Your FY 2026-27 compliance calendar, travel-specific

Search "compliance calendar 2026-27" and you get ROC filings, cost audits, factory returns: a template built for a manufacturing company, not a five-person travel agency billing packages and visas. A travel agency compliance calendar runs on a narrower loop: GST returns every month, TDS every quarter, and a handful of once-a-year dates that are easy to lose under a busy season.

Miss the wrong one and it isn't a warning letter, it's money. A missed GSTR-3B blocks next month's input tax credit from generating at all. Miss the 30 November cut-off and last year's ITC is gone for good, not late, gone. This post gives you the dates that apply to a travel business, why each matters, and a full FY 2026-27 table you can print and pin up.

What actually applies to a travel agency (and what to ignore)

A travel agency's real compliance calendar has five moving parts: monthly GST returns, quarterly TDS, an annual GST close-out, MSME-1 (if you owe a small supplier money), and payroll dates. That's it. Cost audits, factory licence renewals, and most sector-specific ROC schedules don't apply to a services business selling packages, visas and tickets.

One exception: a Private Limited company or LLP still carries its own ROC annual filings alongside everything below, structure-driven rather than travel-specific, so ask your CA to track those separately.

Every month, the same loop: GSTR-1, the IMS action, then GSTR-3B

Every month runs the same three-step sequence: file GSTR-1 (or the IFF, if you're on QRMP) by the 11th or 13th, act on your Invoice Management System (IMS) queue before the 14th, then file GSTR-3B on the date your turnover and state assign you.

GSTR-1 is due on the 11th if turnover crosses ₹5 crore, or if you haven't opted into the Quarterly Return Monthly Payment (QRMP) scheme; QRMP taxpayers file the lighter IFF by the 13th instead (TaxGuru). GSTR-3B then staggers, as of August 2026: the 20th above ₹5 crore turnover, the 22nd up to ₹5 crore in Category I states, the 24th in Category II states, with QRMP filers landing in that same 22nd/24th window quarterly.

In between sits the part most agencies still treat as optional: IMS. Every invoice your suppliers upload sits in your queue from the moment they save it until you file GSTR-3B, and you must accept, reject or hold each one. A draft GSTR-2B generates on the 14th, your checkpoint to clear the queue by (TaxGuru). Miss it and it compounds: GSTR-2B is now sequential, so a period's 2B only generates once the prior period's 3B is filed. IMS now decides whether your ITC shows up on time; give it a named weekly owner, not a scramble on the 13th.

The same rhythm carries one more monthly date: TDS and TCS deducted or collected during the month are due by the 7th of the following month (TaxGuru).

Quarterly: TDS returns, and a TCS number you should confirm before you file

The four TDS return dates for FY 2026-27: 31 July (Q1, Apr-Jun), 31 October (Q2, Jul-Sep), 31 January (Q3, Oct-Dec), 31 May 2027 (Q4, Jan-Mar), filed as Form 24Q (salary), 26Q (other domestic payments) or 27Q (non-residents) (TaxGuru).

TCS runs alongside this. Sell overseas tour packages and you must collect tax at source from the traveller, deposit it by the same 7th-of-next-month rule as TDS, and file a periodic statement. As of August 2026, its exact form number, cadence and current rate are unsettled since the Income-tax Act, 2025 transition.

Careful: Don't print a section number or form name for TCS on overseas packages into your paperwork without checking first. Confirm the current rate, threshold, and exact return/certificate forms with your CA, then work off the dedicated TCS breakdown rather than a number copied from an old post.

Closing out FY 2025-26: 30 November and 31 December

These are two deadlines owners routinely collapse into one, and getting the order wrong costs money, not just a late fee. 30 November 2026 is the last date to amend FY 2025-26's GST returns and claim any missed ITC. 31 December 2026 is when the annual return, GSTR-9, falls due, along with GSTR-9C above ₹5 crore turnover.

