How to Pay GST Online: PMT-06 Challan, DRC-03 and Due Dates

1. Deposit: create a challan in Form GST PMT-06 and pay it. The money lands in your electronic cash ledger.
2. Offset: when you file GSTR-3B, the liability is paid first from input tax credit and then from the cash ledger.

The same process covers every Goods and Services Tax payment: the tax itself, interest, late fees and penalties. Paying the challan alone doesn't settle your tax. Until GSTR-3B is filed and the offset done, the money just sits in the ledger and your return still shows as unpaid. The return step is covered in GSTR-3B filing and common errors.

1. Log in to the GST portal and go to Services → Payments → Create Challan. You can also create one before logging in, using your GSTIN.
2. The fastest route: open your GSTR-3B, click to create a challan, and the portal fills in the cash amount needed.
3. Otherwise, enter amounts by head (IGST, CGST, SGST/UTGST, Cess) and by type (tax, interest, penalty, fee, others).
4. Choose the payment mode and generate the challan. It gets a CPIN (Common Portal Identification Number), valid for 15 days.
5. Pay. On success you get a CIN, and the cash ledger is credited.

• Monthly filers: pay with GSTR-3B by the 20th of the next month.
• QRMP (quarterly) filers: for the first two months of the quarter, pay by the 25th of the next month with PMT-06, using the fixed-sum method (a share of last quarter's cash tax) or the self-assessment method. The third month is paid with the quarterly GSTR-3B.
• Composition dealers: pay through CMP-08 by the 18th of the month after the quarter. See the CMP-08 guide.

Late payment draws interest at 18% a year on the net tax paid in cash, from the due date to the date of payment. Example: ₹1,00,000 paid 10 days late costs about ₹493 (₹1,00,000 × 18% × 10 ÷ 365). Late filing also attracts a late fee. The interest is paid through the same challan under the "interest" column.

A common mistake: paying a demand with a plain DRC-03 and not linking it with DRC-03A. The demand then keeps showing as outstanding, and recovery action can follow even though you've paid.

• Check the electronic cash ledger before creating a challan. You may already have a balance.
• Pay IGST, CGST and SGST in the right heads. Cash can't be offset across heads until it's moved with PMT-09.
• Don't let a CPIN expire after making a NEFT/RTGS transfer. Use the mandate form exactly as generated.
• If your bank account was debited but no CIN was generated, wait 24 hours, then raise a grievance on the portal with the bank reference.

New to GST? See documents for GST registration and the GST returns guide. TaxQue's GST return filing service prepares the challan, files GSTR-3B and handles any DRC-03 payments for you.