GSTR-8: Meaning, TCS Rate, Due Date, and Filing Process

What Is GSTR-8?

GSTR-8 is a monthly statement filed by e-commerce operators that are required to collect Tax Collected at Source .

It reports taxable supplies made by other suppliers through the platform, supplies returned during the month, TCS collected, and eligible corrections relating to earlier periods. It also captures specified supplies made by eligible unregistered suppliers , even though TCS is not collected on those transactions.

Although commonly referred to as a GST return, the law describes GSTR-8 as a statement detailing supplies and TCS collected.

Who Must File the Monthly TCS Statement?

An e-commerce operator must file the statement when:

1. It owns, operates, or manages a digital or electronic platform.
2. Other suppliers make taxable supplies through that platform.
3. Consideration for those supplies is to be collected by the operator.
4. The operator is liable to collect TCS under Section 52.
5. Its GST registration was active during the relevant tax period.

The filing obligation depends on the transaction and payment model. A business does not become liable to collect TCS merely because it operates a website, application, or online catalogue.

Supplies That Require Special Treatment

Own-Account Sales

TCS does not apply when a business sells its own goods or services through its own website and issues the invoice in its own name. Section 52 applies to supplies made through an operator by other suppliers. GST may still be payable on the sale, but the business does not collect TCS from itself.

Transactions Where the Operator Does Not Collect Consideration

Section 52 applies where the consideration for the supply is to be collected by the operator.

A platform that only lists products, generates leads, or connects buyers and sellers may fall outside the TCS requirement when payment is settled directly between the buyer and the supplier. The agreement, payment flow, and settlement records must be examined before determining whether the operator is liable to collect TCS.

Services Covered by Section 9(5)

Certain notified services supplied through an e-commerce operator are covered by Section 9 (5) of the CGST Act. For these services, the operator pays GST as if it were the supplier. Such notified services are excluded from the net value used for Section 52 TCS.

The exclusion is transaction-specific. An operator may pay GST under Section 9(5) on one category of services while remaining liable to collect TCS on other eligible supplies made through the same platform.

Eligible Unregistered Suppliers

Eligible persons supplying goods through e-commerce operators may be exempt from compulsory GST registration if they meet the notified conditions.

Notification No. 34/2023-Central Tax provides the exemption from mandatory registration for eligible persons supplying goods through an e-commerce operator.

Notification No. 37/2023-Central Tax prescribes the procedure that the operator must follow for supplies made by such unregistered persons. The related rule changes were introduced through Notification No. 38/2023-Central Tax . Under the special procedure:

• The supplier must obtain an enrolment number.
• The supplier can make only eligible intra-state supplies of goods.
• The operator must not collect TCS on these supplies.
• The operator must report the supplies in the monthly statement.

These supplies are reported in Table 3.1, while corrections to earlier records are reported in Table 4.1.

The rate was reduced from 1% to 0.5% with effect from 10 July 2024. For central tax, the change was made through Notification No. 15/2024-Central Tax , which reduced the CGST component from 0.5% to 0.25%. Corresponding changes were made to the integrated tax and union territory tax components.

How to Calculate the Net Value of Taxable Supplies

Section 52 defines the net value as:

Net value of taxable supplies = Taxable supplies made through the operator during the month - taxable supplies returned during that month

Note: Services notified under Section 9(5) are excluded from this calculation. For portal reporting, the operator should reconcile the amounts separately for each supplier and place of supply.

Worked Example

Assume the following intra-state transactions for Supplier A during June:

The operator reports a net taxable value of ₹90,000 and deposits total TCS of ₹450.

Is TCS Calculated on the GST-Inclusive Invoice Amount?

No. TCS is calculated on the taxable value of the supply , not on the invoice total after GST is added. Section 15 excludes CGST, SGST, UTGST, and GST compensation cess from the value of taxable supply. The operator should therefore separate GST and other non-taxable adjustments before applying the TCS rate.

Due Date and Nil Filing Rules

The TCS collected during the month must also be paid to the government within ten days after the end of that month.

The government may extend the deadline through a notification. Operators should therefore check the GST portal before filing where an extension has been announced for a particular tax period, state, or class of taxpayers.

Is Nil Filing Mandatory?

Filing is generally not required for a tax period when:

• There is no TCS liability
• No amendment is being filed
• There is no other reportable data

However, the operator must file when supplies made by eligible unregistered suppliers are required to be reported in Table 3.1, even though no TCS is collected from those suppliers.

The GST portal also clarifies that if only supplier-rejected records are available in Table 4 and there is no current TCS liability, the operator does not have to file for that month. The rejected records may be addressed in a later period in which the operator has a TCS liability.

Pre-Filing Reconciliation and Control Checklist

From the April 2025 tax period, place of supply must be selected for registered-supplier records. The change is linked to Notification No. 09/2025-Central Tax dated 11 February 2025.

The same supplier GSTIN can have records for more than one place of supply. However, the same GSTIN and place-of-supply combination cannot be entered more than once in the same month.

Tables in the Current Form

The portal dashboard also allows the operator to compute liability, create a challan, preview the statement, file it, and download the filed copy.

Online Filing Process

Step 1: Open the Returns Dashboard

Log in to the GST portal and follow:

Services > Returns > Returns Dashboard

Select the financial year and monthly tax period.

Step 2: Open GSTR-8

Locate the GSTR-8 tile and select Prepare Online.

Step 3: Report Supplies Involving Registered Suppliers

Open Table 3 and enter:

• Supplier GSTIN
• Place of supply
• Gross value of supplies
• Value of supplies returned
• TCS under the applicable tax heads

The supplier name is auto-populated from the GSTIN. The portal calculates the net value liable to TCS using the supply and return values entered.

