What is the last date to claim ITC for FY 2025-26?

The last date to claim ITC for FY 2025-26 purchases is the earlier of: (a) the due date of filing the September 2026 return (GSTR-3B due October 20, 2026 for monthly filers), or (b) the date of filing the FY 2025-26 annual return (GSTR-9), whichever comes first. Practically, most businesses aim to claim all eligible ITC by March 31 itself to avoid complications in annual return reconciliation. ITC not claimed by the September 2026 return deadline is permanently lost — it cannot be carried forward.

What credit notes can be issued after March 31 for FY 2025-26 transactions?

Credit notes related to FY 2025-26 transactions can be issued until the due date of the September 2026 GSTR-1 return (September 11, 2026 for monthly filers) or the date of filing the FY 2025-26 annual return, whichever is earlier. However, issuing credit notes after March 31 means they will appear in FY 2026-27 returns and require reconciliation in the annual return. Best practice is to issue all pending credit notes before March 31 to keep FY 2025-26 books clean and simplify GSTR-9 preparation.

What happens if I claimed ITC on blocked items like cars or personal food bills during FY 2025-26?

ITC claimed on blocked credits under Section 17(5) must be reversed. The reversal should be done in the return for the month in which the wrongful claim is identified. Interest at 18% per annum applies from the month of original claim to the month of reversal. If discovered during year-end review, reverse it in the March 2026 GSTR-3B. Failing to reverse before filing GSTR-9 will result in a mismatch between your annual return and your books, which may attract GST audit attention. Common blocked items: personal motor vehicles, restaurant meals, club memberships, and construction of own building.

Do I need e-invoicing from April 1, 2026 if my turnover crossed Rs 5 crore?

Yes. If your aggregate turnover in any preceding financial year exceeded Rs 5 crore, you must generate e-invoices from the first day of the next financial year. If FY 2025-26 turnover crossed Rs 5 crore, you must generate e-invoices (with IRN from the Invoice Registration Portal) for all B2B invoices from April 1, 2026. Check your FY 2025-26 annual turnover before March 31 and ensure your billing software is e-invoice ready. E-invoicing is mandatory for B2B, export, and SEZ supply invoices — B2C invoices are exempt from e-invoicing.

What is GSTR-9 and when is it due for FY 2025-26?

GSTR-9 is the annual GST return that summarizes all monthly GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B filings for the full financial year. It reconciles your declared outward supplies, inward supplies, and ITC for all 12 months. For FY 2025-26, GSTR-9 is typically due December 31, 2026. Businesses with turnover above Rs 5 crore must also file GSTR-9C (reconciliation statement certified by a CA or CMA). Businesses with turnover below Rs 2 crore are generally exempted from GSTR-9, but check current exemption notifications as CBIC has been updating these annually.

What should I do if a supplier's invoices are missing from GSTR-2B for FY 2025-26?

If a supplier's invoices are not appearing in your GSTR-2B, it means the supplier has not filed their GSTR-1 or has filed it incorrectly. First, contact the supplier directly and request them to file or amend their GSTR-1 for the relevant months before the financial year ends. If they file by March 31, their invoices will appear in your March GSTR-2B and you can claim ITC. If they remain non-compliant, you must reverse any provisional ITC you claimed on those invoices under Rule 37A, and pay interest at 18% per annum from the month of claim. The revised ITC claims should be settled before year-end to minimize interest.

ITC & Compliance

Financial Year End GST Checklist: 10 Tasks Before March 31

The financial year closes on March 31. After that, most adjustments to your FY 2025-26 GST returns become either impossible or attract penalties. Here are the 10 critical GST tasks every business must complete before year-end.

Himanshu25 March 2026 · 8 min read · updated 6 September 2026

Close-up of person using a calculator with financial documents in an office.

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Key takeaways

ITC for FY 2025-26 lapses after the September 2026 return or the GSTR-9 filing date, whichever comes first.
Reconcile all 12 months of GSTR-2B against your purchase register and reverse Section 17(5) blocked credits before March 31.
Issue pending credit and debit notes within the same financial year to keep GSTR-9 reconciliation clean.
If FY 2025-26 turnover crossed Rs 5 crore, e-invoicing starts April 1, 2026; exporters must renew their LUT before March 31.

