GSTR explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Not all credit reaches the electronic credit ledger through GSTR-3B. TRAN-1, TRAN-2, ITC-01, ITC-02 and ITC-02A put credit there directly — so Table 6A, which is only the sum of GSTR-3B, would miss it entirely. Tables 6K to 6N exist to bring it back in.
Table 6K reports "Transition Credit through TRAN-I (including revisions if any)", 6L "Transition Credit through TRAN-II", and 6M "ITC availed through ITC-01, ITC-02 and ITC-02A (other than GSTR-3B and TRAN Forms)." 6N sub-totals K to M, and 6O gives "Total ITC availed (I + N above)" — the classified GSTR-3B credit plus the credit that bypassed GSTR-3B.
Why these rows exist at all
Table 6A is the sum of Table 4A of GSTR-3B. Anything credited to the electronic credit ledger by another route is invisible to it — and yet it is credit availed during the year and available for utilisation.
So Part III has two halves. Tables 6A to 6J deal with credit that came through GSTR-3B, and reconcile to nil at 6J. Tables 6K to 6N deal with credit that did not, and are added on at 6O.
And the total then feeds Table 7J — "Net ITC Available for Utilization (6O − 7I)" — the figure that ties the whole of Part III to the electronic credit ledger.
6K and 6L: transition credit
Table 6K — TRAN-1. "The registered person should report the amount of credit received in the electronic credit ledger through Form GST TRAN-1. Where the registered person has revised Form GST TRAN-1, the credit claimed in the revised Form GST TRAN-1 should be disclosed in this table."
Table 6L — TRAN-2. "the quantum of ITC received in the electronic credit ledger through Form GST TRAN-II… because the credit through Form GST TRAN-II would have been credited to the electronic credit ledger in the month in which Form GST TRAN-II was filed."
The timing rule for TRAN-2 is the useful one. TRAN-2 was filed monthly over six months for stock without duty-paying documents, so the credit arrived progressively — and belongs to the year of each filing, not the year of the underlying stock.
Reversals of transitional credit go to Tables 7F and 7G, and are among the very few Table 7 rows that were never optional. Table 7 →
And the Guide notes why errors in this stream were common: transitional credit was claimed "on a self-declaration basis", based on "various statutory filings like VAT returns, service tax, excise registers", and "was also taken by the unregistered taxpayers of the erstwhile regimes for their stocks (tax-suffered stock)… without adequate awareness of the laws."
6M: credit through the ITC forms
"This table covers the credit availed under sections 18(1)(a) to 18(1)(d) of the CGST Act i.e. ITC availed by way of filing Form GST ITC-01. Further, any credit availed on account of sale, merger, demerger, amalgamation, lease or transfer of a business in Form GST ITC-02 and GST ITC-02A shall be disclosed here."
The four section 18(1) situations behind ITC-01:
| Clause | Situation |
|---|---|
| 18(1)(a) | A person who applies for registration within 30 days of becoming liable and is granted it — credit on inputs in stock on the day before liability arose |
| 18(1)(b) | A person taking voluntary registration — credit on inputs in stock on the day before registration |
| 18(1)(c) | A composition taxpayer ceasing to be one — credit on inputs in stock and capital goods, reduced by prescribed percentage points |
| 18(1)(d) | An exempt supply becoming taxable — credit on inputs in stock and capital goods relatable to that supply |
ITC-02 transfers unutilised credit on sale, merger, demerger, amalgamation, lease or transfer of business; ITC-02A transfers credit on obtaining a separate registration for a place of business within the same State.
And the label was corrected for FY 2024-25. "From FY 2024-25 Label change to Table 6M has aligned it with the instruction of the notified form. As per the Instruction… the ITC claimed through ITC 01, 02 and 02A should be reported in Table 6M."
Section 16(5), and why it does not apply here
The Guide records the amnesty provision and then disposes of it:
"Insertion of Section 16(5) — 'Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (4), in respect of an invoice or debit note… pertaining to the Financial Years 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21, the registered person shall be entitled to take input tax credit in any return under section 39 which is filed upto the thirtieth day of November, 2021.' It is pertinent to note that this insertion has no effect on Annual Return of FY: 2023-2024."
The reason is that section 16(5) is retrospective relief for four early years, all of which precede the returns now being filed. It matters for reopened assessments and appeals relating to those years — not for the current annual return.
It is nonetheless worth noting when Table 6K or 6L is being examined for an old year, since section 16(5) and transitional credit disputes often arise together in the same reopened period.
Key takeaways
- Tables 6K to 6N capture credit that reached the ledger without passing through GSTR-3B.
- 6K — TRAN-1, taking the revised figure where TRAN-1 was revised.
- 6L — TRAN-2, credited in the month each TRAN-2 was filed.
- 6M — ITC-01 (sections 18(1)(a) to 18(1)(d)), ITC-02 (sale, merger, demerger, amalgamation, lease, transfer of business) and ITC-02A (separate registration within a State).
- The 6M label was aligned with the form's instruction from FY 2024-25.
- 6O = 6I + 6N — total ITC availed, feeding Table 7J's net ITC available for utilisation.
- Reversals of transitional credit go to Tables 7F and 7G, which were never optional.
- Section 16(5) relief covers FY 2017-18 to 2020-21 with a 30 November 2021 outer date and has no effect on current annual returns.
Read next
- GSTR-9 Tables 6B to 6H: Classifying ITC Availed
- GSTR-9 Table 7: ITC Reversed and Ineligible ITC
- GSTR-9 Table 6A and the New Table 6A1
Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on Form GSTR-9 and its instructions, sections 16(4), 16(5) and 18 of the CGST Act, 2017, and Forms GST TRAN-1, TRAN-2, ITC-01, ITC-02 and ITC-02A, as reproduced in the ICAI Technical Guide on GST Annual Return (Form GSTR-9).