When reconciling your monthly purchases between the 14th and the 20th, you will often find invoices where goods are still in transit, documentation is incomplete, or pricing is disputed. Taking no action causes an invoice to be treated as deemed accepted on the GSTR-3B filing cutoff, pulling unwanted credit into your draft statement. Marking the record as Pending gives you complete control over timing by pushing the record into future periods safely.
How IMS pending action works across tax periods
Under the GST portal architecture, the Invoice Management System operates as an active ledger between your supplier outward filings in Form GSTR-1 and your recipient statement in Form GSTR-2B. When your supplier uploads an invoice, it appears on your dashboard. According to the official GSTN FAQ on IMS, you have three distinct choices: Accept, Reject, or keep Pending.
If you select Pending, the portal excludes that record from your Form GSTR-2B for the active tax period. As stated in the official guidance, pending records will not become part of GSTR-2B and GSTR-3B. The input tax credit does not flow into Table 4(A)(5) of Form GSTR-3B. Instead, the transaction rolls forward into subsequent tax periods. You do not need to ask the vendor to re-upload the document, and the vendor ledger on the portal remains unaffected.
For a detailed look at why invoices end up in this status and what they cost your working capital, read our guide on IMS pending invoices.
Statutory basis: Under Section 16(2)(b) of the CGST Act, a registered buyer cannot take input tax credit unless physical possession of the goods or actual receipt of services has occurred. Marking an invoice Pending keeps your return compliant when an invoice arrives in GSTR-1 before physical delivery at your warehouse.
Pending action versus deemed acceptance under Section 38
A central question for accountants is whether an invoice kept in Pending status will convert into deemed accepted after one or two filing cycles. Under Section 38(2) of the CGST Act read with Rule 60(7) of the CGST Rules, inward supply records where no recipient action is taken are treated as deemed accepted when the recipient files Form GSTR-3B.
However, an explicit Pending selection is an affirmative instruction, not an absence of action. When you flag a record as Pending, you prevent automatic deemed acceptance from operating on that invoice. As confirmed in official GSTN guidelines, pending records remain on your IMS dashboard until you actively change the status to Accept or Reject, subject only to the final statutory cutoff in CBIC Circular 237/31/2024-GST governing Section 16(4).
Under Section 16(4), the outer time limit to avail input tax credit is the 30th November following the end of the financial year to which the invoice pertains, or the date of furnishing the annual return, whichever is earlier. Invoices kept in Pending status can be carried forward through successive months up to this date.
Common mistake: Leaving records untouched in IMS assuming they will stay pending. If you take no action at all, the portal treats the invoice as accepted. You must actively click Pending and save your action before the GSTR-2B generation cutoff or recomputation.
Practical scenario: goods in transit across month end
Consider a practical manufacturing scenario. Sunlite Hardware Ltd in Maharashtra orders industrial bearings worth ₹5,00,000 plus 18% IGST (₹90,000) from a supplier in Gujarat. The invoice is dated 28 October 2026. The supplier files their Form GSTR-1 on 10 November 2026. The truck arrives at Sunlite Hardware warehouse on 22 November 2026, two days after the October GSTR-3B filing due date on 20 November 2026.
| Tax period | Physical status | IMS action taken | Form GSTR-2B effect | ITC claimed in GSTR-3B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | Goods in transit (not received) | Marked Pending | Excluded (₹0) | ₹0 in Table 4(A)(5) |
| November 2026 | Goods received and verified | Changed to Accept | Included (₹90,000) | ₹90,000 in Table 4(A)(5) |
By marking the invoice as Pending on 15 November 2026, Sunlite Hardware avoids taking ₹90,000 credit before meeting the condition of Section 16(2)(b). In November 2026, after stock entry into Tally Prime, the accountant accepts the invoice in IMS. The credit then enters the November Form GSTR-2B generated on 14 December 2026, ready to be claimed cleanly in Form GSTR-3B by 20 December 2026.
To understand how to evaluate vendor payment holds versus physical transit delays, see our practical comparison on IMS accept vs pending action.
Step by step: accepting a carried forward invoice in a later month
When the commercial dispute is resolved or goods arrive at your factory gate, follow these portal steps to move the record from Pending into your available credit statement:
- Log in to the GST portal: Navigate to Services → Returns → Invoice Management System (IMS) Dashboard.
- Filter by pending records: Select Inward Supplies and set the action filter to View Pending Records.
- Change the status: Locate the specific supplier invoice and change the radio button from Pending to Accept.
- Save your action: Click Save. The portal updates the record status to Accepted for the current active tax period.
- Recompute GSTR-2B: On the IMS main screen, click Recompute GSTR-2B so the system refreshes your draft statement.
- Verify in GSTR-3B: Open Form GSTR-3B for the current month and verify that the tax credit appears in Table 4(A)(5) under All other ITC.
Common pitfalls with carried forward pending records
- Overlooking the Section 16(4) deadline: Carrying forward an invoice past 30 November following the close of the financial year permanently extinguishes your right to claim input tax credit.
- Forgetting to recompute GSTR-2B: If you accept a pending invoice after the 14th of the month but fail to click Recompute GSTR-2B before filing Form GSTR-3B, the credit will not transfer into your return.
- Marking credit notes as pending indefinitely: Pending action on credit notes is subject to stricter validation rules on the portal to prevent recipients from suppressing tax liabilities.
Related guides
- IMS pending invoices: supplier credit rating and GST impact
- IMS portal communication to suppliers on rejected or pending invoices: step-by-step SOP
- IMS action on amended invoices: how supplier GSTR-1A changes reset your GSTR-2B
- IMS deeming provision: what happens when no action is taken by recipient
Frequently asked questions
What happens if an invoice stays in IMS Pending for several months?
The invoice carries forward month after month on your IMS dashboard. It is shielded from automatic deemed acceptance until you accept it, reject it, or reach the statutory deadline under Section 16(4).
Does keeping an invoice Pending in IMS trigger a DRC-01C notice?
No. When an invoice is marked as Pending, it is excluded from your GSTR-2B. Because you do not claim the input tax credit in GSTR-3B Table 4(A)(5), your claimed credit does not exceed your GSTR-2B statement.
How do I claim ITC in a later month after resolving a dispute?
Open IMS, change the action on the pending record to Accept, and click recompute GSTR-2B before filing GSTR-3B for that later tax period. The tax credit auto-populates into Table 4(A)(5).
Reconcile your purchase register against IMS records
gstr2bmatch.in is a free GSTR-2B reconciliation tool for Indian accountants, small CAs and SMB owners. It reads their GSTR-2B and purchase register in the browser and shows, with rupee figures, which invoices are missing, mismatched or stuck in IMS Pending. Your GSTR-2B and purchase register files are read in your browser and never uploaded to any server.
Last checked: 19 October 2026. Sources: Section 16, CGST Act, GSTN IMS FAQ, CBIC Circular 237/31/2024-GST.