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Matching your purchase books to GSTR-2B each month before you claim input tax credit.
GSTR-2B lists the credit your suppliers reported. You can claim only invoices shown there, so match your purchase register invoice by invoice.
GSTR-2B is a statement the GST portal generates for each registered business, normally on the 14th of the month after the tax period. It lists the input tax credit (ITC) available from invoices and notes your suppliers reported in their own returns (GSTR-1 or the IFF, and some other sources such as imports recorded at customs).
Under Section 16(2)(aa) of the CGST Act, credit on an invoice can be claimed only when the supplier has reported it so that it shows in your statement. So the purchase register in your books and GSTR-2B have to be matched, invoice by invoice, before the ITC figure goes into GSTR-3B.
| Result | What it means | Usual action |
|---|---|---|
| Matched | Same supplier GSTIN, invoice number, date and tax amounts | Claim the credit |
| In books, not in GSTR-2B | The supplier has not reported it yet, or reported it in another period | Hold the credit and chase the supplier |
| In GSTR-2B, not in books | A bill was never entered, or it is not yours | Find the bill, or reject it on the portal |
| Partial match | Invoice number formatting, date or amount differs | Check the document and correct whichever side is wrong |
Since October 2024 you accept, reject or keep pending each supplier invoice in IMS. Match your books first, then act on the portal.
Since October 2024 the GST portal has an Invoice Management System (IMS). Each supplier invoice appears there and you can accept it, reject it, or keep it pending. Accepted invoices count towards GSTR-2B, rejected ones are left out, and pending ones wait for a later month. Invoices you take no action on are treated as accepted when GSTR-2B is generated. If you act after the 14th, you recompute GSTR-2B on the portal before filing GSTR-3B. The GST portal publishes the current advisories.
In practice, reconciliation now happens before the IMS actions: match your books first, then accept, reject or park on the portal based on what you found.
Matching invoice numbers, GSTIN, date and tax is mechanical work a script does well.
Normalising invoice numbers ("INV/23-24/045" against "45") and matching on GSTIN, date and tax amounts is mechanical work a script does well.
Bills missing from the books are read with OCR and proposed for a person to confirm.
Bills that never reached the books can be read from PDFs or photos with OCR and proposed as entries for a person to confirm.
A ready list of missing invoices per supplier saves the most phone time.
A list of missing invoices per supplier, ready to send, saves the most phone time.
We build this matching for CA firms and finance teams, often alongside Tally, and Fint prepares GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B summaries from confirmed records.
We build this matching for CA firms and finance teams in our GST and accounting automation service, often alongside Tally. Our own product Fint prepares GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B summaries from records a person has confirmed. See also how we work with accounting and CA firms.
GSTR-2A changes as suppliers file, so it moves during the month. GSTR-2B is a statement fixed for the period (apart from IMS recomputation), which is why it is the basis for claiming credit.
Generally no. Credit depends on the supplier reporting the invoice. Hold it, ask the supplier to report it, and claim it in the period it appears.
Every month before GSTR-3B, and ideally before the 14th as well, so supplier problems are raised while there is still time to fix them.
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