Why March 31 Is the Hard Deadline for GST Adjustments

March 31 is not just the accounting year-end — it is a hard cutoff for several GST compliance actions. Under the CGST Act, certain credits, adjustments, and amendments can only be made up to the due date of the September return of the following financial year (September 30) or the date of filing the annual return (GSTR-9), whichever is earlier.

However, many practical adjustments are better made before March 31 itself, because: annual return GSTR-9 requires reconciliation between your books and your GST returns, and unexplained differences attract scrutiny. Credit notes must be matched to the original invoices within the same financial year for clean reconciliation. Ineligible ITC that was inadvertently claimed must be reversed before year-end to minimize interest exposure.

We put together this 10-task checklist based on the most common year-end GST issues we see businesses face. Work through each item systematically in the last two weeks of March. If you use myBillPlease, most of these tasks are automated — your GSTR-2B reconciliation, ITC reversal calculations, and credit note tracking are built into the platform.

The 10-Task Year-End GST Checklist

Complete all 10 before March 31, 2026 to close FY 2025-26 cleanly

Task 1: Reconcile your purchase register with GSTR-2B for all months of FY 2025-26 — identify and follow up on missing invoices
Task 2: Reverse all ineligible ITC in GSTR-3B — personal consumption, blocked credits under Section 17(5), and ITC on exempt supplies
Task 3: Issue all pending credit notes and debit notes before March 31 — post-year-end adjustments must reflect in new-year returns
Task 4: Reconcile your books of accounts with your filed GSTR-1 returns for the full year — identify any missing or incorrect invoices
Task 5: Check and update HSN/SAC codes for all products and services after GST 2.0 rate changes (September 2025 changes)
Task 6: Stock valuation for year-end — if ITC was claimed on goods now with damaged or expired stock, ITC reversal is required
Task 7: Ensure GSTR-3B for every month from April 2025 to March 2026 has been filed — nil returns too
Task 8: Reconcile advance payments received with invoices raised — advances on which GST was paid must match supply invoices
Task 9: Check your aggregate turnover against the e-invoicing threshold (Rs 5 crore) — determine if you need e-invoicing from April 2026
Task 10: File a fresh LUT (Form GST RFD-11) for FY 2026-27 if you are an exporter — the current year's LUT expires March 31

Task 1: GSTR-2B Reconciliation for the Full Year

GSTR-2B is the auto-populated inward supplies register showing all invoices declared by your suppliers in their GSTR-1. ITC can only be claimed on invoices that appear in GSTR-2B — provisional ITC claims made on invoices not in GSTR-2B must be reversed under Rule 37A of the CGST Rules.

How to reconcile: Download GSTR-2B for every month from April 2025 to March 2026. Compare each month's GSTR-2B with your actual purchase invoices recorded in your accounting software or billing system. You are looking for three categories of differences:

Category A: Invoices in your books but NOT in GSTR-2B. This means your supplier has not filed their GSTR-1 or has filed it incorrectly. You cannot claim ITC on these. Follow up with the supplier to have them file their GSTR-1 correctly. If they do not comply, you must reverse the provisional ITC you may have claimed.

Category B: Invoices in GSTR-2B but NOT in your books. A supplier has declared an invoice in their return that you have not recorded. Verify whether you actually received the goods/services and whether payment was made. If it is a genuine purchase, record it in your books and claim ITC. If it is an erroneous entry by the supplier, ask them to amend it.

Category C: Matching invoices with value differences. The amount in GSTR-2B differs from your invoice. Typically happens due to rounding or data entry errors. Reconcile and use the GSTR-2B value for ITC purposes.

Complete this reconciliation for all 12 months of FY 2025-26 before filing your March GSTR-3B. The same reconciliation data forms the basis for GSTR-9C (reconciliation statement) if your turnover exceeds Rs 5 crore.

Task 2: Reverse All Ineligible ITC Before Year-End

Section 17(5) of the CGST Act blocks ITC on a specific list of purchases, regardless of whether you have a tax invoice. If you inadvertently claimed ITC on any of these during FY 2025-26, reverse it before March 31 to minimize interest (18% per annum from the date of wrongful claim).

