October 2026 Statutory Compliance Calendar: GST, Income Tax, PF, ESI, FEMA, MCA & SEBI Due Dates

Summary: October 2026 is an important compliance month for taxpayers, companies, LLPs, employers, listed entities and professionals, with statutory deadlines arising under GST, Income Tax, PF, ESI, FEMA, Companies Act and SEBI regulations. A particularly important development is the CBDT extension of the tax audit report deadline for Assessment Year 2026-27 from 30 September 2026 to 21 October 2026 for specified non-transfer-pricing audit cases. The corresponding income-tax return deadline has been extended from 31 October 2026 to 21 November 2026.

GST compliances during October include GSTR-7, GSTR-8, GSTR-1, GSTR-6, GSTR-5, GSTR-5A, CMP-08, GSTR-3B and other returns/payments. Since October follows the September quarter, quarterly GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B deadlines under the QRMP Scheme also fall during the month.

Employers should monitor the 15 October PF and ESI contribution deadline. Companies and LLPs should separately examine event-linked and fixed-period MCA compliances such as AOC-4, ADT-1, LLP Form 8 and MSME-1. Listed entities have quarterly SEBI compliances including shareholding pattern, Integrated Filing (Governance) and reconciliation of share capital audit.

The calendar below has been reconstructed to distinguish fixed statutory dates from conditional and event-linked deadlines. Applicability should nevertheless be checked with reference to the taxpayer’s legal status, filing frequency, turnover, transaction profile and any subsequent statutory extension.

October 2026 Compliance Calendar at a Glance

GST Compliance Due Dates in October 2026

October is both a monthly and quarter-end GST compliance month. In addition to September monthly returns, taxpayers following quarterly filing under the QRMP Scheme have quarterly GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B obligations for the July-September 2026 quarter.

10 October 2026: GSTR-7 and GSTR-8

Persons required to deduct TDS under GST should furnish GSTR-7 for September 2026 by 10 October 2026. E-commerce operators required to collect tax at source should furnish GSTR-8 for September 2026 by the same date.

11 October 2026: Monthly GSTR-1

Registered persons following monthly GSTR-1 filing are required to furnish details of outward supplies for September 2026 by 11 October 2026.

13 October 2026: Quarterly GSTR-1 and GSTR-6

Taxpayers who have opted for quarterly GSTR-1 filing under QRMP should furnish GSTR-1 for the quarter ended 30 September 2026 by 13 October 2026.

Input Service Distributors should also furnish GSTR-6 for September 2026 by 13 October 2026.

18 October 2026: CMP-08

Composition taxpayers should furnish the applicable statement-cum-challan in Form CMP-08 and discharge tax for the July-September 2026 quarter by 18 October 2026.

20 October 2026: GSTR-3B, GSTR-5 and GSTR-5A

Monthly GSTR-3B for September 2026 is ordinarily due by 20 October 2026.

GSTR-5 for a non-resident taxable person is also generally due by the 20th of the succeeding month. However, where the registration period expires earlier, the separate statutory timeline connected with expiry of registration must be considered.

Applicable OIDAR service providers should furnish GSTR-5A for September 2026 by 20 October 2026.

22 and 24 October 2026: Quarterly GSTR-3B Under QRMP

Taxpayers filing GSTR-3B quarterly under QRMP should pay particular attention to the State-wise deadlines. The due date for the July-September 2026 quarter is generally 22 October or 24 October 2026, depending upon the State or Union Territory in which the principal place of business is situated.

For a detailed understanding of these State-wise deadlines, taxpayers may refer to TaxGuru’s analysis of the QRMP Scheme and GST due dates.

25 October 2026: PMT-06

Where a monthly payment through PMT-06 is required under the QRMP framework for the relevant period, the prescribed payment deadline should be monitored separately.

Income Tax Due Dates for October 2026

Income-tax compliance for October 2026 requires special care because obligations relating to Previous Year 2025-26 and Assessment Year 2026-27 continue to operate under the Income-tax Act, 1961, while current-period compliances may need to be read with the Income-tax Act, 2025 and Income-tax Rules, 2026, as applicable.

7 October 2026: TDS and TCS Deposit

Tax deducted or collected during September 2026 is generally required to be deposited with the Central Government by 7 October 2026, subject to the separate statutory mechanism applicable to Government deductors and collectors.

