GSTR-2B reconciliation: what to check before claiming input credit

What GSTR-2B shows

GSTR-2B is a monthly statement of the input credit available to you, built from what your suppliers report in their own returns. It gives you a fixed monthly statement to reconcile against.

Your purchase register shows what you actually bought. The two rarely match perfectly, and the differences are what need attention.

A monthly routine

• Close the purchase register for the month and check each supplier's GSTIN
• Download GSTR-2B and match it invoice by invoice with the register
• List invoices that appear in your books but not in GSTR-2B
• List invoices that appear in GSTR-2B but not in your books
• Check for differences in invoice number, date, taxable value and tax
• Follow up with suppliers before filing GSTR-3B

Common reasons for a mismatch

The supplier may have filed late, reported the invoice in another month or entered the wrong GSTIN. Sometimes the fault is in your own books, such as a mistyped invoice number or a bill recorded twice.

Credit notes also need checking, because a supplier's credit note reduces the credit available to you even if your books have not yet recorded it.

Before you claim

Keep the invoice and proof of receipt of the goods or services. Check whether the purchase is one on which credit is blocked, and whether the tax falls under reverse charge. Payment to the supplier also matters, because credit can be affected if the supplier is not paid within the time allowed.

Keep a note of invoices held back and the month in which you later claimed them. That note makes the annual return far easier to prepare.

By CA Zubair Sayyed, published 02/11/2026. General information only. It is not professional advice, and the position depends on the facts and the law in force.