If you sell goods or services and pay GST on what you buy, you already deal with GSTR-2B, even if only your accountant ever opens it. It decides how much of the GST you paid on purchases you get back as credit, and so how much GST you pay from your own bank account. This guide explains it without jargon and gives you a routine that takes little time once it is a habit.
What GSTR-2B is, in plain words
When you buy from a GST-registered supplier, the invoice carries GST. That tax is your input tax credit (ITC): you set it off against the GST you collect on your own sales, so you pay only the difference. Your supplier reports every invoice to the portal in their own return, GSTR-1. The portal then gathers those reports and generates your GSTR-2B on the 14th of the following month (GSTN return view guide).
So GSTR-2B is not your record of what you bought. It is the portal's record of what your suppliers reported that they sold to you. Since 1 January 2022 the two must agree before you can claim: Section 16(2)(aa) of the CGST Act allows credit only when the supplier has furnished the invoice details and they have been communicated to you. In practice, the credit you may claim is the credit shown in your GSTR-2B. The longer explanation is in What is GSTR-2B, and how it differs from the return you file is in GSTR-2B vs GSTR-3B.
The five steps to do every month
Step 1: keep every purchase bill clean, all month
Matching depends on two things being typed exactly right: the supplier's GSTIN (registration number) and the invoice number. Copy the invoice number exactly as printed. The rules allow a maximum of 16 characters using letters, numbers, a hyphen and a slash (Rule 46(b), CGST Rules), so INV/26-27/0048 and INV-26-27-48 are different numbers to a computer even though a person would read them as the same bill. If you want to know why small differences cause mismatches, see invoice number mismatches.
Step 2: download GSTR-2B after the 14th
Log in to the GST portal and download the month's GSTR-2B as Excel. The click-by-click guides are how to download GSTR-2B and how to get it as Excel. The Excel carries tables for normal invoices (B2B), amended invoices (B2BA), credit and debit notes (CDNR) and their amendments (CDNRA).
Step 3: compare it with your purchase list
Put your purchase register (the list of purchases from your accounting software or Excel sheet) beside the GSTR-2B. Every invoice falls into one of three groups.
- In both: the same supplier, invoice number and tax. Nothing to do.
- In your books, not in GSTR-2B: this is the group that costs money. The supplier may not have reported it yet, or it may be waiting for your action on the portal.
- In GSTR-2B, not in your books: a bill you have not entered, or a supplier's mistake. Enter it or ask.
You can do this by hand in Excel (the Excel method) or with a tool.
Step 4: chase what is missing, and look at IMS
For each invoice missing from GSTR-2B, send the supplier a short, specific message. Their accounts person can act on it in two minutes if it has the invoice number, date and tax amount:
Also ask your accountant to look at the Invoice Management System (IMS) on the portal. Since IMS went live in October 2024 you can accept, reject or keep pending each invoice your suppliers report, and an invoice kept Pending is not part of GSTR-2B or GSTR-3B (GSTN IMS FAQ). If something was pending by mistake, it can be accepted and the statement recomputed before you file GSTR-3B. The detail is in why invoices get stuck in IMS Pending and how to recompute GSTR-2B. If a supplier keeps failing to report, this guide and the payment-hold guide are the next step.
Step 5: claim what is listed and file by the 20th
GSTR-3B is due on the 20th of the following month for monthly filers. Quarterly filers have the 22nd or 24th, depending on the state (GSTN GSTR-3B guide). Eligible credit from GSTR-2B is pre-filled in Table 4(A)(5), “All other ITC” (GSTR-3B help). The calendar of the days between the 14th and the 20th is in the 14th-to-20th plan.
Two checks GSTR-2B will not do for you
An invoice in GSTR-2B is not automatically credit you can take.
- You must have received the goods or services. Section 16(2)(b) says credit is available only if “he has received the goods or services or both”. Goods still with the transporter are not yet claimable, even though the bill is in GSTR-2B.
- You must pay your supplier within 180 days of the invoice date. Otherwise the credit has to be reversed with interest under Rule 37, and you can take it again once you pay. This rule does not apply to purchases where you pay the tax under reverse charge.
