Last updated: 29 September 2026. For FY 2025-26, four things close on Monday, 30 November 2026: claiming input tax credit (Section 16(4)), adjusting tax through credit notes (Section 34(2)), correcting GSTR-1 (Section 37(3)) and correcting GSTR-3B (Section 39(9)). If you file the FY 2025-26 annual return before that date, they close on the day you file it. The test is the date a return is actually filed, and for most businesses the last usable return is due well before 30 November.
Applicability Note: This guide is based on GST provisions applicable as of 29 September 2026. The 57th GST Council meeting is reported to be scheduled for 7 October 2026. Always verify the current position on gst.gov.in or with a GST professional before taking action.
Who Should Care?
- Finance teams closing FY 2025-26 books who still have unclaimed credit, pending credit notes or known reporting errors
- Suppliers who agreed price revisions or year-end discounts on FY 2025-26 sales and haven't issued the credit notes yet
- QRMP filers, whose last return before 30 November is due in October
- Anyone planning to file GSTR-9 early, because filing it pulls every one of these dates forward
1. The Four Windows and Where They Come From
Before 1 October 2022, each of these limits was tied to the September return. The Finance Act, 2022 replaced that with a fixed date, 30 November following the end of the financial year, in force from 1 October 2022 by Notification No. 18/2022-Central Tax dated 28 September 2022.
| What closes | Provision | FY 2025-26 limit |
|---|---|---|
| Taking ITC on an FY 2025-26 invoice or debit note | Section 16(4) | 30 November 2026 or filing of the annual return, whichever is earlier |
| Reducing tax through a credit note on an FY 2025-26 supply | Section 34(2) | Same, and the credit note goes in the return for the month it is issued |
| Correcting FY 2025-26 details in GSTR-1 | First proviso to Section 37(3) | Same |
| Correcting an FY 2025-26 GSTR-3B | Proviso to Section 39(9) | 30 November 2026 or the actual date you file the annual return, whichever is earlier |
Each provision bars the claim or correction after the cut-off. The due date of your return doesn't decide it. The date you actually file does. An October 2026 GSTR-3B filed late on 27 November is still in time. The same return filed on 2 December is not, and any FY 2025-26 credit in it is lost.
2. Your Real Last Return Is Earlier Than 30 November
No regular return falls due on Monday, 30 November, so work back to the last one you'll file before it.
| Your filer status | Last GSTR-1 / IFF | Last GSTR-3B |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly filer | October 2026 GSTR-1, due Wednesday, 11 November 2026 | October 2026 GSTR-3B, due Friday, 20 November 2026 |
| QRMP filer | July–September GSTR-1, due Tuesday, 13 October 2026; then the October IFF for B2B details, due Friday, 13 November 2026 | July–September GSTR-3B, due Thursday, 22 October 2026 or Saturday, 24 October 2026 depending on your State |
The GSTR-1 dates come from Notification No. 83/2020-Central Tax dated 10 November 2020. The IFF and GSTR-3B dates come from Rules 59(2) and 61(1), as set by Notification No. 82/2020-Central Tax dated 10 November 2020. For a QRMP filer, the October–December GSTR-3B isn't due until January 2027, so it can't carry any FY 2025-26 credit.
So the old "September return is your last chance" advice still holds for QRMP filers' GSTR-3B. Monthly filers get one more month.
3. ITC: Section 16(4)
You can't take credit on an invoice or debit note for FY 2025-26 after 30 November 2026, or after you file the FY 2025-26 annual return if that comes first. Anything in GSTR-2B you meant to claim must go into a GSTR-3B filed by then, subject to fulfilment of all the other conditions of Section 16.
Debit notes work differently. Since the Finance Act, 2020 amended Section 16(4) with effect from 1 January 2021 (Notification No. 92/2020-Central Tax dated 22 December 2020), the year that counts is the year the debit note itself pertains to, not the year of the original invoice. A debit note dated October 2026 on a March 2026 sale belongs to FY 2026-27, so it runs to 30 November 2027.
Two things that look like exceptions:
- Re-availing reversed credit. Rule 37(4) says the Section 16(4) limit doesn't apply when you re-avail credit that was reversed earlier. That is why credit reversed under Rule 37A can come back after the supplier files, as we explained in our Rule 37A guide.