Under Section 16(4), once 30 November passes, any ITC you failed to claim on last year's purchases is gone, not delayed, even though GSTR-9 and 9C aren't due until a month later (TaxGuru). "I'll fix it while preparing the annual return in December" isn't a plan. Reconcile books, vendor invoices and IMS decisions before end-November; treat the annual return as a separate, later step once nothing further can change.

Example: A ₹40,000 hotel invoice from FY 2025-26 never made it into your ITC claim. Amend the relevant GSTR-3B before 30 November 2026 and you recover it. Catch the same error in December, while filing GSTR-9, and it's a permanent loss.

MSME-1: the payment-delay return, 30 April and 31 October

MSME-1 is not a nil return you file every half-year regardless. It's only due when your agency still owes a registered micro or small supplier money beyond the agreed payment term, or beyond 45 days if no term was agreed, as of the half-year's closing date: 30 April for the October-March half, 31 October for the April-September half (ClearTax).

For most agencies this touches your own vendor list: a vehicle contractor, a printer, a small DMC registered as an MSME, not embassy fees or airline dues. The 45-day rule cuts both ways: it protects you as the small supplier, and obliges you the moment you're sitting on someone else's invoice past term.

The hotel-invoice trap: specified premises and the F&B rate you carry

If a hotel you're billing against is classified as a "specified premises," the GST rate on restaurant and banquet services supplied by that property changes, which flows through to how you carry the F&B line on your own client invoice when reselling it.

The mechanism is real, but the exact declaration window and declared-tariff threshold deciding "specified" status couldn't be confirmed against a live notification for this post. It's widely discussed elsewhere as sitting somewhere in the January-to-March period; treat that as unverified. Before setting an F&B line's rate on a group-tour invoice, check the hotel's current status with the property, and confirm the rule with your CA rather than carrying last season's rate forward.

Payroll dates that do not move: PF and ESI on the 15th

Both EPF contributions (via the ECR) and ESI contributions are due on the 15th of the month after the wage month (TaxGuru). This applies from your first employee, independent of GST turnover or business structure. A two-person agency with one salaried ops executive carries this date exactly like a fifty-person one.

1 April threshold checks that quietly change your obligations

Every 1 April, run last year's numbers against three thresholds, because crossing any one changes what you're required to do all year, not just what you owe. These are the August 2026 figures; confirm each with your CA before relying on them.

1. GST registration. Mandatory once turnover crosses ₹40 lakh for goods or ₹20 lakh for services (₹10 lakh in special category states), with a separate ₹20 lakh threshold for interstate service supplies (ClearTax).
2. E-invoicing. Commonly cited around ₹5 crore turnover, but the threshold moves with notifications. Check the current figure before assuming last year's line still applies.
3. Tax audit. Under the Income-tax Act, 2025 (effective 1 April 2026), the audit provision earlier at Section 44AB is now Section 63. Thresholds carried over: ₹1 crore generally, ₹10 crore where cash receipts and cash payments each independently stay within 5% of their total, ₹50 lakh gross receipts for professionals (TaxGuru). This is a fresh transition; confirm the section number and thresholds with your CA before you file. "Each" matters: heavy cash receipts with low cash payments doesn't qualify for the ₹10 crore band alone.

Overlay the trade's own calendar: why May is when agents actually miss GST dates

May is when Char Dham, Ladakh and the summer-hills season are all running at once, and it also carries a full GSTR-1/IMS/GSTR-3B cycle for April. That collision is why agencies miss GST dates in peak season: not because the rules changed, but because the owner who handles filing is in Manali chasing a stranded group instead of at a desk on the 20th.

The fix isn't remembering harder. Name a specific person, ideally not the owner, who owns the filing loop through the season, and file GSTR-1 the moment the month closes rather than waiting until the 10th.

Print this: the full FY 2026-27 compliance calendar

Every month carries the same four recurring items, filed against the previous month. The table adds only what's extra.

