Section 16(4) of the CGST Act bars input tax credit (ITC) taken after 30 November following the financial year of the invoice. For invoices of FY 2017-18 to 2020-21, section 16(5) overrides that bar for any return filed up to 30 November 2021, retrospectively from 1 July 2017, but not for later returns; section 16(6) separately helps a person whose cancelled registration is later revoked.
In this article
- What does section 16(4) say, and how did the time limit change?
- What do sections 16(5) and 16(6) add, and from when?
- Which financial years does the relief cover?
- My order already disallowed the credit. How is it corrected?
- Can I get back tax I have already paid?
- What have the courts said, and which ruling binds me?
- What is still open?
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
What does section 16(4) say, and how did the time limit change?
Section 16(4) says a registered person cannot take ITC on an invoice or debit note after the thirtieth day of November following the end of the financial year to which it pertains, or the furnishing of the relevant annual return (GSTR-9), whichever is earlier.
Until 30 September 2022 the cut-off was "the due date of furnishing of the return under section 39 for the month of September" after the year. Section 100(b) of the Finance Act 2022 substituted "thirtieth day of November", from 1 October 2022 (Notification 18/2022-Central Tax; Safari Retreats, 2024 INSC 756, para 29).
What do sections 16(5) and 16(6) add, and from when?
Both were inserted by section 118 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024 (16 August 2024) "with effect from the 1st day of July, 2017". Notification 17/2024-Central Tax, dated 27 September 2024, brought section 118 into force from its Gazette publication.
"in respect of an invoice or debit note for supply of goods or services or both pertaining to the Financial Years 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21, the registered person shall be entitled to take input tax credit in any return under section 39 which is filed up to the thirtieth day of November, 2021."
CGST Act, section 16(5), as inserted by section 118 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024
Two tests decide whether it reaches you: the invoice must belong to one of those four years, and the return carrying the credit, for whatever month, must have been filed by 30 November 2021. Section 16(5) lifts only the time bar; in a rectification the officer also weighs any other ground the notice raised (Circular 237/31/2024-GST, 15 October 2024, para 3.5.3).
Section 16(6) applies where registration was cancelled under section 29 and later revoked, under section 30 or on an order of the appellate authority, the Tribunal or a court, and the credit "was not restricted under sub-section (4) on the date of order of cancellation of registration". The person may then take it in a return filed within the ordinary section 16(4) window or, for the cancelled period, within 30 days of the revocation order, whichever is later. The text names no financial years.
Which financial years does the relief cover?
| Invoices of | Section 16(4) cut-off | Does section 16(5) help? | What to do now |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2017-18 | Due date of the March 2019 return, under the proviso to section 16(4), if the supplier uploaded the invoice in its GSTR-1 statement (section 37(1)) by the due date for March 2019; otherwise the September 2018 return (an officer took 23 April 2019) | Yes, if the return carrying the credit was filed by 30 Nov 2021 | Notice or appeal pending: ask the authority to apply section 16(5). Order passed and no appeal: see the next section. |
| FY 2018-19 | Due date of the September 2019 return (recorded as 20 October 2019) | Yes, same test | |
| FY 2019-20 | Due date of the September 2020 return | Yes, same test | |
| FY 2020-21 | Due date of the September 2021 return | Yes, but only for returns filed after that date and up to 30 Nov 2021 | |
| FY 2021-22 to 2024-25 | 30 November 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 respectively | No | No statutory relief. Routes left: facts, section 16(6) if it fits, or a challenge to section 16(4), which at least four High Courts have rejected. |
| FY 2025-26 | 30 November 2026 | Not needed | The credit can still be taken in a return filed by 30 November 2026. |
Cut-offs are from section 16(4); bracketed dates are as judgments record them (the officer's, Karnataka, ABE Security, para 7; the Department's, para 2, and the Court's, para 5, Andhra Pradesh, R K I Builders). An earlier annual return ends the window earlier. For FY 2021-22 the amended wording (in force from 1 October 2022) applied before the September 2022 return fell due. Section 16(6) can apply to any year.
My order already disallowed the credit. How is it corrected?
It depends on where the case stands (Circular 237/31/2024-GST, paras 3.1 to 3.5):
- Intimation or notice only: the officer must apply section 16(5) or (6), including after a DRC-01A intimation (the pre-notice) with no notice yet.
- Notice issued, or appeal or revision pending: the adjudicating, appellate or revisional authority applies it in its order.
- Order passed under section 73, 74, 107 or 108, no appeal filed: Notification 22/2024-Central Tax of 8 October 2024 set a special procedure under section 148 (a notification, not a rule): an application on the GST portal ("Application for rectification of order"; "Initiate Rectification" for section 107 or 108 orders) with the Annexure A proforma, within six months. The officer decides, as far as possible within three months, and uploads FORM GST DRC-08 (section 73 or 74 orders) or APL-04 (section 107 or 108 orders); the rectified order is appealable.
