The 30 November deadline: what to claim before FY 2025–26 closes

Every year, the GST calendar has one date that matters more than any return due date. For FY 2025–26, it is 30 November 2026. Credit not claimed by then is lost, however valid the invoice.

What the law says

Section 16(4) of the CGST Act says input tax credit on an invoice or debit note cannot be taken after 30 November following the end of the financial year, or the date of filing the annual return for that year, whichever is earlier. For FY 2025–26 that is 30 November 2026, unless you file GSTR-9 before then. In practice, the credit must be claimed in the return filed on or before that date, which for most monthly filers is the October 2026 GSTR-3B due on 20 November.

Three related limits use the same date:

• Credit notes (section 34). A supplier must declare a credit note for FY 2025–26 supplies no later than 30 November 2026 or the annual return date, whichever is earlier.
• Corrections (sections 37 and 39). Errors or omissions in FY 2025–26 GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B can be rectified up to the same date.
• Credit notes and your ITC. From October 2025, the supplier's output tax reduces only once the recipient has accepted the credit note and reversed the related ITC, where it had claimed it.

Where the Invoice Management System fits

The Invoice Management System (IMS) lets you accept, reject or keep pending each invoice your suppliers report before it flows into GSTR-2B. Records you do not act on are deemed accepted when GSTR-2B is generated. From the October 2025 tax period, GSTN added changes: credit notes can be kept pending for one tax period only, and you can declare the amount of ITC actually reversed against a credit note, limited to credit you had claimed.

Two consequences for the deadline. First, an invoice left pending does not give you credit, and pending cannot run past the time limit. Second, a rejected invoice is not in GSTR-2B, so under section 16(2)(aa) it cannot be claimed until the supplier corrects it. Any disputes need to be resolved well before November.

A worked example

Take an illustrative consulting firm that bought ₹8.75 crore of domestic business-class fares in FY 2025–26: ₹4.75 crore flown before 22 September 2025, taxed at 12%, and ₹4 crore after, taxed at 18%. That is about ₹1.29 crore of GST it could claim. Its GSTR-2B for the year shows ₹1.02 crore of airline invoices, and its GSTR-3B claims ₹96 L.

The ₹33 L gap has three parts. About ₹6 L is in GSTR-2B but was never claimed, usually because invoices were kept pending in IMS or missed in the monthly claim. That can be claimed in the October 2026 return with no help from anyone. About ₹18 L relates to tickets booked against the wrong state GSTIN. The airline can correct its records, but only if asked well before 30 November. The last ₹9 L is on tickets booked with no GSTIN at all; some airlines will add it on request, many will not after several months.

The point is the order of work. The unclaimed ₹6 L is easy and should be done first. The ₹18 L needs airlines to act and needs to be started in September, not November.

Who acts

• Your tax team claims credit already in GSTR-2B and clears the IMS queue.
• Suppliers and airlines must report or correct invoices; you can only ask, so ask early and specifically.
• Your travel desk or travel agent fixes the booking process so the same GSTIN errors do not continue into FY 2026–27.
• Whoever files GSTR-9 must wait until all FY 2025–26 claims are made, because filing early brings the deadline forward.

Common mistakes

• Planning to claim in the November return, which is filed after the cut-off.
• Filing GSTR-9 early for a tidy close and losing the remaining weeks.
• Leaving invoices pending in IMS as a way of deferring a decision.
• Assuming an invoice on the airline portal means credit is available. It must be in GSTR-2B against the right GSTIN.

Airline invoices: the usual gaps

• Tickets booked without a GSTIN, or with the wrong state's GSTIN.
• Invoices on the airline portal that are missing from GSTR-2B, or the reverse.
• Credit notes for cancellations and refunds that reduce credit already claimed.
• Charges on the invoice that are not airfare, such as convenience fees billed by an agent, treated as airline credit.
• Invoices accepted in IMS but never claimed in GSTR-3B.

A checklist for October

1. Reconcile FY 2025–26 GSTR-2B to your purchase register

   Month by month, supplier by supplier, with values.

2. Clear the IMS queue

   Resolve pending items and review rejections before the October return.

3. Chase missing supplier invoices

   Suppliers can still report FY 2025–26 invoices until their own cut-off.

4. Match airline tickets to invoices

   Download from airline portals and check GSTIN and eligibility on each.

5. Claim in the October GSTR-3B

   Do not rely on the November return, which is filed after the date.

6. Hold GSTR-9 until claims are done

   Filing the annual return early brings the deadline forward.

If airline credit is where your gap is, our Airline ITC Recovery practice can review FY 2025–26 before the date. See our research on airline credit or contact us.

General information only, not tax advice. Check the current law and your facts before acting.