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Section 36 of the CGST Act, 2017

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GST›CGST Act, 2017›Chapter VIII, Accounts and Records

At a glance

Bars, duties and time limits

36 main limbA registered person must retain section 35(1) books and other statutory accounts for seventy-two months from the annual-return due date for the relevant year.
36 provisoFor a party to appeal, revision or other proceedings, or a person under a Chapter XIX investigation, relevant books and documents remain required until the later of the ordinary period and one year after final disposal.

Procedure, powers and definitions

36 provisoThe law does not settle what constitutes final disposal, including the effect of further-appeal time or investigation closure.

Section 36 sets the retention period for books and other statutory accounts maintained under section 35(1). The ordinary period runs from the annual-return due date. Proceedings or an offence investigation can extend retention until one year after final disposal, but the ordinary period still governs if it ends later. The section commenced on 1 July 2017.^[1]

Quick facts

Section 36, CGST Act, 2017

Period of retention of accounts

Provision
Act	Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
Chapter	VIII, Accounts and Records
Section title	Period of retention of accounts
In force from	1 July 2017^[1]
Amendments
Last amendment	1 July 2017: the section: enforcement (—)
Amendments	1 footnote in the CBIC text (table)
Related provisions
Sections	35, 44
Structure the main limbThe ordinary period the proviso, first limbRecords caught by an appeal, revision or other proceedings the proviso, second limbRecords caught by an investigation under Chapter XIX the closing words of the provisoWhich period governs
Source
Law text	CBIC tax information portal, served on 17 September 2026^[1]
Questions reviewed	Prashant Prakash, 22 September 2026

Text

The text below is the section as served by the CBIC tax information portal on 17 September 2026, with the portal's own amendment footnote markers (shown as small numerals before a bracket) and its footnotes.^[1] The Act as published in the Gazette of India is the legal source.

Section 36, verbatim (show)

* Section 36. Period of retention of accounts.- Every registered person required to keep and maintain books of account or other records in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 35 shall retain them until the expiry of seventy-two months from the due date of furnishing of annual return for the year pertaining to such accounts and records:

Provided that a registered person, who is a party to an appeal or revision or any other proceedings before any Appellate Authority or Revisional Authority or Appellate Tribunal or court, whether filed by him or by the Commissioner, or is under investigation for an offence under Chapter XIX, shall retain the books of account and other records pertaining to the subject matter of such appeal or revision or proceedings or investigation for a period of one year after final disposal of such appeal or revision or proceedings or investigation, or for the period specified above, whichever is later.

*Enforced w.e.f. 1st July, 2017.

Questions to answer on the file

Questions a reviewer answers from the engagement file, grouped by the part of the section they come from. They describe what the section asks; they do not decide it.

Scope the section as a whole

Questions to answer on the file1 question

On what footing is the retention period for these records fixed?

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The ordinary period the main limb

Questions to answer on the file5 questions

Is the person a registered person required to keep and maintain books of account or other records under sub-section (1) of section 35?
Are the records in question books of account or other records kept under that sub-section?
To which year do the accounts and records pertain?
What is the due date of furnishing the annual return for that year?
Until what date must the records be retained under the main limb?

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Records caught by an appeal, revision or other proceedings the proviso, first limb

Questions to answer on the file6 questions

Is the registered person a party to an appeal, a revision or any other proceedings of the kind the proviso names?
Which of the matters the proviso names is on foot: an appeal, a revision or any other proceedings?
Before which forum is it pending: an Appellate Authority, a Revisional Authority, an Appellate Tribunal or a court?
By whom was it filed: by him or by the Commissioner?
Do the records pertain to the subject matter of that appeal, revision or proceeding?
On what date was it finally disposed of?

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Records caught by an investigation under Chapter XIX the proviso, second limb

Questions to answer on the file3 questions

Is the registered person under investigation for an offence under Chapter XIX?
Do the records pertain to the subject matter of that investigation?
On what date was the investigation finally disposed of?

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Which period governs the closing words of the proviso

Questions to answer on the file1 question

Which of the two dates is the later: the date under the main limb or the date under the proviso?

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Amendment history

The CBIC text carries 1 footnote. The table gives each in the source's own terms. Effective dates are as the footnotes state them.^[1]

Amendments to section 36 as footnoted in the CBIC text
Note	Provision	Change	Instrument	Effective from
	the section	enforcement	—	1 July 2017

Provisions connected to Section 36
Provision	Connection	Words that tie them
Section 35	this provision requires Section 35 sub-section (1)	"required to keep and maintain books of account or other records in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 35"
Section 44	this provision requires Section 44	"until the expiry of seventy-two months from the due date of furnishing of annual return for the year pertaining to such accounts and records"

Circulars and notifications

Circulars and notifications in the CBIC repository that cite this section, newest first, by number, date and subject. A listing here does not say what an instrument decides; read the instrument.

Notifications (1)

Number	Date	Subject
Notification No. 10/2017-Central Tax	28 June 2017	Seeks to amend CGST Rules notification no 3/2017-Central Tax dt 19.06.2017 amended by a later instrument

Unsettled questions

The words of section 36 do not answer this question. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.

When is an appeal, a revision, any other proceedings or an investigation "finally disposed of"? The proviso measures a year from that event and nowhere says what the event is: whether an order alone ends the matter, or whether the time for a further appeal or the closure of the investigation file must also have run out.

See also

Section 35 of the CGST Act, 2017: accounts and other records
Section 44 of the CGST Act, 2017: annual return

References

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Section 36. Period of retention of accounts". Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, CBIC tax information portal, with amendment footnotes 1 to 1. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

External links

CGST Act, 2017, Section 36 on the CBIC tax information portal