21 October 2026: Extended Tax Audit Report Deadline

This is one of the most important compliance dates of October 2026.

CBDT, through Circular No. 07/2026 dated 28 September 2026, extended the specified date for furnishing the audit report for Assessment Year 2026-27 from 30 September 2026 to 21 October 2026 in the case of persons referred to at S. No. 2 in the Table below Explanation 2 to Section 139(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

TaxGuru has covered the extension in detail in CBDT Extends AY 2026-27 Tax Audit Date to 21 October 2026.

The extension principally covers the specified audit-category taxpayers to whom Section 92E does not apply. Accordingly, the tax audit report in Form 3CA/3CB read with Form 3CD, as applicable, should be furnished by 21 October 2026 for taxpayers covered by the extension.

ITR Deadline Extended to 21 November 2026

The corresponding return-filing deadline for the covered category has been extended from 31 October 2026 to 21 November 2026.

Accordingly, 31 October 2026 should no longer be presented as the income-tax return deadline for the category covered by Circular No. 07/2026.

The relationship between the two revised dates is therefore:

31 October 2026: Transfer Pricing and Connected Reports

The CBDT extension applicable to the specified non-transfer-pricing audit category should not automatically be applied to assessees required to furnish a report under Section 92E.

For an assessee required to furnish a report relating to international transactions or specified domestic transactions under Section 92E, the relevant audit and transfer-pricing reporting deadlines should therefore be separately monitored.

Important compliances include, where applicable:

• Form 3CA/3CB with Form 3CD for the relevant tax audit;
• Form 3CEB for international transactions and specified domestic transactions;
• Form 3CE for applicable non-residents/foreign companies under Section 44DA;
• Form 3CEJA relating to eligible investment funds under Section 9A;
• Form 10DA relating to the deduction for additional employee cost under Section 80JJAA;
• Form 66 for applicable tonnage-tax companies;
• other audit reports, certificates and statements whose statutory filing date is linked to the 30 November return-filing category.

Each form should be checked independently because applicability depends upon the nature of the assessee, transaction and underlying provision.

PF and ESI Due Dates for October 2026

15 October 2026: PF Contribution and ECR

Employers covered by the Employees’ Provident Funds legislation should deposit the applicable provident fund contribution for September 2026 and complete the corresponding ECR compliance by 15 October 2026.

15 October 2026: ESI Contribution

Employers covered by ESI should deposit contribution relating to September 2026 by 15 October 2026, subject to the applicable statutory provisions.

FEMA Compliance Due Dates for October 2026

ECB-2 Reporting for September 2026

Borrowers having reportable External Commercial Borrowings are required to report actual ECB transactions through their AD Category-I bank in Form ECB-2 within the prescribed period following the close of the month.

Since the RBI requirement operates by reference to working days, it is preferable not to treat a particular calendar date such as 9 October as a universal statutory deadline without checking the working-day computation for the relevant month.

Companies Act and LLP Due Dates for October 2026

AOC-4 and AOC-4 XBRL: Event-Linked Deadline

The filing of financial statements in Form AOC-4 or AOC-4 XBRL, as applicable, is linked to the date of the annual general meeting.

Accordingly, 29 October 2026 should not be treated as a universal AOC-4 deadline. Companies should compute the applicable filing date with reference to their actual AGM date and the statutory period prescribed for filing financial statements.

ADT-1: Appointment or Reappointment of Auditor

Form ADT-1 is similarly an event-linked compliance. The filing period should be calculated with reference to the appointment of the auditor rather than presenting 15 October as a universal annual due date.

30 October 2026: LLP Form 8

Applicable LLPs should furnish their Statement of Account and Solvency in LLP Form 8 by 30 October 2026 for FY 2025-26, subject to the applicable statutory framework and any extension granted by MCA.

31 October 2026: MSME-1

Companies to which the reporting requirement applies should furnish the half-yearly MSME-1 return for the period April to September 2026 by 31 October 2026.

MSME-1 is a half-yearly compliance and should not be classified as an annual filing.