Step 4: Report Eligible Unregistered Suppliers

Where applicable, open Table 3.1 and enter the supplier’s enrolment number , gross value of supplies, and value of supplies returned. The supplier name and net value are auto-populated. TCS is not collected on supplies reported under this special procedure.

Step 5: Add Eligible Amendments

Use Table 4 or Table 4.1 to correct eligible records from earlier periods. Before making a correction, confirm that the supplier has not already accepted the original TCS record. Once accepted, the record cannot be amended by the operator.

Step 6: Compute the Liability

Select Compute Liability. The portal calculates the TCS payable and any applicable interest based on current-period records and amendments.

Step 7: Review the Draft Statement

Preview or download the draft statement and verify the supplier details, places of supply, taxable values, returns, net values, applicable tax heads, amendment differences, and interest liability. Correct any mismatch before proceeding to payment.

Step 8: Pay and Offset the Liability

The liability must be discharged through the electronic cash ledger . If the available balance is insufficient, create a challan and deposit the required amount. Once the balance is updated, offset the TCS and interest liability.

Step 9: File the Statement

Select the authorised signatory and file using a Digital Signature Certificate, where applicable, or an Electronic Verification Code. After successful filing, an ARN is generated. Download and retain the filed statement, ARN, and supporting reconciliation records.

Offline Filing for Bulk Records

Operators handling a large number of supplier records may use the official offline utility. The broad process is:

1. Download the current utility from the GST portal.
2. Prepare supplier and amendment data in the required format.
3. Validate the records in the utility.
4. Generate the upload file.
5. Upload it to the relevant tax period.
6. Review processed records and records showing errors.
7. Correct and upload rejected records again, where required.
8. Compute liability and complete payment online.
9. File using DSC or EVC.

The offline utility helps prepare and upload bulk records, but liability calculation, payment, and final filing must still be completed on the GST portal.

How Suppliers Receive TCS Credit

TCS reported by the operator does not become input tax credit and is not claimed through GSTR-3B. The supplier must:

1. Log in to the GST portal.
2. Go to Services > Returns > TDS and TCS Credit Received .
3. Open the relevant tax period.
4. Review the auto-populated TCS records.
5. Accept or reject each record.
6. Review or generate the required summary.
7. File the TDS and TCS Credit Received statement.

The portal requires the supplier to take action on all available records before filing. Once the supplier files the statement containing the accepted records, the TCS amount is credited to the supplier’s electronic cash ledger for further use. A rejected record flows back to the operator for review and possible correction.

Corrections and Amendment Deadline

A filed statement cannot be revised or replaced. Eligible errors must be corrected through Table 4 or Table 4.1 of a later statement. Corrections may cover the supplier GSTIN, place of supply, gross supply value, value of returns, TCS amount, or a record rejected by the supplier.

Restrictions on Amendments

The operator cannot amend a record after the supplier has accepted it through the TDS and TCS Credit Received statement.

A record may generally be corrected if the supplier has not taken any action, has rejected the record, or if the portal allows another amendment based on its current status.

For each correction, the operator should retain the original value, the corrected value , the TCS difference, the reason for the change, the supplier response, and the period during which the amendment was filed. This creates a clear audit trail and makes future reconciliation easier.

Amendment Deadline

Section 52 permits rectification up to the earlier of 30 November following the end of the relevant financial year or the actual date on which the relevant annual statement is furnished.

The portal allows corrections relating to the previous financial year through the October tax period, provided the statement is filed by 30 November, and the applicable annual-statement deadline has not already passed.

For example, an eligible error relating to FY 2025-26 may be corrected through the October 2026 statement, subject to filing by 30 November 2026 and the annual-statement restriction.

Late Fee, Interest, and Penalties

Late Fee

Late fee applies to the monthly TCS statement from the October 2022 tax period onwards.

The actual late fee appearing on the GST portal should be verified before payment.

Interest

Delayed payment of TCS attracts interest under Section 50(1). The current rate is 18% per annum, as prescribed under Notification No. 13/2017-Central Tax. Interest may also arise when an upward amendment creates additional TCS liability for an earlier period. The portal displays the applicable amount in Table 5.

Penalties Under Section 122

Section 122 may apply where an operator fails to collect the required TCS, collects less than the required amount, collects TCS but does not deposit it, or intentionally furnishes false information to evade tax.

It may also apply where the operator allows an ineligible unregistered person or an ineligible inter-state supply through the platform, or fails to report the required details of specified goods supplied by a person exempted from registration.

The applicable penalty depends on the nature of the default and whether it involved non-collection, short collection, non-payment, or intentional false reporting. A clerical or data-entry error should not automatically be treated as attracting the highest penalty. The facts and the relevant clause of Section 122 must be examined.

How BUSY Supports GST Reconciliation

BUSY helps more than 6,00,000 businesses manage billing, accounting, inventory, and GST compliance.

Finance teams can use BUSY accounting software to keep sales, returns, taxable values, and accounting records aligned before preparing marketplace TCS data. This can make it easier to compare platform settlement reports with the books and identify differences before filing.

The final supplier details, amendments, TCS liability, and portal calculations should still be reviewed on the GST portal before submission.

Conclusion

Accurate filing depends on reconciling marketplace settlements with supplier-level taxable values, returns, and place-of-supply records before submission. Operators should also promptly review rejected and pending records, as an accepted TCS entry cannot be amended from the operator’s account.

Maintaining a monthly reconciliation and amendment register is the most reliable way to prevent supplier-credit disputes, incorrect tax-head reporting, and missed correction deadlines.