GSTR-2B is the static, auto-drafted statement of input tax credit available to you for a tax period, built from the invoices your suppliers filed in their GSTR-1. Once generated it does not change, making it the fixed reference for claiming ITC in GSTR-3B. As of Aug 2026, GSTR-2B is shaped by your actions in the Invoice Management System — accept, reject, or pending.
Each month, after your suppliers' GSTR-1 filing window closes, the portal compiles every invoice reported against your GSTIN into GSTR-2B. Unlike the older GSTR-2A, which kept changing as suppliers filed late, 2B is frozen for the period — what's in it is what you can claim, and what's missing generally has to wait for a later period's 2B. With IMS live, invoices you accept (or ignore, which counts as deemed acceptance) flow into 2B, and invoices you reject stay out.
The monthly job is a three-way match: purchase register vs GSTR-2B vs actual goods and services received. Where an invoice is in your books but not in 2B, call the supplier before you file — the fix is on their side. Where an invoice is in 2B but not in your books, investigate rather than claim; it may be an error or someone misusing your GSTIN.
The common mistake is claiming ITC straight from the books and treating 2B as a formality. That gap is exactly what scrutiny software flags, and it arrives back as an ASMT-10 notice months later. Clean monthly reconciliation, filed away with workings, makes those notices a ten-minute reply instead of a crisis.
Reviewed to the law in force in FY 2026-27. General information, not advice — confirm the position for your facts before acting.