Recurring every month: GSTR-1 (11th) or IFF if on QRMP (13th) → IMS clear before the 14th (draft GSTR-2B generates) → GSTR-3B on the 20th/22nd/24th (by turnover and state) → TDS/TCS deposit, by the 7th → PF/ESI, if you have staff, by the 15th.

Month (FY 2026-27)	Extra dates beyond the recurring loop
April 2026	MSME-1 (30 Apr, Oct-Mar half). 1 April checks: GST registration, e-invoicing, tax audit.
May 2026	Char Dham/summer-hills season starts; confirm who owns filing.
June 2026	-
July 2026	Q1 TDS return (24Q/26Q/27Q) due 31 Jul.
August 2026	-
September 2026	-
October 2026	Q2 TDS return due 31 Oct. MSME-1 (31 Oct, Apr-Sep half).
November 2026	30 Nov: last date to amend FY 2025-26 GST returns, claim missed ITC.
December 2026	31 Dec: GSTR-9 for FY 2025-26 due; GSTR-9C too above ₹5 crore turnover.
January 2027	Q3 TDS return due 31 Jan. Specified-premises hotel window (unverified, confirm with CA) commonly falls here.
February 2027	Specified-premises window continues; check hotel status before quoting F&B.
March 2027	FY closes. Q4 TDS return (Jan-Mar) falls due 31 May 2027, don't let it slip.

The one-screen version, for the wall:

• Every month: GSTR-1/IFF (11th/13th), IMS cleared (14th), GSTR-3B (20th/22nd/24th), TDS/TCS deposit (7th), PF/ESI (15th).
• 31 July, 31 October, 31 January, 31 May: quarterly TDS returns.
• 30 April and 31 October: MSME-1, only if you owe a registered MSME supplier past term.
• 30 November: last chance to fix last year's GST returns and claim missed ITC.
• 31 December: GSTR-9, and GSTR-9C above ₹5 crore turnover.
• 1 April: recheck GST registration, e-invoicing and tax-audit thresholds.
• Confirm TCS rate/forms and the hotel specified-premises window with your CA before relying on either.

Common questions

GSTR-9 due date for FY 2025-26

GSTR-9, the GST annual return, is due 31 December 2026 for FY 2025-26. GSTR-9C, the self-certified reconciliation, is due the same date but only above ₹5 crore aggregate turnover that year. Both carry the usual risk of extension, so treat 31 December as the date to work towards, not one to assume you'll get.

Do I need a separate ROC compliance calendar?

Only if you're a Private Limited company or LLP, for your entity's own filings, which sit outside this calendar. A proprietorship or straightforward partnership has no ROC calendar at all.

Is there a downloadable version of this calendar?

The table and checklist above copy straight into a spreadsheet; there's no separate download. Paste into Excel or Sheets, add a column for who owns each date, and it becomes your working tracker.

Do I need to track this alongside HR compliance too?

If you employ staff, yes: PF and ESI (both due the 15th) sit on this calendar, triggered by having payroll at all rather than by GST turnover. Beyond that, other labour compliance depends on headcount and state, worth a direct conversation with your CA.

The short version

• A travel agency's real compliance calendar is GST monthly, TDS quarterly, MSME-1 half-yearly, plus payroll dates, not the ROC-heavy template most searches return.
• Every month: GSTR-1/IFF (11th/13th), IMS action by the 14th, GSTR-3B (20th/22nd/24th), TDS/TCS deposit (7th), PF/ESI (15th).
• Miss a GSTR-3B and you block next month's GSTR-2B from generating at all, since it's now sequential.
• 30 November and 31 December 2026 are different deadlines: ITC/amendment cut-off versus GSTR-9/9C filing. Missing the first can't be fixed by hitting the second.
• MSME-1 (30 April, 31 October) only applies if you're actually late paying a registered MSME supplier.
• Confirm the TCS rate/forms and the hotel specified-premises window with your CA before quoting either on a client invoice this year.
• Name one person who owns the monthly filing loop through peak season, so GST dates don't lose to a stranded group in the hills.