Blocked credits under Section 17(5) — ITC cannot be claimed on:

Motor vehicles for personal use (cars, motorcycles) — except if used for transportation business, car rental, or driving school
Food and beverages, outdoor catering, beauty treatment, health services, cosmetic/plastic surgery
Club memberships, health and fitness clubs
Rent-a-cab services (except if you are in the cab rental business)
Life insurance and health insurance (post-GST 2.0, health insurance is at 0%, so no ITC issue from September 2025)
Construction of immovable property — works contract for own building, not for resale or rental
Goods or services used for personal consumption of employees

ITC on exempt supplies: If any portion of your turnover is from exempt supplies (for example, a hospital that also provides taxable pharmacy services), you must calculate the proportional ITC reversal using the formula in Rule 42 and Rule 43 of the CGST Rules. The reversal is: (Exempt turnover / Total turnover) × Total ITC claimed.

Calculate your Rule 42/43 ITC reversal for the full year and declare it in your March GSTR-3B. Your CA can assist with this calculation if your business has a mix of exempt and taxable supplies.

Task 3: Issue Pending Credit Notes and Debit Notes Before March 31

Credit notes issued after March 31 for transactions from FY 2025-26 create a timing mismatch in GST returns. While the CGST Act allows credit notes up to the due date of the September 2026 return (September 30, 2026) or annual return, whichever is earlier, best practice is to issue all credit notes within the same financial year for clean reconciliation.

Common reasons for year-end credit notes:

Sales returns processed after the original invoice was raised
Price corrections agreed with customers for goods supplied earlier in the year
Settlement of disputes where you agreed to reduce the billed amount
Discounts finalized at year-end that reduce the taxable value of earlier invoices

For each credit note, the original invoice number must be referenced. The GST on the credit note reduces your output tax liability in the month you issue it. If you issue a credit note after April 1, 2026 for an FY 2025-26 transaction, it will show up in FY 2026-27 returns and require explanation during GSTR-9 reconciliation.

Similarly, debit notes for short billing, price escalation, or additional charges must be issued before year-end wherever possible. Use your invoice generator to create properly formatted credit and debit notes with all mandatory fields.

Tasks 5, 9 & 10: HSN Updates, E-Invoice Threshold & LUT Renewal

Task 5: Update HSN/SAC Codes

GST 2.0 (September 2025) changed rates for many product categories. If items moved between slabs, verify their HSN codes and current rates are updated in your billing software. Wrong HSN code on invoices can attract Rs 50 per invoice penalty under Section 125 of the CGST Act, up to Rs 25,000 per year.

Task 9: Check E-Invoice Threshold

If your FY 2025-26 aggregate turnover crossed Rs 5 crore, you must generate e-invoices from April 1, 2026. E-invoicing requires IRN (Invoice Reference Number) from the IRP (Invoice Registration Portal) for every B2B invoice. Check your turnover now and ensure your billing software is e-invoice ready before April 1.

Task 10: Renew LUT for FY 2026-27

If you are an exporter, your current LUT (Form GST RFD-11) is valid only for FY 2025-26 — it expires March 31, 2026. File a fresh LUT for FY 2026-27 on the GST portal before March 31. If you forget, you will need to either pay IGST on exports and claim a refund, or file the LUT immediately and ensure no exports are made in the gap period without either IGST payment or a valid LUT.

Task 6: Stock Valuation and ITC Reversal

Conduct a physical stock count before March 31. If you find damaged, expired, or destroyed goods, ITC claimed on those goods must be reversed. Under Section 17(5)(h), ITC is blocked on goods destroyed or lost. Calculate the ITC attributable to the damaged stock and reverse it in your March GSTR-3B.

Task 8: Advance Payment Reconciliation

GST is payable on advances received for supply of goods and services. Reconcile all advances received during FY 2025-26 against invoices raised. Any advance on which GST was paid (via GSTR-3B Form GST ADV-1) but for which supply has not yet been made must be tracked for the new year. Advances outstanding at year-end need clear documentation.

Task 7: Verify All Monthly Returns Filed

Check that GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B are filed for every single month from April 2025 to February 2026, and prepare March 2026 returns before due date. Unfiled returns block e-way bill generation, attract late fees, and complicate GSTR-9 annual return preparation. Log in to GST portal and verify return status for all 11 completed months.

What Comes After March 31: GSTR-9 Annual Return

Once FY 2025-26 closes, the next major compliance milestone is the GSTR-9 annual return for FY 2025-26, due December 31, 2026 (typically). GSTR-9 is a reconciliation of your monthly returns — it compares what you declared in all 12 months of GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B against your books of accounts.

