Input Tax Credit
AI-assisted · review in progress · last updated 25 July 2026 · jump to quick revision
In 30 seconds
- ITC is the lifeline of GST — it stops tax-on-tax cascading. Chapter V of the CGST Act (Sections 16–21) and Rules 36–45 govern it.
- Section 16(2) has SIX cumulative conditions — document, GSTR-2B communication, receipt, no Section 38 restriction, tax paid, return filed.
- Section 17(5) blocks credit absolutely, even for business use — remember the 8 C's: Cars, Comforts, Construction, Composition, CSR, Consumption, Casualty, Confiscation.
- Utilisation order: IGST credit must be fully exhausted first; CGST and SGST credit can never be set off against each other.
- Two independent deadlines trip students: the 180-day payment rule and the 30 November availment limit — always check both.
Based on GST law as on 30.04.2025 (May 2026 exams onwards). Section numbers are CGST Act, rule numbers CGST Rules, unless stated. Section 20 of the IGST Act applies these provisions to IGST too.
How the chapter fits together
Input tax credit (ITC) makes GST a true value-added tax: tax is collected at every point of the supply chain only on the value added, because tax already paid at earlier points is allowed as credit. Every ITC question follows one flow — learn it as a pipeline:
- 16(1) gateway (registered person, business use) →
- 16(2) six cumulative conditions →
- 17(1)/(2) apportionment for non-business / exempt use →
- 17(5) blocked credits — an absolute override →
- 18 special circumstances (entry, exit, transfer) →
- 49/49A/49B + Rule 88A utilisation order → 86A/86B ledger restrictions.
Scope note: job work (Sec 19), Input Service Distributor (Secs 20–21) and Rules 38, 39, 42, 43 are Final-level — referenced here, not examined in detail at Intermediate.
Eligibility — Section 16
Section 16(1) opens the gate: a registered person may take credit of input tax on supplies used or intended to be used in the course or furtherance of business, credited to the electronic credit ledger. No one-to-one matching is needed between inputs and outputs — any eligible ITC can be used against any taxable output liability.
Input tax [Sec 2(62)]
CGST/SGST/UTGST/IGST charged on any inward supply, including tax payable under reverse charge and IGST on imports — but never composition tax.
Inputs vs capital goods [Sec 2(59), 2(19)]
The only test is capitalisation in the books of account. Goods capitalised and used for business = capital goods; everything else used for business = inputs. It is an accounting test, not a value or nature test.
Section 16(2) then imposes six cumulative conditions (non-obstante — all must be met):
- (a) Document — a valid tax-paying document (Rule 36: invoice, self-invoice, debit note, bill of entry, or ISD document).
- (aa) Both-sides-uploaded — supplier furnished it in GSTR-1/IFF and it is communicated to you in GSTR-2B.
- (b) Received — goods/services actually received (bill-to-ship-to: delivery to a third party on your instruction counts as receipt).
- (ba) Restriction-free — credit not restricted under Section 38.
- (c) Tax paid — tax actually paid to the Government by the supplier.
- (d) Filed — you have filed your return under Section 39.
Four riders on Section 16 complete the picture:
- Lots/instalments (proviso 1): goods received in lots → ITC only on receipt of the last lot.
- 180-day rule (provisos 2–3, Rule 37): fail to pay the supplier value + tax within 180 days of invoice → reverse the ITC (proportionately) with interest u/s 50 in the GSTR-3B of the following month; re-avail without time limit once paid. Deemed-paid exceptions: reverse-charge supplies, Schedule I deemed supplies, Section 15(2)(b) additions.
- Depreciation bar (16(3)): claimed income-tax depreciation on the tax component of capital goods? Then no ITC on it — no double benefit.
- Time limit (16(4)): ITC for an invoice/debit note must be taken by the earlier of 30 November of the following financial year or the date of filing the annual return. A debit note’s own date decides its financial year. Section 16(6) gives relief where a cancelled registration is revoked.