SEBI Compliance Due Dates for October 2026

21 October 2026: Shareholding Pattern

Applicable listed entities should furnish the quarterly shareholding pattern under Regulation 31(1)(b) of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations within the prescribed period from the end of the quarter.

For the quarter ended 30 September 2026, the relevant deadline is 21 October 2026.

30 October 2026: Integrated Filing – Governance

Integrated Filing (Governance), covering the prescribed governance-related periodic disclosures, is required within 30 days from the end of the quarter.

Accordingly, the filing for the quarter ended 30 September 2026 falls due on 30 October 2026.

This is a quarterly compliance and should not be classified as annual.

30 October 2026: Reconciliation of Share Capital Audit

Applicable listed entities should also monitor the quarterly Reconciliation of Share Capital Audit Report requirement under the relevant SEBI Depositories framework.

For the quarter ended 30 September 2026, the relevant compliance falls at the end of October 2026.

Regulation 40(9)/(10) Certificate Removed From Calendar

The earlier compliance calendar included a 15 October entry for the certificate relating to transfer of securities under Regulation 40(9)/(10). That entry has not been carried forward in this reconstructed calendar because the earlier periodic filing requirement has undergone regulatory rationalisation and should not be presented as a current October 2026 compliance merely on the basis of historical calendars.

Most Important Compliance Dates in October 2026

Key Changes From Earlier October 2026 Compliance Calendars

Professionals and taxpayers relying upon an earlier compliance calendar should take note of the following important corrections:

• Tax audit deadline: 30 September 2026 has been extended to 21 October 2026 for the specified category.
• ITR deadline: 31 October 2026 has been extended to 21 November 2026 for the corresponding category.
• GSTR-5: the normal monthly deadline is 20 October 2026 for September 2026, subject to the separate registration-expiry rule.
• Quarterly GST: GSTR-1, CMP-08 and the 22/24 October quarterly GSTR-3B deadlines need to be included because September 2026 is the final month of the July-September quarter.
• Advance tax: no “second instalment of advance tax” has been included as an October 2026 deadline.
• Duplicate Income Tax forms: duplicate entries appearing with conflicting 15 October and 30 October dates have been removed.
• AOC-4: the deadline is event-linked and should not be universally stated as 29 October.
• ADT-1: the filing deadline is also event-linked rather than a universal 15 October deadline.
• MSME-1: correctly classified as a half-yearly compliance.
• SEBI Integrated Filing (Governance): correctly classified as quarterly.
• SEBI shareholding pattern: correctly classified as quarterly.

Practical Compliance Checklist for October 2026

Taxpayers and professionals should first identify which compliances actually apply instead of treating every entry in a compliance calendar as universally applicable. Particular attention should be given to whether GST returns are monthly or quarterly, whether an assessee falls within the tax-audit or transfer-pricing category, whether an MCA filing is linked to the AGM or another corporate event, and whether SEBI requirements apply to the particular listed entity.

Tax-audit assessees covered by the CBDT extension should prioritise completion of Form 3CA/3CB and Form 3CD by 21 October 2026. The additional period up to 21 November for filing the corresponding return should not be treated as an extension of the audit-report deadline beyond 21 October.

Businesses following QRMP should separately diarise the 13 October quarterly GSTR-1 deadline and the State-wise 22/24 October GSTR-3B deadline. Companies should determine their AOC-4 and ADT-1 deadlines from the underlying event rather than relying upon a generic monthly calendar.

Conclusion

October 2026 contains a combination of monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, annual and event-linked statutory compliances. The most significant change for Assessment Year 2026-27 is the extension of the tax audit report deadline to 21 October 2026 and the corresponding return-filing deadline to 21 November 2026 for the specified category of audit assessees.

The GST calendar is also particularly important because October contains both September monthly compliances and July-September quarterly compliances. Companies, LLPs and listed entities should separately monitor MCA and SEBI obligations rather than treating historical compliance-calendar dates as universally applicable.

Disclaimer: This article is intended as a general compliance reference. Applicability and due dates depend upon the facts and legal status of each taxpayer or entity and may be affected by subsequent notifications, circulars, orders, extensions or portal-related relaxations. Readers should verify the applicable statutory provisions and latest Government notifications before filing or taking any compliance decision. TaxGuru assumes no responsibility for any action taken solely on the basis of this calendar.