That window ended in early April 2025 (the Punjab and Haryana High Court, counting from the Circular's date of 15 October 2024, recorded 15 April 2025). Ordinary rectification under section 161 is allowed within three months of the order, six at most except for clerical or arithmetical errors. An appeal under section 107 lies within three months from the date the order is communicated, plus one month if sufficient cause is shown (section 107(1) and (4)). At least three High Courts have since dealt with applications or writs filed after the six months: Andhra Pradesh set the order aside, Jharkhand ordered a late application decided, and Patna (Division Bench, Bhardwaj Construction, CWJC 4763/2026, 6 July 2026, para 8) gave liberty to file a rectification application within one month.
Can I get back tax I have already paid?
Not under section 16(5). Section 150 of the same Act says:
"No refund shall be made of all the tax paid or the input tax credit reversed, which would not have been so paid, or not reversed, had section 118 been in force at all material times."
Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024, section 150 · applied by CBIC in Circular 237/31/2024-GST, para 4
The rule names tax paid and credit reversed, not interest or penalty, and CBIC has said nothing on them. One GST Appellate Tribunal bench (Ghaziabad, Anil Kumar Mohindru, APL/6/GZB/2026, 29 September 2026) declared the interest unsustainable and set aside the penalty, both resting only on the section 16(4) demand: "the penalty of Rs. 2,09,461, imposed solely as a consequence of the alleged time-barred availment, cannot survive" (para 13). That is a single bench order, so check your own bench.
What have the courts said, and which ruling binds me?
Each ruling binds officers in its own State. "No appeal found" means none turned up in our searches.
| Court, case and date | Holding and the court's words | Status | Binds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patna HC, Division Bench Gobinda Construction, CWJC 9108/2021, with Muskan Enterprises, CWJC 763/2022, and others 8 Sep 2023 | Section 16(4) is valid; ITC is a vested right only once its conditions are met (para 26). "by no means sub-section (4) can be said to be violative of Article 300-A of the Constitution of India" (para 28) | Decided; SC pending. The Supreme Court issued notice on a petition against it, 3 January 2024 | Bihar; persuasive elsewhere |
| Chhattisgarh HC, Division Bench Jain Brothers, WPT 191/2022 11 Dec 2023 | Section 16(4) is valid; Article 19(1)(g) is not open to a proprietorship firm. "the provision contained in Section 16(4) of the CGST Act is violative of neither Article 14 of the Constitution nor Articles 19(1)(g) & 300A of the Constitution" (para 43) | Decided; no appeal found | Chhattisgarh |
| Kerala HC, single judge M. Trade Links, WP(C) 31559/2019, with a batch 4 Jun 2024 | Validity upheld; the September-return limit read as 30 November in every year from 1 July 2017. "So far as the challenge to the constitutional validity of Section 16(2)(c) and Section 16(4) is concerned, the same is rejected." (para 100) | Decided (single judge); no appeal found | Kerala, Lakshadweep |
| Delhi HC, Division Bench HCC Samsung Joint Venture, W.P.(C) 9737/2024 23 Aug 2024 | Validity challenge not pressed (para 3); remanded by consent. "the matter is remanded to the Adjudicating Authority to consider the same in the light of enactment of the Finance (No.2) Act, 2024" (para 5) | Consent order; no ruling on validity | Delhi |
| Karnataka HC, single judge ABE Security Mechanics, WP 6841/2026 22 Apr 2026 | Order set aside though the appeal had been dismissed as late; returns filed by 30 Nov 2021 qualify. "the petitioner would be entitled for claim of ITC" (para 13) | Interim: remanded for a fresh decision | Karnataka |
| Andhra Pradesh HC, Division Bench R K I Builders, WP 33655/2025 30 Sep 2026 | Order set aside. The Revenue's reliance on the six-month window "merits no acceptance" (para 8). "Section 16(5) of the Act is clear and no time limit is stipulated therein." (para 8) | Decided (writ allowed); no appeal found | Andhra Pradesh |
| Jharkhand HC, Division Bench SZK Logistics, W.P.(T) 762/2026 11 Feb 2026 | Rectification application filed 11 December 2025; the Revenue said it need not be considered (para 7). The Court ordered it decided within two months and left open whether the Circular's six months binds a taxpayer: "specifically kept open" (para 9) | Interim: limited direction; the window question is open | Jharkhand |
| Calcutta HC, single judge Svaksha Distillery, WPA 20176/2025 17 Nov 2025 | Rejection of a rectification application set aside and remanded (para 9). On money already recovered, the Court directed: "The petitioners shall be at liberty to pray for refund of the recovered sum, in accordance with law." (para 10) | Interim: remanded | West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands |
| Supreme Court Mrityunjay Kumar, SLP(C) 28270/2023; Shanti Motors, SLP(C) Diary Nos. 4474 and 4695/2024 3 Jan 2024 9 Feb 2024 | Notice, including on interim relief, on petitions against the Patna batch of 8 September 2023 (Mrityunjay Kumar's petition there was CWJC 6630/2021); Shanti Motors (from CWJC 6627/2021) was tagged with the first. "Issue notice in the special leave petitions to the respondents as well as on interim reliefs." (9 February 2024). This is the latest Court record we read (a later listing, on 8 July 2024, is reported); we found no stay or decision. | SC pending (notice only) | All India, once decided; nothing yet |
Read from the judgments in Nira on 1 November 2026, except the Supreme Court row, which rests on the Court's own public PDFs, not on Nira. Andhra Pradesh also upheld section 16(4) on 18 July 2023 (Thirumalakonda Plywoods, WP 24235/2022, para 27); a Calcutta Division Bench agreed with Andhra Pradesh and Patna on 13 December 2023 (BBA Infrastructure, MAT 1099/2023, paras 11-12).
