Electronic Credit Ledger in GST

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Electronic credit ledger displays input tax credit (ITC) available to the taxpayer during the tax period. Balance in the said ledger is used to pay tax dues.

If GST liability is less than ITC then excess balance of GST credit will be reflected in the credit ledger.
If GST liability exceeds ITC then the differential amount will be paid by debiting the electronic cash ledger.

The electronic credit ledger shall be maintained in electronic form on the GST portal for every taxpayer except the following-

Composition dealer
Input service distributor
Person liable to deduct tax at source under GST
Person liable to collect tax at source under GST

Components

Electronic credit ledger is available in FORM GST PMT-02 on the common portal with the following components-

Serial number
Date
Reference number
Tax period
Description
Transaction type (Debit/Credit)
Amount – integrated tax, central tax, state tax, cess, and total.

This ledger can be accessed using the path given below-

GST Portal > Login > Services > Ledgers > Electronic Credit Ledger

Note, taxpayers cannot edit the credit ledger. This Ledger can be viewed or downloaded for a maximum period of 6 months.

Utilization rules

Accumulated balance of input tax credit in the electronic credit ledger will be utilized as per the following rules:

1. As per sub-section 5 of section 49 of CGST Act, 2017, balance in credit ledger may be utilized for payment of output tax under CGST Act or IGST Act only. This means balance cannot be utilized for payment of interest, penalty, late fees, or reverse charge liabilities.

2. As per sub-section 6 of section 49 of CGST Act, the balance of ITC in electronic credit ledger shall be utilized in the following priority-

Credit of integrated tax first shall be utilized to pay integrated tax dues and then balance will be utilized to pay dues of state tax/central tax.

Credit of state tax first shall be utilized to pay state tax and then balance will be utilized to pay integrated tax.

Credit of central tax first shall be utilized to pay central tax and then balance will be utilized to pay integrated tax.

Steps to view Electronic Credit Ledger on the GST portal

Blocking of input tax credit

As per rule 86A of CGST Rules, any GST officer, not below the rank of assistant commissioner, may temporarily restrict the debit from the electronic credit ledger which means ITC cannot be used to pay the output tax liability. The tax officer may block the credit because of the following reasons-

1. ITC has been claimed;

by means of fraud, or
for goods or services which has not been received, or
on the basis of a document issued by a person who does not exist or
on the basis of a document issued by a person who is not operating any business from the registered place;
for tax which has not been deposited to the government;

2. Taxpayer does not exist.

3. Taxpayer is not operating any business from any registered place of business.

4. Invoice or debit note or any other required documentation for respective supply is not in possession.

The concerned officer after investigation may remove the restriction of the utilization of ITC. Intimation for blocking or unblocking of credit will be shared with the taxpayer on the registered email id and registered phone number.

Whether excess balance in electronic credit ledger can be claimed as a refund?

Excess credit balance in the ledger can be claimed as a refund only if the excess amount belongs to an inverted duty structure or Zero-rated supplies. The amount to the extent of the GST refund claim will be debited in the credit ledger.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

In the Electronic Credit Ledger, all credits accrued on account of inward supplies made by a taxpayer within a tax period are accumulated. The ledger is maintained Major Head-wise, i.e., IGST, CGST, SGST, and CESS.

The Electronic Credit Ledger is maintained by the GST System.

No. An Electronic Credit Ledger can be viewed only by the taxpayers themselves or by the concerned Jurisdictional Officer (JO).

A taxpayer can log in to the GST Portal and check the available balance on the landing page of the Electronic Credit Ledger.

Path: Services > Ledgers > Electronic Credit Ledger

No, the Electronic Credit Ledger can be debited only against an existing tax liability.

No, unless the taxpayer makes a debit entry from the Electronic Credit Ledger against a specific liability, the amount available in the Electronic Credit Ledger cannot be assigned to any liability.

Yes, in exceptional circumstances as permitted in the Act and rules, especially when the amount of additional demand is not stayed by the Appellate Authority, Tribunal, or Court, the credit can be debited to the extent of the demand by the proper officer.

No, the amount may continue to remain in the Electronic Credit Ledger and can be utilized for any future liability. A refund can only be claimed if ITC has been accumulated due to the export of goods and/or services and/or due to the rate of tax on outward supplies being lower than inward supplies.

Yes. The taxpayer can utilize the credit against other than return-related liabilities as well. However, credit can be adjusted only against tax liability.

Yes. You can download and save the Credit ledger from your dashboard in PDF and CSV format on your local machine.

You can see your transitional credit in the Electronic Credit Ledger. This is identified with a different description and reference.

You can see your credit on the transition from composition to a normal taxpayer in the Electronic Credit Ledger.

No, you cannot edit the Electronic Credit Ledger. You can ONLY view the details in the Electronic Credit Ledger.

Provisional credit tables display the balance of provisional and mismatch credit, tax period-wise.

Navigate to "Services" > "Ledgers" > "Electronic Credit Ledger" > "Provisional Credit Balance"

The credit available can be utilized to pay off the tax liabilities as per the utilization rules. Balance in credit ledger cannot be utilized for payment of fees, Penalty, and interest.

Yes, a GST Practitioner can view the Credit ledger that has been authorized by you. You can allow or deny a GST practitioner to view your credit ledger by online engaging/disengaging a GST practitioner.

No, Credit availed on CESS will be available for set-off against any output tax liability of CESS only. There is no Inter head adjustment for CESS Input Tax Credit.

Navigate to "Services" > "Ledgers" > "Electronic Credit Ledger" > "Blocked Credit Balance" to view the blocked credit balance.

Yes, you can perform intra-head or inter-head transfer of amount, as available in Electronic Cash Ledger, using Form GST PMT-09. Form GST PMT-09 enables any registered taxpayer to perform, intra-head or inter-head transfer of amount, as available in Electronic Cash Ledger. Thus, a registered taxpayer can now file Form GST PMT-09 for transfer of any amount of tax, interest, penalty, fee, or others, under one (major or minor) head to another (major or minor) head, as available in the Electronic Cash Ledger.

Navigate to "Services" > "Ledgers" > "Electronic Cash Ledger" > "File GST PMT-09" for transfer of amount option to file Form GST PMT-09.