Verified · 29 Sept 2026
ITC Eligibility Checker – Blocked Credit u/s 17(5)
Check whether you can claim input tax credit on a purchase: the Section 16 conditions and the Section 17(5) blocked-credit list in one place.
✓ Verified against official notifications · 29 Sept 2026 · How we verify →
ITC can be claimed
- If the supplier is not paid within 180 days, reverse the ITC with interest and re-claim it on payment (Rule 37).
- Common credit used for both taxable and exempt supplies must be apportioned under Rule 42.
FY 2026-27 · GST 2.0 slabs (5% / 18% / 40%) from 22 Sept 2025 · interest on net cash only (s.50 proviso, CBIC Circular 26/2022)Verify on gst.gov.in →Share on WhatsApp
For estimation only. This calculator applies the rules as we understand them on 29 Sept 2026. It is not legal or tax advice. Verify with the official notification or consult a Chartered Accountant / labour-law professional before filing or changing payroll.
Did this tool give you the right answer?
Two tests, in order
A purchase gives you input tax credit only if it passes both tests. Section 16 sets conditions about the paperwork and the supplier. Section 17(5) then lists goods and services whose credit is blocked however good the paperwork is. The checker runs them in that order, because a blocked item fails even when every Section 16 condition is met.
The Section 16 conditions
- You hold a tax invoice or debit note.
- The invoice appears in your GSTR-2B. Since 1 January 2022 there is no provisional credit for invoices outside it.
- You have received the goods or services. For goods sent in lots, credit comes with the last lot.
- The supplier has actually paid the tax to the government.
- You have filed your own GSTR-3B.
- You pay the supplier within 180 days of the invoice date, or reverse the credit until you do.
- You claim it by 30 November of the next financial year, or by the date you file the annual return if that is earlier.
Blocked credits that catch most businesses
| Purchase | Blocked? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Car for a sales manager | Yes | Motor vehicle for up to 13 people, not used for passenger transport, goods transport, driver training or resale |
| Delivery van | No | Used to transport goods |
| Repairs and insurance on the manager's car | Yes | Follows the vehicle: blocked vehicle, blocked servicing |
| Team lunch or Diwali sweets for staff | Yes | Food and beverages, unless a law requires you to provide them |
| Canteen run because the OSH Code requires one | No | The law makes it obligatory |
| Group health insurance, voluntary | Yes | Health insurance is blocked unless a law makes it compulsory |
| Gifts and free samples | Yes | Credit on goods given away is blocked, and must be reversed if already taken |
| New office building | Yes | Construction of immovable property on your own account |
| Production machinery bolted to the factory floor | No | Plant and machinery is carved out of the construction block |
| Goods spent on CSR activities | Yes | Blocked since 1 October 2023 |
The construction block after Safari Retreats
In October 2024 the Supreme Court read the exception for “plant or machinery” in Section 17(5)(d) broadly enough that a building could qualify if it was essential to the business, such as a mall let out on rent. The Finance Act, 2025 amended the section with effect from 1 July 2017 to undo that reading. Treat credit on buildings as blocked unless your adviser has a specific reason to argue otherwise.
What to do with a blocked credit
Report it in Table 4(B)(1) of GSTR-3B as a reversal rather than leaving it out, so your GSTR-3B still reconciles with GSTR-2B. Credit you took and later found to be blocked must be reversed with interest at 18% if it was used to pay tax. If it sat unused in the ledger, reverse it without interest.
For credit that is only partly usable because you also make exempt supplies, use the ITC reversal calculator.
Official sources
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim ITC on a car?
Not on motor vehicles for up to 13 persons, unless you use them for further supply of vehicles, passenger transport, driving training or transport of goods.
Is ITC available on food for employees?
Only if providing it is obligatory under a law (e.g. a canteen under the OSH Code), or you use it to make an outward supply of the same category.
Can I claim ITC on building an office?
No. Construction of immovable property on your own account is blocked, except for plant and machinery.
What is the time limit to claim ITC?
30 November following the end of the financial year, or the date of filing the annual return, whichever is earlier.