IMS reset action and recomputing GSTR-2B: timing rules and portal workflow

Reconciling inward supplies between the 14th and the 20th of the month involves quick decisions under tight deadlines. When working across hundreds of purchase vouchers, team members occasionally click Reject on an invoice that should have been kept or mark an invoice Pending when the store team has already cleared the goods receipt note. Correcting these mistakes before filing requires two specific portal steps: selecting the record on IMS to execute a Reset, and then manually clicking Recompute GSTR-2B so the updated position flows into your return.

Statutory framework: Section 38 and Rule 60(7)

The legal foundation of auto-drafted inward statements rests on Section 38 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Section 38 mandates that the details of outward supplies furnished by registered suppliers under Section 37(1) are communicated to recipients in an auto-generated statement showing available and restricted input tax credit. You can review the statutory text directly on the official CBIC portal: Section 38 of the CGST Act.

Under Rule 60(7) of the CGST Rules, 2017, Form GSTR-2B is generated for every registered person based on supplier filings in Form GSTR-1, Form GSTR-1A, and the Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF). For monthly filers, the initial draft of GSTR-2B is generated on the 14th of the following month, reflecting supplier submissions made up to the 11th or 13th cutoff. The operational mechanics of this statement are set out in the GSTN Form GSTR-3B and return filing manual.

With the roll-out of the Invoice Management System, Form GSTR-2B generated on the 14th is no longer a rigid static file. It serves as an initial draft based on the baseline assumption that all valid supplier-filed documents are accepted. Recipient actions taken on IMS after the 14th modify this baseline. However, these modifications do not sync instantly. They take effect in your return figures only when you trigger a recomputation on the common portal.

What the Reset action actually does on IMS

On the IMS inward dashboard, every invoice displays three direct action buttons: Accept, Reject, and Pending. Alongside these is the Reset function. Understanding what Reset does avoids confusion:

• Clears user intervention: Reset wipes out any previously submitted decision (Accept, Reject, or Pending) on that specific document.
• Restores default portal status: Once reset, the document returns to "No Action Taken".
• System default treatment: Under GSTN architecture, an original B2B invoice or debit note with "No Action Taken" is treated as deemed accepted. It flows directly into eligible ITC during recomputation.
• Credit note distinction: For supplier credit notes, the system default is also deemed accepted, which reduces ITC. If you had rejected a faulty credit note and later click Reset, the credit note reverts to default and will reduce your ITC upon recomputation.

Use Reset whenever you applied an action in error and wish to restore the document to the neutral system default, or when you wish to remove a Pending tag without explicitly clicking Accept.

The 14th cutoff rule and draft GSTR-2B generation

The timing cycle on the GST common portal operates on fixed statutory milestones each month:

1. 11th of the month: Monthly GSTR-1 filing deadline for outward suppliers.
2. 13th of the month: Cutoff for quarterly filers using the Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF).
3. 14th of the month: The portal generates draft Form GSTR-2B for every taxpayer, capturing all filings submitted up to the cutoff.
4. 14th to 20th of the month: The taxpayer reviews inward supplies on IMS, records actions (Accept, Reject, Pending), or uses Reset to fix errors.
5. Before GSTR-3B filing: The taxpayer clicks "Recompute GSTR-2B", waits for portal processing, and verifies that Table 4 figures match the revised position.

For related guidance on managing deferred supplies, read our analysis of IMS pending invoices and our step-by-step tutorial on how to recompute GSTR-2B.

Step-by-step portal workflow to reset and recompute

Follow this exact menu path on the GST portal to reset an erroneous decision and recompute your return statement:

1. Navigate to IMS: Log in to the GST portal and select Services → Returns → Invoice Management System (IMS) Dashboard.
2. Access Inward Supplies: Click on the Inward Supplies tile. Select the relevant supplier GSTIN or search by invoice number.
3. Locate the invoice: Check the current status column. If the invoice was wrongly marked as "Rejected" or "Pending", select the checkbox on the left side of the row.
4. Execute Reset: Click the Reset button at the bottom of the grid. Confirm the prompt. The action column now reverts to no recorded decision.
5. Navigate to GSTR-2B: Go to Services → Returns → Returns Dashboard, choose the financial year and return period, and click Search.
6. Trigger Recomputation: Open the Auto-drafted ITC Statement GSTR-2B tile. Scroll down and click the Recompute GSTR-2B button.
7. Wait for server queue: The portal displays an acknowledgement: "Recomputation request has been submitted successfully. Please check back after some time." The batch queue usually completes in 10 to 20 minutes.
8. Refresh and verify: Refresh the page after 15 minutes. Check that the generation date and timestamp update. Download the revised JSON or Excel file to confirm the invoice appears in Table B2B.

Impact on Form GSTR-3B Table 4 and DRC-01C prevention

Form GSTR-3B Table 4 auto-populates from the generated Form GSTR-2B under the mechanism set out in Section 16(2)(ba). If you reset a rejected invoice and recompute GSTR-2B:

• The invoice tax amount flows into Table 4(A)(5) (All other ITC) of Form GSTR-3B.
• If you do not recompute, GSTR-3B auto-populates the older figure that excluded the invoice.
• If an accountant manually overrides Table 4(A)(5) upward in GSTR-3B without recomputing GSTR-2B, the portal highlights the cell in red.

More critically, claiming ITC in GSTR-3B that exceeds the official GSTR-2B figure triggers automated mismatch intimations in Form GST DRC-01C under Rule 88D. By resetting on IMS and completing the recomputation workflow, your GSTR-2B is formally updated on the portal database, eliminating artificial discrepancies and notice risks.

Worked arithmetic example: reversing an accidental rejection

Consider an engineering firm, Precision Tools Private Limited, reconciling invoices for September 2026 before filing GSTR-3B on 19 October 2026:

On 17 October, the accounts manager notices that INV-402 for ₹63,000 IGST was rejected by an intern due to a mistaken purchase order match. The manager executes the reset and recompute workflow:

The revised Table 4(A)(5) auto-populates ₹3,15,000 (₹2,16,000 + ₹63,000 + ₹36,000). The full ₹63,000 credit is restored without manual cell editing or audit flags.

Common pitfalls during reset and recomputation

1. Assuming Reset rejects the invoice: Reset does not reject. It clears your prior entry and returns the invoice to the default deemed-accepted state. If you intended to reject, you must explicitly click Reject.
2. Failing to allow server processing time: Checking GSTR-3B two minutes after requesting recomputation will show stale data. Always wait 15 to 20 minutes and confirm the updated timestamp.
3. Resetting after GSTR-3B submission: Once GSTR-3B is filed, GSTR-2B for that period is permanently sealed. Any unrectified errors must be adjusted in future tax periods.
4. Overlooking supplier credit notes: Resetting an action on a supplier credit note restores it to deemed accepted, which reduces your available credit upon recomputation.

Related guides

• IMS action on amended invoices: how supplier GSTR-1A changes reset your GSTR-2B
• IMS reject invoice in GSTR-2B: statutory consequences and supplier action
• IMS pending invoices: supplier credit rating and GST impact
• IMS portal communication to suppliers on rejected or pending invoices: step-by-step SOP

Frequently asked questions

Last checked: 17 October 2026. Sources: CBIC GST Portal: Section 38 CGST Act, GSTN Form GSTR-3B & GSTR-2B Manual.