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 49A, verbatim (show)
1[Section 49A. Utilisation of input tax credit subject to certain conditions.-
Notwithstanding anything contained in section 49, the input tax credit on account of central tax, State tax or Union territory tax shall be utilised towards payment of integrated tax, central tax, State tax or Union territory tax, as the case may be, only after the input tax credit available on account of integrated tax has first been utilised fully towards such payment.]
1. Inserted by s. 21 of The Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2018 (No. 31 of 2018) -Brought into force w.e.f. 01st February, 2019.
49AIntegrated credit priority
Notwithstanding anything contained in section 49, the input tax credit on account of central tax, State tax or Union territory tax shall be utilised towards payment of integrated tax, central tax, State tax or Union territory tax, as the case may be, only after the input tax credit available on account of integrated tax has first been utilised fully towards such payment.Section 49A
Section 49A overrides section 49 for this priority condition. The law does not settle whether "such payment" means an individual payment or the whole liability being discharged. The law also does not settle from this wording whether the entire integrated-credit remainder under section 49(5)(a) must meet central tax before State or Union territory tax.
Questions to answer on the fileThe credit the section governs2 questions
Questions to answer on the fileThe payment towards which the credit is utilised3 questions
Questions to answer on the fileIntegrated tax credit first, and fully5 questions
Questions to answer on the fileThe override of section 492 questions
Other 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
Frequently asked questions
Does section 49 alone govern this priority?
No. Section 49A overrides it by requiring available integrated credit to be used fully towards the payment first.
Section 49A
Does such payment mean one tax head or the whole set-off?
The law does not settle that meaning. The priority condition uses "such payment" without selecting between those readings.
Section 49A
Which credit heads are subject to the priority condition?
Central tax, State tax and Union territory tax credit are subject to it. Their use towards the stated taxes follows integrated credit being fully used towards that payment.
Section 49A
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]
| Note | Provision | Change | Instrument | Effective from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | around the whole section, from the heading to the closing words | inserted the section | s. 21 of The Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2018 (No. 31 of 2018)[2] | brought into force w.e.f. 1st February, 2019 — in force |
Relationship with other provisions
| Provision | Connection | Words that tie them |
|---|---|---|
| Section 49 | Section 49, and in particular 49(4) and 49(5)(a) to (d) overridden by this provision | 49A "Notwithstanding anything contained in section 49" |
| Section 49 | this provision requires Section 49 49(4) | 49A "the input tax credit... shall be utilised towards payment", which is the use of the electronic credit ledger that 49(4) permits |
| Section 49 | this provision defined by Section 49 49(2) | 49A "the input tax credit available on account of integrated tax", which stands in the electronic credit ledger credited under 49(2) |
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.
Circulars (2)
| Number | Date | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Circular No. 172/04/2022-GST | 6 July 2022 | Clarification on various issue pertaining to GST |
| Circular No. 98/17/2019-GST | 23 April 2019 | Seeks to clarify the manner of utilization of input tax credit post insertion of the rule 88A of the CGST Rules. |
Notifications (1)
| Number | Date | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Notification No. 03/2019-Central Tax | 29 January 2019 | Seeks to amend the CGST Rules, 2017. |
Unsettled questions
The words of section 49a do not answer these questions. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.
- What is "such payment" in this section: the particular payment being discharged, or the whole of the liability being discharged at that time? The section requires the integrated tax credit to be "utilised fully towards such payment" and does not say whether the payment is read one tax at a time or as the whole set-off.
- Where credit of integrated tax remains after payment of integrated tax, does clause (a) of section 49(5) require the whole of it to be applied to central tax before any of it goes to State tax or Union territory tax? Proposed on the section 49 record and cited here, because this section removes the credit of central, State and Union territory tax from the order but does not itself answer the question.
See also
- Section 49 of the CGST Act, 2017: payment of tax, interest, penalty and other amounts
- Section 49B of the CGST Act, 2017: order of utilisation of input tax credit
- Rule 88A of the CGST Rules, 2017: order of utilization of input tax credit
References
- Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Section 49A. Utilisation of input tax credit subject to certain conditions". Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, CBIC tax information portal, with amendment footnotes 1 to 1. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
- The Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2018. Cited in CBIC footnote 1.
External links
- CGST Act, 2017, Section 49A on the CBIC tax information portal