Under GST compliance rules, every monthly taxpayer must furnish outward supplies in Form GSTR-1 by the 11th of the succeeding month, or by the 13th for quarterly taxpayers using the Invoice Furnishing Facility. When your vendor fails to submit these records before the cutoff, the immediate impact lands directly on your cash flow. You cannot legally avail input tax credit in Form GSTR-3B for an invoice that does not reflect in your auto-generated GSTR-2B statement.
Direct impact on buyer input tax credit
The statutory condition under Section 16(2)(aa) of the CGST Act dictates that input tax credit can only be claimed if the details of the invoice or debit note have been furnished by the supplier in Form GSTR-1 and communicated to the recipient in Form GSTR-2B. Under Rule 36(4), there is no provisional credit allowance for invoices missing from GSTR-2B. To understand how invoice details flow from outward returns, see our guide on GSTR-1 tables and how it feeds GSTR-2B.
GSTR-2B generation begins right after the cutoff date ends at midnight of the 13th, making the static statement available on the afternoon of the 14th of each month per the GSTN GSTR-2B advisory. If your vendor submits Form GSTR-1 on the 15th, that invoice is completely absent from your GSTR-2B for that period. Your business must either pay the output tax in cash for that month or wait until the subsequent tax period to claim the credit.
Common mistake: Claiming credit in Table 4(A)(5) of Form GSTR-3B using your purchase register when the supplier has not filed GSTR-1. This creates an immediate discrepancy against your GSTR-2B, triggering automated scrutiny and system flags.
Supplier late fees under Section 47
A supplier failing to furnish outward supply details under Section 37 by the due date faces monetary penalties. While the statutory base rate under Section 47(1) of the CGST Act is Rs 100 per day up to Rs 5,000, specific relief notifications reduce the actual fee levied on late GSTR-1 filings:
- Regular outward supplies: Under Notification 4/2018-Central Tax, the late fee is waived in excess of Rs 25 per day under CGST (plus an equal Rs 25 under SGST, totaling Rs 50 per day).
- Nil outward supplies: For taxpayers with nil outward supplies in the tax period, the late fee is reduced to Rs 10 per day under CGST (Rs 20 total per day).
- Maximum fee cap: Under Notification 20/2021-Central Tax, the total late fee under Section 47 stands capped at Rs 250 under CGST (Rs 500 total) for registered persons with nil outward supplies.
Invoice Management System status and rollover
With the rollout of the Invoice Management System (IMS), recipients have granular visibility into supplier actions. According to the GSTN revised advisory on IMS and the GSTN advisory on additional FAQs on IMS:
- Delayed appearance: Invoices submitted after the 11th or 13th do not get included in the immediate GSTR-2B. They appear on the IMS dashboard as filed records for the next cycle.
- Deemed acceptance: Where no action (Accept, Reject, or Pending) is taken by the recipient on an inward supply record filed by the supplier, the record is treated as deemed accepted at the time of GSTR-2B generation on the 14th of the following period.
- Pending status handling: Records marked as Pending on the IMS dashboard do not form part of GSTR-2B and GSTR-3B for that period and roll over to subsequent periods until accepted or rejected.
- Amendments reset actions: When a supplier later amends an invoice via Form GSTR-1A or a subsequent Form GSTR-1, the amended record flows into the recipient IMS dashboard as a fresh document, resetting earlier actions per GSTN guidance.
Worked financial example: delayed filing cost
Consider a manufacturing buyer, Zenith Automations, purchasing industrial spares from a vendor, Precision Parts, on 22 September 2026. Precision Parts fails to file its monthly GSTR-1 by 11 October 2026 and instead files on 18 October 2026.
| Invoice details | Taxable value | IGST (18%) | October GSTR-2B status | Buyer cash impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| INV-8041 (Dated 22-09-2026) | ₹2,50,000 | ₹45,000 | Not reflected (Excluded on 14th) | Extra cash tax payout of ₹45,000 |
| INV-8042 (Other compliant vendor) | ₹1,00,000 | ₹18,000 | Reflected on 14 October | Eligible ITC of ₹18,000 claimed |
Because Precision Parts filed on 18 October 2026 (7 days late):
- Buyer cash outflow: Zenith Automations cannot claim ₹45,000 credit in its GSTR-3B due on 20 October 2026. It must pay ₹45,000 in cash to clear its monthly output tax liability, locking up operating working capital for a full 30 days until November GSTR-2B generates.
- Supplier late fee: Precision Parts pays a late fee under Notification 4/2018-Central Tax calculated as: 7 days × (Rs 25 CGST + Rs 25 SGST) = 7 × Rs 50 = Rs 350.
Supplier follow-up procedure
When you spot missing invoices during your monthly reconciliation, follow these concrete operational steps:
Send a structured demand to the vendor finance desk to ensure timely filing before the next return run:
Frequently asked questions
Can a buyer claim ITC if the supplier files GSTR-1 after the due date?
The buyer cannot claim ITC in the current month GSTR-3B because the invoice misses the current GSTR-2B generation on the 14th. Once the supplier files the delayed GSTR-1, the invoice appears in the buyer GSTR-2B of the subsequent tax period, allowing ITC claim then.
How does the Invoice Management System handle late GSTR-1 filings?
Invoices filed late by the supplier populate the recipient IMS dashboard. If the recipient takes no action, the record is treated as deemed accepted at the time of GSTR-2B generation for that subsequent period. If marked pending, it rolls over without entering GSTR-2B.
What late fee does the supplier pay for late GSTR-1 filing?
Under Section 47 of the CGST Act read with Notification 4/2018-Central Tax, the daily late fee is waived in excess of Rs 25 per day under CGST (plus Rs 25 under SGST, totaling Rs 50 per day) for returns with turnover, or Rs 10 per day under CGST (Rs 20 total) for nil outward supplies.
Identify missing supplier invoices in seconds
Compare your purchase register against the official portal GSTR-2B file to pinpoint unfiled invoices before submitting GSTR-3B. Your GSTR-2B and purchase register files are read in your browser and never uploaded to any server.
Last checked: 28 October 2026. Sources: CBIC Tax Information Portal, GSTN Portal Tutorials and Advisories.