- Revoked cancellations. Section 16(6), inserted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024, helps a person whose registration was cancelled and later restored. If the credit was not already time-barred under Section 16(4) on the date of the cancellation order, it can be taken by the normal limit or, for the period between cancellation and revocation, in a return filed within 30 days of the revocation order, whichever is later.
4. Credit Notes: Section 34(2)
This is the window most people misjudge. Section 34(2) doesn't just set an outer date. It says the credit note must be declared in the return for the month in which it is issued, and not later than 30 November following the end of the year in which the supply was made.
Put those two conditions together. A credit note you issue in November 2026 belongs in the November return, which you can't file until the month is over, and by then it's December. So if you're a monthly filer, the working deadline for a credit note on an FY 2025-26 sale is 31 October 2026: issue it in October and report it in the October GSTR-1 filed by 11 November. For a QRMP supplier with a registered customer, the route is a credit note issued in October and reported in the October IFF by 13 November, on the reading that an IFF declaration satisfies Section 34(2); the tax reduction itself only reaches a return in the October–December GSTR-3B in January. The IFF takes B2B details only (Rule 59(2)), so a QRMP supplier's credit note to an unregistered customer has to be issued by 30 September and reported in the July–September GSTR-1 due 13 October.
Miss it and the credit note can't reduce your output tax. You can still issue a commercial credit note to settle the account with your customer, but the GST on the original invoice stays payable.
There's a second condition, in force since 1 October 2025. The proviso to Section 34(2), substituted by section 126 of the Finance Act, 2025 (Notification No. 16/2025-Central Tax dated 17 September 2025), allows no reduction in your liability if a registered recipient availed the credit attributable to the credit note and has not reversed it. For an unregistered recipient, the test is whether the tax has been passed on to anyone else.
Debit notes are not subject to this limit. Section 34(4) only requires them to be declared in the month they are issued.
One trap on the portal: FAQ 18 in the GST portal's GSTR-1 user guide still says credit notes must be reported by "30th September". That is the pre-2022 rule. The Act now says 30 November. Our Section 34 guide covers credit and debit notes in full.
5. GSTR-1 Corrections: Section 37(3)
Under the first proviso to Section 37(3), no error or omission in FY 2025-26 GSTR-1 details can be rectified after 30 November 2026 or after the annual return is filed, whichever is earlier. The portal enforces the same line. The GSTR-1 FAQ says amendments to previous-year invoices "will not be allowed after 30th November of the following financial year", and its example applies the cut-off to "adding any missed invoice" too.
Typical fixes: a wrong recipient GSTIN, B2B reported as B2C, a wrong place of supply, or an invoice you never reported. Use the amendment tables in your last GSTR-1 or IFF before the cut-off. For errors in October's own invoices, GSTR-1A stays open until you file the October GSTR-3B.
A missed FY 2025-26 sale doesn't stop being taxable after 30 November. You just can't report it through GSTR-1 any more. The tax and interest are still due, and a payment you make on your own ascertainment is intimated in FORM GST DRC-03 under Rule 142(2).
6. GSTR-3B Corrections: Section 39(9)
GSTR-3B can't be revised. Under Section 39(9), you correct an omission or wrong figure in the return for the month or quarter in which you notice it, with interest where tax was short-paid. The proviso stops those corrections after 30 November 2026 or the actual date you file the annual return, whichever is earlier.
Two limits on this route:
- It covers errors you discover. Section 39(9) excludes anything that comes out of "scrutiny, audit, inspection or enforcement activity by the tax authorities". Those are dealt with in the proceedings.
- Outward liability now flows into GSTR-3B from GSTR-1, IFF and GSTR-1A, so most output-side errors are fixed in GSTR-1 (section 5).
For how the correction mechanics work month to month, see our guide to fixing GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B errors.
What the courts have said about the cut-off
The limit is not quite absolute in practice. In Aberdare Technologies Pvt. Ltd. v. CBIC (Bombay High Court, 29 July 2024), the Court directed the department to open the portal so the company could rectify its GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B after the 30 November cut-off. The errors were bona fide and caused no loss of revenue. On 21 March 2025 the Supreme Court dismissed the department's challenge, noted that there was no revenue loss, and asked CBIC to re-examine the timelines for correcting bona fide errors. It also said software limits are not a good reason to refuse a correction.
Don't plan around this. The relief came through a writ petition on its own facts, and the statutory limit hasn't changed.
