How does the portal report errors?
There are two places an error shows.
- On upload. A file made with the offline tool, or sent by software, is checked row by row. The upload status reads Processed or Processed with Error. With errors, a link to generate the error report appears; the report takes about 15 minutes and lists only the rows that failed, each with its reason. The rest of the upload is saved.
- On Generate Summary. The portal checks the return as a whole: Tables 12 and 13 against the rest. Some problems are errors that stop the summary; others are warnings you can accept.
Uploading again overwrites what the portal holds, so a corrected file replaces the old one. That is possible only until the return is filed.
Errors on the buyer's GSTIN
| Message or check | What it means | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| "Enter valid GSTIN/UIN" | The GSTIN is wrong or not in the 15-character format | Correct it from the buyer's GST certificate |
| Recipient GSTIN not active on the invoice date | The buyer's registration was cancelled or not yet granted that day | Search the GSTIN on the portal. If it was not active, the sale is to an unregistered buyer: report it as B2C |
| "Receiver GSTIN needs to be different from Supplier GSTIN." | Your own GSTIN is in the buyer's field | Put the buyer's GSTIN, or report the sale as B2C |
GSTIN is the Goods and Services Tax Identification Number. B2B means a sale to a GST-registered buyer, B2C a sale to anyone else. B2CL is the table for large consumer invoices, B2CS the rate-wise summary of the other consumer sales.
Errors on invoice numbers and dates
- "Can not add/amend same invoice number". An invoice number can be added once in a financial year. The portal rejects a number already reported, including one reported in an earlier month. If the invoice really was reported, leave it out; if it needs changing, amend it instead.
- Invoice number too long. Rule 46 of the CGST Rules allows at most 16 characters, made of letters, numbers, hyphens and slashes. A longer number is refused. Issued numbers cannot be changed, so the series has to be right from the first invoice.
- Invoice date before your registration date, or after the end of the tax period. An October return takes documents dated up to 31 October.
- "Revised date cannot be later than the last day of the tax period". When you amend an invoice, its revised date cannot fall after the end of the invoice's own tax period: a June invoice cannot be given a date after 30 June.
- "Original Invoice cannot be tracked". A credit note or amendment points to an invoice the portal does not have. Upload the original invoice first.
Errors on B2CL, Table 12 and Table 13
| Check | What happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| B2CL invoice of ₹1,00,000 or less | Error. Since the August 2024 period, B2CL (Table 5) takes only inter-state invoices above ₹1,00,000 to unregistered buyers | Move it to B2CS (Table 7), the rate-wise summary |
| Table 12 B2B tab empty, though B2B tables have data | Error. The summary cannot be generated | Fill the HSN (Harmonised System of Nomenclature) summary's B2B tab |
| Table 12 totals differ from the B2B or B2C tables | Warning. You may accept it and go on | Find the invoice or credit note missing from one side |
| Table 13 empty while sales are reported | Error. The summary cannot be generated | Report the document number ranges issued |
| Summary generated again within 10 minutes | Error message at the top of the page | Wait 10 minutes |
Errors on the file and the return
- "File could not be uploaded". The JSON file (the data file the portal reads) does not match the portal's format, often because of an old version of the offline tool or a required field left blank, such as the unit (UQC, unit quantity code) in the HSN summary. Make the file again with the latest offline tool. The portal's known-issues list also suggests checking the file against the GSTR-1 schema published on developer.gst.gov.in.
- "You are not allowed to access Return". You chose quarterly filing (QRMP, quarterly return, monthly payment) and are trying to file a month. File the quarter.
- GSTR-1 cannot be filed. Rule 59(6) of the CGST Rules bars GSTR-1 while the previous period's GSTR-3B is unfiled. File that GSTR-3B first.
- "Document details pertaining to previous financial year cannot be added/amended now." The time to correct a past year has run out: 30 November after the year ends, or the annual return, if earlier (section 37(3) of the CGST Act).
After the return is filed
A filed GSTR-1 cannot be revised. A mistake found later is corrected once through GSTR-1A before that period's GSTR-3B, or in the amendment tables of a later GSTR-1.
How to see fewer errors
Most of these are caught before the file is made: a GSTIN checked when the buyer enters it, invoice numbers that cannot repeat, HSN codes on every product, Table 13 built from the same numbering. AppSaaz checks HSN codes and builds the GSTR-1 file from the invoices it issued, so the summary tables and the invoices come from one source. Errors from the portal still need reading, row by row.