No High Court in our searches struck section 16(4) down, but the question stays open while the Supreme Court has the petitions. No ruling doubts section 16(5); the fights are over the rectification window, money already recovered and other grounds. A High Court's ruling binds officers in its State and persuades elsewhere.
What is still open?
- Returns filed after 30 November 2021 for FY 2017-18 to 2020-21: section 16(5) is silent and we found no ruling extending it.
- The six-month window: Andhra Pradesh says section 16(5) has no time limit; Jharkhand kept the question open; Patna gave fresh liberty to apply.
- Money already paid: interest and penalty rest on one Tribunal bench order. The Karnataka High Court recorded a submission that section 150 does not cover amounts recovered or paid as pre-deposit, without deciding it (Santhemavathur Rudraiah, WP 21127/2024, 19 September 2024, para 3; "all other prayers" were left open). Calcutta left refund to be prayed for.
Frequently asked questions
Does section 16(5) cover FY 2021-22 or later?
No. It covers invoices of FY 2017-18 to 2020-21, in returns filed up to 30 November 2021.
ITC for FY 2019-20 was disallowed; my return was filed in October 2021. Does 16(5) cover it?
On the text, yes: the invoice year and the return date both fit. Whether an old order can still be corrected depends on its stage; the special window closed in April 2025 and High Courts have taken different routes since.
Can I get a refund of tax paid on a section 16(4) demand?
Section 150 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024 bars refund of tax paid and credit reversed. It is silent on interest and penalty; one Tribunal bench set both aside where they rested only on the section 16(4) demand.
Sources
- Statute CGST Act section 16 (CBIC consolidation), section 107, section 161; Finance Act 2022, section 100; Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024, sections 118 and 150 (Gazette of India, Extraordinary, 16 August 2024).
- CBIC portal downloads: Notifications 18/2022, 17/2024 and 22/2024-Central Tax; Circular 237/31/2024-GST.
- Judgments Patna, Gobinda Construction, CWJC 9108/2021, 8 September 2023, and Bhardwaj Construction, CWJC 4763/2026, 6 July 2026; Chhattisgarh, Jain Brothers, WPT 191/2022, 11 December 2023; Kerala, M. Trade Links, WP(C) 31559/2019, 4 June 2024; Delhi, HCC Samsung Joint Venture, W.P.(C) 9737/2024, 23 August 2024; Karnataka, ABE Security Mechanics, WP 6841/2026, 22 April 2026; Andhra Pradesh, R K I Builders, WP 33655/2025, 30 September 2026, and Thirumalakonda Plywoods, WP 24235/2022, 18 July 2023; Jharkhand, SZK Logistics, W.P.(T) 762/2026, 11 February 2026; Calcutta, Svaksha Distillery, WPA 20176/2025, 17 November 2025, and BBA Infrastructure, MAT 1099/2023, 13 December 2023; Supreme Court, Safari Retreats, 2024 INSC 756.
- Tribunal and Supreme Court GSTAT Ghaziabad order; Supreme Court office report of 5 February 2024 and record of proceedings of 9 February 2024.
Check whether section 16(5) reaches your credit
Ask in your own words, with your State and your side, for example: ITC for FY 2019-20 disallowed under 16(4); return filed in October 2021: does 16(5) cover it? (my State). Nira sets out the law and the decisions for and against you, weighed for your State. Ask your first question now, no account needed.