An invoice dated 10 May 2025 is received, goods delivered in four lots ending 2 August 2025. The recipient never pays the supplier. When can ITC be taken, and what happens later?
Proviso 1 delays availment until the last lot. The 180-day clock runs from the invoice date (10 May 2025), not the last lot — so non-payment forces a proportionate reversal with interest under Rule 37, and the credit can be re-availed whenever payment is eventually made (re-availment is not hit by the 30 November limit).
Answer: ITC on receipt of the last lot (August 2025 return); reversal with interest in the GSTR-3B for the month after the 180-day mark (invoice date + 180 days), re-available once payment is made.
Blocked credits — Section 17(5)
Section 17(5) is a non-obstante override: even if the Section 16 business-use test passes, these credits are denied. Memory hook — the 8 C’s: Cars, Comforts, Construction, Composition, CSR, Consumption, Casualty, Confiscation.
| Clause | Blocked | Exceptions (ITC allowed) |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Motor vehicles for passengers, ≤13 seats incl. driver | Further supply · passenger transport · driving training |
| (aa) | Vessels and aircraft | Further supply · passenger transport · navigation/flying training · goods transport |
| (ab) | General insurance, servicing, repair of the above | Vehicle used for an eligible purpose · manufacturer of such vehicles · insurer of such vehicles |
| (b)(i) | Food & beverages, outdoor catering, beauty treatment, health services, cosmetic surgery, life/health insurance, leasing of blocked vehicles | Same-category outward supply (or element of composite/mixed supply) · statutory employer obligation |
| (b)(ii)–(iii) | Club/health/fitness membership; leave & home travel concession | Statutory obligation only |
| (c) | Works contract services for immovable property | Input for further works contract (sub-contracting) · plant and machinery |
| (d) | Self-construction on own account | Plant and machinery · expense not capitalised |
| (e) | Inward supplies from composition dealers | None |
| (f) | Supplies received by a non-resident taxable person | Goods imported by him |
| (fa) | CSR-obligation supplies (Companies Act s.135) | None |
| (g) | Personal consumption | None |
| (h) | Goods lost, stolen, destroyed, written off, gifted, or given as free samples | Schedule I deemed supply |
| (i) | Tax paid under s.74 (fraud, up to FY 2023-24), s.129 (detention), s.130 (confiscation) | None |
Plant and machinery (Explanation to Sec 17)
Apparatus, equipment and machinery fixed to earth by foundation or structural support, used for making outward supply, including the foundation — but excluding land, buildings and other civil structures, telecommunication towers, and pipelines laid outside factory premises. Much narrower than the commercial sense, and the key to the 17(5)(c)/(d) exceptions.
Special circumstances — Section 18
Section 18(1) grants one-time ITC on stock (inputs in stock, in semi-finished and finished goods) when a person enters the tax net, and in two cases on capital goods too:
| Trigger | Stock as on | Capital goods? |
|---|---|---|
| 18(1)(a) New registration (applied within 30 days of liability) | Day before liability arises | No |
| 18(1)(b) Voluntary registration | Day before registration | No |
| 18(1)(c) Composition → regular | Day before regular liability | Yes, reduced 5%/quarter |
| 18(1)(d) Exempt supply → taxable | Day before supply becomes taxable | Yes, reduced 5%/quarter |
The mechanics that follow it:
- One-year limit (18(2)): no ITC on invoices more than 1 year old, counted from the invoice date.
- Form ITC-01 within 30 days of eligibility; a CA/CMA certificate is mandatory when the aggregate claim exceeds ₹2,00,000 (Rule 40).
- Transfer (18(3), Rule 41): on sale/merger/demerger with transfer of liabilities, unutilised ITC moves via ITC-02 (demerger: asset-value ratio). Separate registration within a State: ITC-02A within 30 days (Rule 41A).
