GST portal upload size limit: how to make your PDF fit

The GST portal's own user manuals give the same limits in several places:

• Appeal to the appellate authority (APL-01): the annexure is uploaded as a PDF of at most 5 MB, and up to four other supporting documents can be attached, each a PDF or JPEG of at most 5 MB. Remaining documents can be handed over in hard copy.
• Payments and replies in enforcement cases: up to four PDF or JPEG files of at most 5 MB each.

Limits can differ between forms, so read the hint next to the upload button for the form you're filing.

1. 1Open GST filing prep and choose the PDF you need to upload.
2. 2Pick 5 MB as the limit per file.
3. 3Press Prepare for upload. The tool compresses the PDF first and only splits it if it's still too big.
4. 4Download the parts. They are numbered in page order, so attach them in that order.

The work happens in your browser, so notices, financial statements and replies are never uploaded to us.

With only four attachments allowed, plan the files before you compress them. Group related annexures into one document with Merge PDF (for example all invoices in one file, all ledgers in another), then run each group through GST filing prep.

If one group alone is far above 5 MB, check how it was scanned. Scans saved at very high resolution or in full colour are the usual cause: plain black-and-white pages scanned at 150–200 DPI stay small and readable. Compress PDF with Grayscale images turned on often brings colour scans down a long way, and Split by size handles any other upload limit.