A client tells the CA in March, “Annual reconciliation is a December exercise.” However, in GST practice, that assumption usually creates the December crisis. For CAs and GST professionals, annual reconciliation begins before 31 March, because the quality of outward supply reporting, ITC tracking, reversals, and tax-payment mapping during the year determines how smooth GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C will be later. Under the GSTN framework, GSTR-9/9C is enabled only after all due GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B for the year are filed, and from FY 2023-24 onwards, many GSTR-9 fields are system-computed from GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, and GSTR-2B.
That is why FY 2025-26 year-end work should be treated as a reconciliation project, not just a closing exercise. For taxpayers who cross the ₹5 crore aggregate turnover threshold, GSTR-9C must be furnished along with GSTR-9, and the due date for GSTR-9C is 31 December following the end of the financial year. The portal also enables GSTR-9C only after GSTR-9 has been successfully filed. For larger clients, this means year-end preparation should already be built around the eventual reconciliation statement.
1. Lock turnover before you look at the annual forms
The first reconciliation should always be outward supplies. Before year-end, teams should tie books to GST returns across invoices, credit notes, debit notes, branch-level adjustments, and tax-rate classifications. Since the portal now computes large parts of GSTR-9 from return data, errors in monthly or periodic compliance flow straight into annual reporting. If turnover is not stabilised by March, the annual return becomes a patchwork of explanations rather than a disciplined reconciliation.
2. ITC clean-up cannot wait till December
The second major focus area is input tax credit. GSTN’s current FAQ shows that Table 8A picks up relevant records from GSTR-2B, including eligible invoices of the financial year that suppliers upload in the next year within the specified period, once the recipient files the corresponding GSTR-3B. It also explains that Table 8C captures current-year ITC first availed in the next year within the specified period. For practitioners, this means March should already include a vendor follow-up tracker, unmatched ITC review, and a clear list of invoices likely to spill over into the next year’s filing cycle.
3. Reversals and reclaims need a separate register
One of the most common reconciliation weak spots is ITC that has been claimed, reversed, and reclaimed. The GSTN FAQ makes it clear that reporting changes depending on whether the reclaim happens in the same year or the next year, and whether it relates to rule 37 or 37A. In some cases, the reclaim sits in Table 6H; in others, it is reflected through Table 13 and next year’s reporting. So, by year-end, professionals should maintain a separate reversal-and-reclaim register instead of leaving these items buried in general ITC workings. That one discipline can prevent major confusion at the GSTR-9 stage.
4. Reverse charge and tax-paid reconciliation must close before audit support starts
Annual reconciliation is not only about turnover and ITC. It is equally about whether tax paid in returns actually matches the liability recorded in books. For larger taxpayers, this becomes critical when dealing with reverse charge, import of services, decentralized GSTIN operations, or year-end adjustments that do not flow cleanly into GSTR-3B.
If RCM is still being identified after year-end, the annual reconciliation becomes defensive from the start. Medium and large GST teams should therefore close their RCM universe, payment trail, and supporting documentation before the audit-support file is built.
5. For bigger taxpayers, GSTR-9C is the discipline behind the annual return
For clients above the GSTR-9C threshold, the reconciliation statement is not an attachment to be handled later. It is the discipline that should shape year-end work itself. The right questions in March are simple: Does book turnover align with return turnover? Does tax paid match liability? Does booked ITC align with availed ITC? Are reversals, reclaims, and vendor-driven differences separately tracked? Because GSTR-9C follows GSTR-9, and GSTR-9 depends heavily on the return trail already filed, weak year-end preparation almost always leads to forced explanations in December.
How Vidur AI Supports GST Year-End Reconciliation
VIDUR AI can support professionals across each of these areas by helping with faster issue-spotting, research-backed interpretation, stronger documentation, and more consistent preparation. With access to 150+ authoritative commentaries, drafting capability, and regular legal and tax updates, it helps CAs and tax lawyers handle turnover reconciliation, ITC review, reversals tracking, tax-payment mapping, and GSTR-9/GSTR-9C preparation with greater speed, clarity, and confidence.