- Exit (18(4)): switching to composition or going wholly exempt → pay back ITC on stock and on capital goods (reduced 5% per quarter) via ITC-03; any balance in the ledger lapses.
- Supply of used capital goods (18(6)): pay the higher of (ITC taken − 5% per quarter or part) or tax on the transaction value. Capital goods’ deemed useful life throughout is 5 years (60 months) (Rule 44).
Utilisation order and ledger restrictions
- IGST credit first: use for IGST, then CGST and SGST/UTGST in any order and proportion (Rule 88A) — but it must be fully exhausted before any CGST/SGST credit is used (Sec 49A).
- CGST credit → CGST, then IGST. SGST credit → SGST, then IGST (only after CGST credit is exhausted).
- CGST ↔ SGST cross-utilisation is absolutely barred.
- Rule 86A: officer may block ledger debit for fraud/ineligible credit — discretionary, reasons in writing, lapses after 1 year.
- Rule 86B: if taxable turnover (excluding exempt and zero-rated) exceeds ₹50 lakh in a month, at most 99% of output liability may be paid from ITC — minimum 1% in cash. Four exceptions: income-tax payments over ₹1 lakh in each of the last two years; refunds over ₹1 lakh for zero-rated/inverted-duty supplies; cumulative cash payment exceeding 1% of liability this year; and Government departments/PSUs/local and statutory bodies.
Zero-rated supplies (exports and supplies to SEZ developers/units) are the one place where no output tax is payable yet full ITC survives — zero-rated is not exempt, and the credit can be used or refunded.
Key timelines
| Deadline | What happens | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 180 days from invoice | Pay supplier value + tax, else reverse ITC with interest | 16(2) provisos, Rule 37 |
| 30 Nov of next FY / annual return, whichever earlier | Last date to avail ITC for an FY | 16(4) |
| 30 Sep after FY end | Supplier must file GSTR-3B, else recipient reverses by 30 Nov | Rule 37A |
| 30 days from revocation order | File gap-period returns for extended availment | 16(6) |
| 1 year from invoice | Outer limit for Section 18(1) stock credit | 18(2) |
| 30 days from eligibility | File ITC-01 (₹2 lakh+ needs CA/CMA certificate) | Rule 40 |
| 5% per quarter or part | Capital-goods ITC reduction (entry) / payback (exit, supply) | Rule 40, 18(6), Rule 44 |
| 5 years (60 months) | Deemed useful life of capital goods | Rule 44 |
| 1 year | Rule 86A ledger block lapses | Rule 86A |
- Quoting four conditions under Section 16(2) — there are six; (aa) GSTR-2B communication and (ba) Section 38 restriction are the two everyone forgets.
- Treating the 180-day payment rule and the 30 November limit as one rule — they are independent, with different triggers and different consequences.
- Blocking ITC on all motor vehicles — only passenger vehicles ≤13 seats are hit; goods transport and 13+ seaters are always eligible.
- Calling zero-rated supplies “exempt” — exports and SEZ supplies keep full ITC; exempt supplies lose it.
- Allowing capital-goods credit on new or voluntary registration under Section 18(1)(a)/(b) — capital goods enter only via (c) composition-exit and (d) exempt-to-taxable.
- Setting off CGST credit against SGST liability (or vice versa) — never allowed, in any scenario.
- Confusing Rule 86A (discretionary fraud block, 1-year sunset) with Rule 86B (mechanical 99% cap above ₹50 lakh/month).
- Forgetting that composition tax is never “input tax” — reinforced twice: Sec 2(62) and blocked credit 17(5)(e).
Quick revision cards
Six conditions of Sec 16(2)?
The 8 C's of Sec 17(5)?
180-day rule?
ITC time limit for an FY?
Which motor vehicles are blocked?
Capital goods ITC under Sec 18(1)?
Utilisation order?
Rule 86B in one line?
Used capital goods supplied — pay how much?
Zero-rated vs exempt?