GST · 26 June 2026
What Is GSTR-2B, and Why Does It Now Decide Your Input Tax Credit?
GSTR-2B is a static, auto-drafted input tax credit (ITC) statement generated for every GST-registered buyer under Rule 60(7) of the CGST Rules. It lists the eligible and ineligible credit from invoices your suppliers filed. Since Section 16(2)(aa) of the CGST Act, GSTR-2B, not the older dynamic GSTR-2A, is the document GST officers match your ITC claim against.
By Mrs. Swapna Patel
Last reviewed
26 June 2026
In this section
Answers
- What Is GSTR-2B, and Why Does It Now Decide Your Input Tax Credit?
- What Is GSTR-1, the GST Return of Outward Supplies?
- What Is GSTR-3B, the Monthly GST Summary Return?
- What Is the Time of Supply Under GST, and When Does Tax Become Due?
- Advance Receipt Under GST: When Do You Issue a Receipt Voucher?
- Credit Note vs Debit Note Under GST: When Do You Issue Each?
- What Is the Value of Supply Under Section 15 of the CGST Act?
- What Are the GST Rate Slabs in India After the GST 2.0 Reform?
- Exempt vs Nil-Rated vs Zero-Rated Supply: What Is the Difference?
- Composite vs Mixed Supply Under Section 8: Which GST Rate Applies?
You can claim input tax credit on any purchase as long as you hold the supplier’s tax invoice.
Since Section 16(2)(aa) of the CGST Act, credit is allowed only on invoices your supplier actually filed and that appear in your GSTR-2B. A genuine invoice that is missing from 2B does not earn ITC until the supplier reports it.
What is GSTR-2B?
Short answer
GSTR-2B is a static, auto-drafted input tax credit statement that Rule 60(7) of the CGST Rules generates for every registered buyer. It lists, invoice by invoice, the ITC you are eligible to claim from suppliers who filed their returns.
- Input tax credit (ITC) is the GST you paid on purchases that you set off against the GST you collect on sales.
- GSTR-2B is auto-drafted: you do not file it. The portal builds it from the GSTR-1 and Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) data your suppliers submit.
- It is static. Once generated for a tax period, the figures are frozen, so the credit you see on the generation date does not shift afterwards.
- It sorts each invoice into ITC available or ITC not available, flagging reasons such as a supply from a different state or a time-barred invoice.
GSTR-2B vs GSTR-2A: which one counts for ITC?
Short answer
GSTR-2B is static and GSTR-2A is dynamic. Since Section 16(2)(aa), GSTR-2B is the statement your claim is matched against, because it gives a fixed figure that does not move after the cut-off.
| Feature | GSTR-2A | GSTR-2B |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Dynamic, keeps changing as suppliers file late | Static, frozen once generated |
| Purpose | Running view of inward supplies | The ITC statement you claim against |
| Generated | Continuously updated | Once per tax period, on the 14th of the next month |
| Basis in law | Rule 60 (auto-population) | Rule 60(7) auto-drafted ITC statement |
| Used for the claim | No (reference only) | Yes, per Section 16(2)(aa) |
GSTR-2B is the static snapshot that decides your eligible credit; GSTR-2A is a dynamic reference. Source: Rule 60, CGST Rules 2017. The generation date can shift when the GSTR-1 due date moves, so confirm the current date on the GST portal for your tax period.
When is GSTR-2B generated, and what should you do with it?
Short answer
For monthly filers, GSTR-2B is generated on the 14th of the month after the tax period, once the supplier filing window closes. You reconcile your purchase register against it before claiming ITC in GSTR-3B.
- Why the date matters: an invoice your supplier files after the 14th rolls into the next month’s 2B, so the credit shifts one cycle, not disappears.
- Reconcile every purchase invoice against 2B. A purchase that is in your books but missing from 2B means the supplier has not reported it yet, and the credit is not yet claimable.
- Quarterly (QRMP) filers receive a quarterly GSTR-2B; the monthly IFF feeds it. Check your filing frequency before assuming a monthly statement.
- A valid tax invoice is what lets a supply reach your buyer’s 2B. See what fields a GST tax invoice must carry under Section 31 and Rule 46.
References & related
Primary sources
- Rule 60(7) and 60(8), Central Goods and Services Tax Rules 2017 — CBICAuto-drafted ITC statement (GSTR-2B) for every registered person.
- Section 16(2)(aa), Central Goods and Services Tax Act 2017 — CBICITC allowed only where the invoice is communicated to the recipient in GSTR-2B.
- Rule 36(4), Central Goods and Services Tax Rules 2017 — CBICITC restricted to credit reflected in the auto-generated statement.
- GSTR-2B advisory — Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN)Generation date and static nature of the GSTR-2B statement.
Last reviewed: 26 June 2026