The deadline for reclaiming tax on a credit note
Tax may be adjusted until 30 November after the invoice financial year. After that, the money is credited and the tax is not.
Under GST, a credit note may carry a tax adjustment only until the 30th of November following the end of the financial year the invoice falls in. An invoice dated anywhere in April 2026 – March 2027 can be credited with tax until 30 November 2027.
After that date you can still credit the money — hotels settle old disputes — but the tax cannot be reclaimed. The system works this out for you:
- Inside the window, the note goes into GSTR-1 table 9B and reduces the output tax.
- Outside it, the note is marked as a commercial credit, says so on its face, and is left out of the return.
This is why a refund must never be handled by quietly reopening an old bill. A credit note is visible to the return; an edited invoice is not, and the tax on money you gave back stays paid.