7. The Annual Return Can Close Everything Early
All four provisions say "whichever is earlier". File your FY 2025-26 GSTR-9 on 15 October 2026 and every window above closes on 15 October. GSTR-9 isn't due until 31 December 2026 (Rule 80(1)), so filing it before your last credit and credit note are in rarely helps.
If your aggregate turnover is up to ₹2 crore, you're exempt from GSTR-9 from FY 2024-25 onwards under Notification No. 15/2025-Central Tax dated 17 September 2025. For you the date is simply 30 November 2026, unless you choose to file GSTR-9 anyway, in which case that filing closes the windows. Our GSTR-9 guide for FY 2025-26 has the details.
8. A Worked Example
Kapoor Components, a monthly filer, reviews FY 2025-26 on 29 September 2026 and finds three items:
| Item | Action | Deadline that matters |
|---|---|---|
| ₹42,000 ITC on a supplier's March 2026 invoice, in GSTR-2B but never claimed | Claim in the October 2026 GSTR-3B | Return filed by 30 November 2026 (due 20 November) |
| Year-end price reduction agreed with a customer on February 2026 sales | Issue the credit note in October; report it in the October GSTR-1; confirm the customer reverses any credit it availed | Credit note issued by 31 October 2026 |
| January 2026 invoice reported with the customer's old GSTIN | Amend in the October GSTR-1 | GSTR-1 filed by 30 November 2026 (due 11 November) |
If Kapoor files its October GSTR-3B on 2 December, the ₹42,000 is gone. If it issues the credit note on 10 November, the credit note can't reduce its tax. If it files GSTR-9 in October to get it out of the way, all three windows close on that day. The Rule 42 common-credit true-up is due earlier still: with the September return (20 October 2026 for monthly filers, 22 or 24 October 2026 for QRMP filers). See our Rule 42 true-up guide.
Key Takeaways
- ITC, credit notes, GSTR-1 corrections and GSTR-3B corrections for FY 2025-26 all close on 30 November 2026, or earlier if you file the annual return first.
- The filing date decides it. Monthly filers' last returns are October's (GSTR-1 due 11 November, GSTR-3B due 20 November). QRMP filers' last GSTR-3B is the July–September return due 22 or 24 October.
- A credit note has to be reported in the return for its month of issue, so for a monthly filer the practical date is 31 October 2026. A registered recipient who availed the credit must also reverse it before your liability comes down.
- A debit note issued from April 2026 onwards on an FY 2025-26 sale (its ITC runs to 30 November 2027), re-availment of reversed credit (Rule 37(4)) and tax on missed sales are not closed off by 30 November 2026. ITC on a debit note dated within FY 2025-26 is.
- Don't file GSTR-9 early if you still have credit to claim or corrections to make.
- Courts have allowed late corrections of bona fide, revenue-neutral errors (Aberdare Technologies), but only through writ petitions, so treat that as a fallback.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the last date to claim ITC for FY 2025-26?
30 November 2026, or the date you file the FY 2025-26 annual return if that is earlier (Section 16(4)). The credit must be in a GSTR-3B you actually file on or before that date. For monthly filers that is the October 2026 return. For QRMP filers it is the July–September 2026 return.
Can I issue a credit note for an FY 2025-26 sale in November 2026?
You can issue it, but it won't reduce your GST. Section 34(2) requires the credit note to be declared in the return for the month of issue, and the November return is filed after 30 November. Issue it by 31 October 2026 and report it in the October GSTR-1 (monthly filers) or, for a registered customer, the October IFF (QRMP filers). A QRMP supplier's credit note to an unregistered customer can't go in the IFF, so it has to be issued by 30 September 2026.
Can I amend GSTR-1 invoices of FY 2025-26 after 30 November 2026?
No. The first proviso to Section 37(3) bars rectification after that date, and the portal blocks amendments and missed invoices for the previous year. Tax on an unreported sale is still payable, and you intimate a voluntary payment in FORM GST DRC-03.
Does filing GSTR-9 early affect the 30 November deadline?
Yes. Sections 16(4), 34(2), 37(3) and 39(9) all say "whichever is earlier", so filing the annual return before 30 November closes every one of these windows on the day you file.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional tax advice. GST rules are subject to frequent changes through notifications and circulars. Please consult a qualified tax professional or verify the current provisions on the official GST portal (gst.gov.in) before making any compliance decisions.
Have a specific question about the FY 2025-26 cut-off? Our GST experts can help → gstconsultancy.com