Every year a share of perfectly valid input tax credit is lost for one reason: it was claimed too late. For purchases made in FY 2025-26 (April 2025 to March 2026), the last day is 30 November 2026. After that, the credit cannot be claimed in any return, however genuine the invoice.

Not sure about a particular invoice? The ITC time limit checker gives the last date for any invoice or debit note date.

What Section 16(4) says

A registered person cannot take credit on an invoice or debit note after 30 November following the end of the financial year it relates to, or after filing the annual return for that year, whichever is earlier. The 30 November date came in through the Finance Act 2022. Before that, the window closed with the September return.

Three details catch people out:

• The return has to be filed, not just due. Credit counts only if the GSTR-3B carrying it is filed by 30 November.
• The invoice date decides the year. An invoice dated 28 March 2026 belongs to FY 2025-26, even if the goods arrived in April.
• Debit notes stand alone. Since January 2021 a debit note counts from its own date, not the original invoice's.

How an early GSTR-9 shortens the window

The deadline is the earlier of 30 November and the date you file GSTR-9. A business that files its 2025-26 annual return in September 2026 loses the October return as a vehicle for missed credit. Unless you are certain every rupee is claimed, file GSTR-9 after the October GSTR-3B. The GSTR-9 helper and checklist help you prepare it in parallel.

A four-week checklist to recover missed ITC

1. Reconcile the year. Compare your purchase register, GSTR-2B and the credit claimed in GSTR-3B for all twelve months. The ITC reconciliation dashboard does this month by month.
2. List unclaimed eligible credit. Invoices in books and in GSTR-2B but not yet claimed can go straight into the October return.
3. Chase missing suppliers. Invoices in your books but not in GSTR-2B need the supplier to report them first, in a GSTR-1 filed by early November.
4. Check eligibility before claiming. Blocked credit under section 17(5) does not become claimable because it was missed. Use the ITC eligibility checker.
5. Settle reversals too. Unpaid suppliers past 180 days need a Rule 37 reversal, and mixed taxable-exempt businesses a year-end Rule 42 true-up.
6. File the October GSTR-3B by 30 November. It is due on 20 November. Filing late costs a late fee but still preserves the credit.

Older years: Section 16(5) and 16(6)

For FY 2017-18 to 2020-21, section 16(5) (Finance (No. 2) Act 2024, with retrospective effect) lets credit stand if it was claimed in any return filed by 30 November 2021. Section 16(6) helps businesses whose registration was cancelled and later restored: credit for the cancelled period can be claimed in returns filed within 30 days of the revocation order.

Frequently Asked Questions