Rule 86A - Conditions of use of amount available in electronic credit ledger
CGST Rules, 2017
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Finin2min Summary - Rule in 2 Minutes
Commissioner/authorised officer may block suspected fraudulent/ineligible credit on recorded reasons for up to one year; use must be proportionate and evidence-based.
Exact operative text
86A. Conditions of use of amount available in electronic credit ledger.- (1) The Commissioner or an officer
authorised by him in this behalf, not below the rank of an Assistant Commissioner, having reasons to believe
that credit of input tax available in the electronic credit ledger has been fraudulently availed or is ineligible in
as much as- a) the credit of input tax has been availed on the strength of tax invoices or debit notes or any
other document prescribed under rule 36- i. issued by a registered person who has been found non-existent
or not to be conducting any business from any place for which registration has been obtained; or ii. without
receipt of goods or services or both; or b) the credit of input tax has been availed on the strength of tax
invoices or debit notes or any other document prescribed under rule 36 in respect of any supply, the tax
charged in respect of which has not been paid to the Government; or 174 Inserted vide Notf no. 16/2020-CT
dt. 23.03.2020 c) the registered person availing the credit of input tax has been found non-existent or not to
be conducting any business from any place for which registration has been obtained; or d) the registered
person availing any credit of input tax is not in possession of a tax invoice or debit note or any other
document prescribed under rule 36, may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, not allow debit of an amount
equivalent to such credit in electronic credit ledger for discharge of any liability under section 49 or for claim
of any refund of any unutilised amount. (2) The Commissioner, or the officer authorised by him under sub-
rule (1) may, upon being satisfied that conditions for disallowing debit of electronic credit ledger as above, no
longer exist, allow such debit. (3) Such restriction shall cease to have effect after the expiry of a period of
one year from the date of imposing such restriction.”175.
Paragraph-wise decode
Commissioner/authorised officer may block suspected fraudulent/ineligible credit on recorded reasons for up to one year; use must be proportionate and evidence-based.
Section-Rule-Form-Notification bridge
No direct Rule certified in Phase 1. Check notifications, circulars, forms and corresponding State law.
The mapping is a legal concordance, not a round-robin related-link list. It is limited to instruments certified in this phase.
Practical example
Apply the rule to the relevant form, period, portal event and evidence trail before reaching a compliance conclusion.
Professional alert
Verify the latest official active Rule page, amending Gazette and portal version before filing or advising.
Implementation checklist
- Fix the transaction, taxable period and jurisdiction.
- Read every subsection, proviso, explanation and omission marker.
- Open the mapped Rule, form, notification and circular.
- Test State/UT variation and portal version.
- Preserve evidence, approvals, working papers and acknowledgements.
- Record the conclusion, assumptions, source date and reviewer.
Evidence and retention checklist
- Contract, purchase order, invoice or underlying transaction document.
- Registration, return, ledger, challan and portal acknowledgement.
- Official Act/Rule/notification version used and effective date.
- Internal tax position paper, computation and management approval.
- Correspondence, notices, replies, orders and appeal papers where applicable.
Practical Q&A
- What does rule 86A regulate?
- It regulates conditions of use of amount available in electronic credit ledger. Read the exact text, conditions, exceptions and transaction date together.
- Which subordinate law should be checked?
- No direct CGST Rule has been certified in this phase. Notifications, circulars, forms and the corresponding SGST/UTGST layer may also apply.
- What evidence should be retained?
- Preserve the contract or transaction record, invoice or form, portal acknowledgement, payment/ledger evidence, correspondence, legal working and the official source version used.
- Can portal behaviour override the statute?
- No. Portal functionality is operational evidence; legal entitlement and liability remain controlled by the Act, Rules, notifications and binding decisions.