Short answer
GST credit on any invoice or debit note from FY 2025-26 must be claimed by 30 November 2026. If you file your FY 2025-26 annual return before that, window closes on day you file it. After that, Section 16(4) of CGST Act doesn't let you take that credit at all.
What Section 16(4) actually says
You can't take ITC on an invoice or debit note after 30 November following end of financial year it belongs to, or after you furnish your annual return for that year, whichever is earlier.
Two things people miss:
- Filing annual return early closes your window early. File GSTR-9 for FY 2025-26 in October, and your deadline for FY 2025-26 credit was that day, not 30 November.
- A debit note follows its own date. Since 1 January 2021, a debit note's deadline depends on financial year of debit note itself, not of original invoice.
Which return is your last chance
Credit has to be claimed in a return you file by 30 November. In practice, a return can only be filed after its period ends, so:
| You file | Your last return to claim FY 2025-26 credit |
|---|---|
| Monthly GSTR-3B | October 2026 return, filed by 30 November |
| Quarterly (QRMP) | July to September 2026 return |
For quarterly filers this matters most. If your July to September return is already filed, credit you missed in it generally can't go into October to December return, because that one is filed after 30 November.
Your supplier has same deadline
You can take credit only if your supplier has reported your invoice in their outward supply details (Section 16(2)(aa)). Under Section 37(3), suppliers can't fix errors or omissions in those details after 30 November either.
So if an FY 2025-26 invoice is missing from your GSTR-2B, ask your supplier to report it now. After 30 November, neither of you can fix it.
Same day, another rule: Rule 37A
If a supplier reported your invoice but hasn't filed their own GSTR-3B for that period by 30 September 2026, Rule 37A says you must reverse that credit in a GSTR-3B filed by 30 November 2026. You can claim it again once they file.
What this deadline doesn't stop
- Re-claiming credit you reversed for non-payment. If you reversed ITC because you hadn't paid a supplier within 180 days, Rule 37(4) says Section 16(4) doesn't apply when you re-claim it after paying. How 180-day rule works.
- Revoked registrations. If your registration was cancelled and later revoked, Section 16(6) gives a separate window: credit for cancellation period can be claimed in a return filed within 30 days of revocation order.
A checklist for this week
- Match your purchase register for FY 2025-26 against GSTR-2B, month by month.
- List invoices in your books but missing from GSTR-2B, and ask those suppliers to report them now.
- Claim any missed eligible credit in your last return before 30 November: October GSTR-3B for monthly filers.
- Check suppliers who haven't filed GSTR-3B for any FY 2025-26 period, and plan Rule 37A reversals.
- Don't file your FY 2025-26 annual return until credit is fully claimed.
Changes ahead
GST Council's 57th meeting on 8 October 2026 recommended amending Sections 16, 37 and 39 to align them with Section 16(4) time limit. Nothing is notified yet, so 30 November 2026 stands for FY 2025-26.
How we help
We run year-end ITC reconciliation and GSTR-3B filings for businesses with 10 to 150 staff. Tell us about your setup: a Chartered Accountant replies within one working day with next steps, then scope and fee in writing. Book a consultation.
General information, not advice for a specific business. References are to CGST Act, 2017 and CGST Rules, 2017 as available on CBIC's website. Last reviewed November 2026.