Completing the 10-task year-end checklist above makes GSTR-9 preparation significantly easier. Specifically:

GSTR-2B reconciliation (Task 1) directly populates the ITC section of GSTR-9
ITC reversal (Task 2) ensures Table 7 of GSTR-9 (ineligible ITC) is accurate
Credit note reconciliation (Task 3) ensures Table 4 amendments match books
HSN updates (Task 5) are needed for Table 17 (outward supply HSN summary) and Table 18 (inward supply HSN summary) of GSTR-9

GSTR-9C (Reconciliation Statement): If your FY 2025-26 aggregate turnover exceeds Rs 5 crore, you must also file GSTR-9C — an audited reconciliation statement prepared and certified by a CA or CMA. This statement compares GSTR-9 data with the audited financial statements and explains all differences. Start preparing GSTR-9C documentation well before December.

We built myBillPlease to make your GSTR-9 preparation straightforward. Your full year's invoices, credit notes, ITC claims, and reversals are stored in one place. One click generates the GSTR-9 data extract — reducing the annual return preparation from days to hours.

Frequently asked questions

What is the last date to claim ITC for FY 2025-26?: The last date to claim ITC for FY 2025-26 purchases is the earlier of: (a) the due date of filing the September 2026 return (GSTR-3B due October 20, 2026 for monthly filers), or (b) the date of filing the FY 2025-26 annual return (GSTR-9), whichever comes first. Practically, most businesses aim to claim all eligible ITC by March 31 itself to avoid complications in annual return reconciliation. ITC not claimed by the September 2026 return deadline is permanently lost — it cannot be carried forward.
What credit notes can be issued after March 31 for FY 2025-26 transactions?: Credit notes related to FY 2025-26 transactions can be issued until the due date of the September 2026 GSTR-1 return (September 11, 2026 for monthly filers) or the date of filing the FY 2025-26 annual return, whichever is earlier. However, issuing credit notes after March 31 means they will appear in FY 2026-27 returns and require reconciliation in the annual return. Best practice is to issue all pending credit notes before March 31 to keep FY 2025-26 books clean and simplify GSTR-9 preparation.
What happens if I claimed ITC on blocked items like cars or personal food bills during FY 2025-26?: ITC claimed on blocked credits under Section 17(5) must be reversed. The reversal should be done in the return for the month in which the wrongful claim is identified. Interest at 18% per annum applies from the month of original claim to the month of reversal. If discovered during year-end review, reverse it in the March 2026 GSTR-3B. Failing to reverse before filing GSTR-9 will result in a mismatch between your annual return and your books, which may attract GST audit attention. Common blocked items: personal motor vehicles, restaurant meals, club memberships, and construction of own building.
Do I need e-invoicing from April 1, 2026 if my turnover crossed Rs 5 crore?: Yes. If your aggregate turnover in any preceding financial year exceeded Rs 5 crore, you must generate e-invoices from the first day of the next financial year. If FY 2025-26 turnover crossed Rs 5 crore, you must generate e-invoices (with IRN from the Invoice Registration Portal) for all B2B invoices from April 1, 2026. Check your FY 2025-26 annual turnover before March 31 and ensure your billing software is e-invoice ready. E-invoicing is mandatory for B2B, export, and SEZ supply invoices — B2C invoices are exempt from e-invoicing.
What is GSTR-9 and when is it due for FY 2025-26?: GSTR-9 is the annual GST return that summarizes all monthly GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B filings for the full financial year. It reconciles your declared outward supplies, inward supplies, and ITC for all 12 months. For FY 2025-26, GSTR-9 is typically due December 31, 2026. Businesses with turnover above Rs 5 crore must also file GSTR-9C (reconciliation statement certified by a CA or CMA). Businesses with turnover below Rs 2 crore are generally exempted from GSTR-9, but check current exemption notifications as CBIC has been updating these annually.
What should I do if a supplier's invoices are missing from GSTR-2B for FY 2025-26?: If a supplier's invoices are not appearing in your GSTR-2B, it means the supplier has not filed their GSTR-1 or has filed it incorrectly. First, contact the supplier directly and request them to file or amend their GSTR-1 for the relevant months before the financial year ends. If they file by March 31, their invoices will appear in your March GSTR-2B and you can claim ITC. If they remain non-compliant, you must reverse any provisional ITC you claimed on those invoices under Rule 37A, and pay interest at 18% per annum from the month of claim. The revised ITC claims should be settled before year-end to minimize interest.