Printable checklist

GSTR-2B month-end, one box at a time.

The month-end steps from our GSTR-2B reconciliation guide, in order, with their dates. Print it, tick it, and keep it with that month's file.

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A checklist, not tax advice: Ordence prepares and matches, your CA reviews and files. Built from the guide as last reviewed 13 October 2026.

1. Before the 14th: work IMS

IMS (the Invoice Management System: the portal list of bills your suppliers report), live since 14 October 2024. Your 2B is built from what sits there on the 14th.

Accept, reject or mark pending every purchase bill on IMS. You or your CA do this on the portal.
Leave nothing untouched. Untouched means deemed accepted, even a bill sent to you by mistake.
A rejected credit note goes back to the supplier as tax they owe. It does not vanish.
Credit notes marked pending: since the October 2025 period, for one tax period only. You can declare the actual credit to reverse against one.
Import Bills of Entry show in IMS too, and are deemed accepted if left untouched.

2. From the 14th: bring in 2B and match

GSTR-2B (your monthly statement of claimable GST) comes out on the 14th of the next month. QRMP (quarterly) filers get one a quarter, on the 14th of the month after it.

Download GSTR-2B from the portal after the 14th.
Match against 2B, not 2A. 2A changes as suppliers file late; 2B changes only when you change it.
Match each line to a purchase bill using GSTIN, invoice number (ignoring dashes, slashes and leading zeros), a close date, taxable value and tax. No single field decides.
Use a match score to sort the list, not to accept matches. A wrong automatic match hides a bill that is really missing.
Check the whole file was read. A skipped row looks like a supplier who did not file.
Put every row in one of five groups: matched, in books not in 2B, in 2B not in books, values differ, unclear. No general “unmatched” pile.

3. Check the other Section 16(2) conditions

The conditions for claiming ITC (the GST you take back on purchases). A matched row proves clause (aa) only.

Clause (a): you hold the tax invoice or debit note. A delivery challan, a proforma or a supplier's statement of account is not one.
Clause (b): you have received the goods or services. Delivery straight to your buyer (bill-to ship-to) counts.
Clause (c): the tax has actually been paid to the government. Matching cannot show this; a supplier in money trouble is a double risk.
Clause (d): you have filed your own return under Section 39.
Rule 37: an invoice unpaid after 180 days has its credit reversed, and you reclaim it when you pay. Watch disputed bills.
Leave out blocked credit under Section 17(5). It was never claimable.

4. The 14th to the 20th: work the queue, chase, decide

Most of the work is chasing suppliers, not matching.

Credit at risk, in rupees: the tax (not invoice value) on rows in books not in 2B, plus the shortfall where values differ.
Leave out unclear rows and rows in 2B not in books. Neither is credit you may lose.
Track its age. Two months at 40,000 is a nuisance; nine months at 6 lakh with a November deadline is serious.
Sort rows by rupees at risk, not by date.
In books not in 2B: call the supplier about that invoice this week. For repeat offenders, hold back the tax part of payment until the credit shows.
In 2B not in books: find the bill you never entered, or reject one sent to a mistyped GSTIN.
Never combine those two into one “unmatched” total. They need opposite actions.
Values differ: you can claim the lower figure. Decide the gap before filing.
Unclear: a person picks the matching bill.
Claim, hold or write off each row, and note why. Held rows have a Section 16(4) deadline: for an invoice from financial year 2025-26, 30 November 2026 or the date you file that year's annual return, whichever is first.
Changed something in IMS after the 14th? Press recompute to rebuild the statement. This works until you file GSTR-3B or its due date passes.

5. Hand over and lock

Once filed, there is no going back.

Work out the GSTR-3B figures; your CA checks and files.
The sales tax GSTR-3B fills in for you is locked (from the July 2025 period; Table 3.2 from the November 2025 period). Fix it in GSTR-1A before the 3B is filed.
Table 4, the credit side, is still yours to work out as of October 2026, so this matching is a real decision.
After filing, lock the period in the books.
The cost of a wrong claim: reversed in a later period with interest under Section 50 at 18%, from the original date.
No return can be filed more than three years after its due date.

On 8 October 2026 the GST Council recommended aligning 3B credit to 2B from the April 2027 return, and giving IMS a basis in the rules. Those are recommendations, not law, until they are notified.

Sources

The same sources as the guide. IMS portal mechanics have moved more than once since October 2024; check the latest GSTN advisory.

IMS live from 14 October 2024, its three actions and deemed acceptance: GSTN advisories 532 and 547
GSTR-2B generated on the 14th from IMS actions: GSTN advisories 549 and 628
IMS changes from the October 2025 period: GSTN advisories 624 and 634
Hard-locking of liability in GSTR-3B: GSTN advisories 606 and 640
The three-year bar on filing a GST return: GSTN advisory 633
The 57th GST Council recommendations of 8 October 2026: PIB press release
Section 16(2), Section 16(4), Section 50 interest and Rule 37: the bare CGST Act is the authority, and your CA is the one who should read it against your facts.

ordence.com/gstr-2b-checklist/ GSTR-2B month-end checklist, from the guide at ordence.com/gstr-2b-reconciliation/, last reviewed 13 October 2026. A checklist, not tax advice.

Know your credit at risk before the 20th.

Bring last month's 2B and your purchase register. We will show which rows match, and put a rupee figure on the ones that do not.

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