-1 so that every B2B document appears exactly once across IFF and GSTR-1.
Common mistakes
- Treating IFF as compulsory for every QRMP taxpayer.
- Trying to file IFF for the third month of the quarter.
- Uploading more than ₹50 lakh in a month and finding the portal will not accept the filing.
- Reporting B2C invoices in IFF.
- Repeating IFF invoices in the quarterly GSTR-1.
- Assuming that filing IFF also discharges the monthly payment; PMT-06 is a separate step.
Updated on 27 September 2026: retitled the page and expanded it with the ₹50 lakh monthly cap, the eligible GSTR-1 tables, the QRMP eligibility and opt-in windows, the PMT-06 payment methods, the GSTR-2B timing and three worked examples, all linked to CBIC Circular 143/13/2020-GST and GST Portal FAQs.