Deadline to remember: credit on an invoice must be claimed by 30 November following the end of the financial year the invoice belongs to, or by the date you file the annual return, whichever is earlier (Section 16(4)). For invoices of FY 2025-26 that is 30 November 2026 at the latest. Read more in the Section 16(4) guide.
Worked example: what one missing invoice costs
A small electronics shop closes its September 2026 return. GST collected on its sales for the month is ₹1,10,000. GST on purchases in its books is ₹68,000. One supplier has not reported an invoice carrying ₹36,000 of GST, so GSTR-2B shows ₹32,000. Figures are shown as a single GST amount to keep the arithmetic visible.
| Item | If the invoice had been reported | With the invoice missing |
|---|---|---|
| GST collected on sales | ₹1,10,000 | ₹1,10,000 |
| Credit you can claim | ₹68,000 | ₹32,000 |
| GST paid from your bank | ₹42,000 | ₹78,000 |
The shop pays ₹36,000 more this month (78,000 minus 42,000). The money is not gone for good: once the supplier reports the invoice, watch your GSTR-2B in the following months and claim it then, within the time limit above. But the cash was needed on the 20th.
The tempting shortcut is to claim the full ₹68,000 anyway. The claim would then exceed GSTR-2B by ₹36,000, which is exactly what GSTN compares. If the gap is above a pre-defined limit you receive a DRC-01C intimation and must reply in Part B of the form (GSTN advisory). If credit is wrongly availed and used, interest is 18% a year (Notification 13/2017-CT). For 30 days on ₹36,000 that is about ₹533, but the notice and the time spent on it cost far more than the interest. See the DRC-01C guide.
When to call your CA
The routine above is yours. These situations are not, and a short call saves money:
- You receive a DRC-01C intimation or any other notice about credit.
- A large amount is missing from GSTR-2B and the supplier is not responding.
- Credit notes or debit notes are involved, or an invoice has been amended by the supplier.
- You buy services on reverse charge (see reverse charge in GSTR-2B).
- Invoices of the last financial year are still unclaimed as 30 November approaches.
- Annual return time. For FY 2023-24 onwards, Table 8A of GSTR-9 is auto-filled from GSTR-2B and cannot be edited (GSTR-9 manual), so your monthly matching decides how clean that table is.
Frequently asked questions
What is GSTR-2B in simple words?
GSTR-2B is a monthly statement generated by the GST portal. It lists the purchase invoices your suppliers have reported about you, and it is the basis for the input tax credit you claim in GSTR-3B.
Do I have to file GSTR-2B?
No. The portal generates it for you on the 14th of the following month. You download it and compare it with your own purchase records before you file GSTR-3B.
What if my supplier has not filed and the invoice is missing from GSTR-2B?
You cannot claim the credit on that invoice in that month, because Section 16(2)(aa) requires the supplier to have reported it. Ask the supplier to report it, and check your GSTR-2B again in the following months. Do not claim it from your books alone.
Do the comparison in a few minutes
Drop your GSTR-2B (Excel or JSON) and your purchase register into gstr2bmatch.in. It shows which invoices match, which are missing from GSTR-2B and how many rupees of credit are at risk, and you can export the list to send to your accountant or supplier. Your GSTR-2B and purchase register files are read in your browser and never uploaded to any server.
Related guides
- what is GSTR-2B: the meaning of the return, what is in it and how it decides your ITC
- GSTR-2B questions: frequently asked questions with answers
- GSTR-2B generation date: when GSTR-2B is generated and which dates come before and after it
- GSTR-2B reconciliation for large businesses
- How to use a GSTR-2B reconciliation tool
- GSTR-2B JSON to Excel conversion guide
- How accountants can automate GSTR-2B reconciliation
- GSTR-2B not generated or not showing: what to check and what to do
Last checked: 30 September 2026. Sources: CGST Act, Section 16, CGST Rules, Rule 46, GSTN return view guide, GSTN GSTR-3B user guide, GSTR-3B help, Table 4, GSTN IMS FAQ, Notification 19/2022-CT (Rule 37), CBIC Circular 237/31/2024-GST, GSTN DRC-01C advisory, Notification 13/2017-CT, GSTR-9 manual.