GST Input Tax Credit lets registered businesses offset the GST paid on purchases against GST collected on sales. The right to claim ITC depends on five conditions under Section 16 of the CGST Act, a hard November 30 annual deadline, and your vendor's filing compliance - not just the validity of your own invoice.
ITC typically represents 12-18% of purchase value. On Rs 10 crore in annual vendor spend, that is Rs 1.2-1.8 crore in direct tax exposure. The rules governing when that credit can be claimed, when it must be reversed, and what is blocked entirely are the operational detail most AP teams need to understand clearly.
The five eligibility conditions under Section 16
All five conditions must be met before ITC can be claimed. Meeting four of five is not sufficient.
Condition 1: Valid tax invoice. The invoice must meet GST format requirements - supplier GSTIN, recipient GSTIN, invoice number, invoice date, HSN/SAC code, taxable value, and tax amount broken out by component (CGST/SGST or IGST). An invoice missing mandatory fields cannot support an ITC claim, even if GST was paid.
Condition 2: Receipt of goods or services. Goods must have been received, or services rendered. Partial receipt entitles partial ITC. Advance payments do not create an ITC entitlement until the supply is received.
Condition 3: Tax paid to government by supplier. This is the condition most AP teams underestimate. Your ITC entitlement depends on your supplier paying GST to the government, not just on your invoice being valid. This is verifiable through GSTR-2B - if the invoice appears there, it means the supplier filed their GSTR-1. Whether they paid the underlying tax in GSTR-3B creates the 180-day exposure discussed below. Vendor filing status can be checked on the GSTN portal.
Condition 4: You have filed your GST returns. ITC can be claimed only in a GSTR-3B filing period in which you are compliant.
Condition 5: Business use. Goods and services must be used for taxable business supplies. Purchases for personal use, exempt supplies, or non-business activities do not carry ITC entitlement, proportionately.
From January 2024, an additional requirement applies to B2B invoices: the invoice must appear in your GSTR-2B for you to claim ITC. If your supplier does not file their GSTR-1, the invoice will not appear in GSTR-2B, and under current rules as typically applied, the ITC claim is not available. This is the direct link between vendor compliance and your ITC position.
Time limits: the November 30 deadline and the 180-day rule
The annual deadline. ITC on any invoice must be claimed by the earlier of 30th November following the end of the financial year, or the date of filing the annual return (GSTR-9). For invoices from FY 2024-25, the deadline is 30th November 2025.
There is no provision for late ITC claims after this date. A valid invoice with GST paid, received before the deadline, becomes worthless for ITC purposes if the claim is missed. Finance teams processing large invoice backlogs near year-end carry real exposure on this point.
The 180-day supplier payment rule. Even after claiming ITC, there is a deferred reversal risk. If your supplier does not pay the GST to the government within 180 days of the invoice date, you must reverse the ITC you claimed, with 18% annual interest from the date of the original claim.
The practical implication: ITC claimed on a January invoice is contingent on the supplier's behaviour through June. A supplier who files GSTR-1 (making the invoice appear in your GSTR-2B) but does not pay the tax in their GSTR-3B creates a reversal obligation you may not discover until the 180-day window closes. This is why monitoring vendor filing status continuously - not just at onboarding - is a finance control, not an administrative task. The compliance drift patterns that create this exposure are examined in vendor compliance drift patterns and early detection.
For invoices that appear in GSTR-2B, the risk is partially mitigated. A supplier who filed GSTR-1 has established a record. But GSTR-1 filing and GSTR-3B tax payment are separate actions, and audit scrutiny typically falls on whether the tax was actually remitted.
Blocked credits under Section 17(5)
Certain categories of expenditure carry no ITC entitlement regardless of business use, valid invoice, or tax payment. These are blocked under Section 17(5) of the CGST Act:
Motor vehicles seating up to 13 persons, including company cars, sales team vehicles, and motorcycles. Exceptions apply for vehicles used in passenger transport businesses, driving schools, or goods transport. A delivery van qualifies for ITC; a sales team car does not.
Food, beverages, and outdoor catering. Team lunches, Diwali celebration catering, and office pantry supplies are blocked. Hotels and restaurants can claim ITC on these because serving food is their taxable business.
Rent-a-cab services for employee transport. Uber and Ola charges for commuting employees are blocked. Limited exceptions apply where transport to a remote work site has no public alternative - a narrow category in practice.
Club memberships and health and fitness services. Golf club fees, gym memberships, and corporate wellness programs carry no ITC regardless of whether they appear on the company's books as employee benefits.
Works contracts for immovable property. Civil construction, renovation, and building works are blocked when the contract is for immovable property. ITC on movable fixtures installed during the same renovation - furniture, AC units, electrical equipment - is available separately.
A common error is claiming ITC on office renovation invoices without separating the civil works component (blocked) from the equipment and fittings component (available). The invoices frequently arrive as a single line item, requiring the AP team to request a breakdown. The CBIC circulars on Section 17(5) provide the authoritative interpretation for edge cases.
ITC eligibility depends on five conditions under Section 16, all of which must be met - your invoice being valid is necessary but not sufficient. The November 30 deadline is a hard cutoff with no late-claim provision, so invoice backlogs near year-end carry real forfeiture risk. The 180-day supplier payment rule creates deferred reversal exposure that only continuous vendor compliance monitoring can manage reliably. Section 17(5) blocked categories - vehicles, catering, renovation works - appear frequently in normal business expenditure and are the most common misclassification points.
See how IQInvoice handles GSTR-2B reconciliation and vendor compliance monitoring.
Sources: GSTN portal - GSTIN verification and GSTR-2B. CBIC - Section 16 and Section 17(5) CGST Act.