Form GSTR-2B will available in GST Portal in Afternoon of 14th of every month: GSTN Advisory

The Goods and Service Tax Networks (GSTN) has published an advisory on 18th October 2021 for taxpayers on Form GSTR-2B, stating that ITC will be available to taxpayers on the 14th of every month in the afternoon.

Form GSTR-2B is an auto-drafted ITC statement that is created for each regular taxpayer based on information provided by their suppliers in their GSTR-1/IFF, GSTR-5 (non-resident taxable person), and GSTR-6 (non-resident taxable person) returns (input service distributor).

“This statement reveals the availability and non-availability of input tax credit to the taxpayer against each document filed by their suppliers,” according to the advisory.

GSTR-2B is an auto-drafted ITC statement that is created for every normal taxpayer based on the information provided by his suppliers in their GSTR-1/IFF, GSTR-5 (non-resident taxable person), and GSTR-6 (non-resident taxable person) returns (input service distributor). The statement shows whether or not an input tax credit is available to the taxpayer for each document filed by his suppliers  and is made available to the taxpayers in the afternoon of 14th of every month.

It should be noted that the process of generating GSTR-2B begins after the IFF, GSTR-5, and GSTR-6 due dates have passed on the 13th of the month at midnight, and thus GSTR-2B can be made available to the taxpayer in the afternoon on the 14th of the month. Furthermore, GSTR-2B is a monthly statement that is released on the 14th day of the next month. For example, on the 14th of August 2020, the statement for the month of July 2020 was prepared and made available to the registered person. The details of all the documents in GSTR-2B are available both online and through the download facility.

Any GSTR-1 filed between the due date of furnishing for the previous month (M-1) and the due date of furnishing for the current month (GSTR-1) for monthly GSTR-1 filers (M). For example, the GSTR-2B prepared for the month of January 2021 includes information on all papers filed by suppliers in their monthly GSTR-1 from 00:00 hours on January 12th to 23:59 hours on February 11th, 2020.

What is GSTR-2B?

GSTR-2B is an auto-drafted ITC statement which is generated for every normal taxpayer on the basis of the information furnished by his suppliers in their respective GSTR-1/IFF, GSTR-5 (non-resident taxable person) and GSTR-6 (input service distributor). The statement indicates availability and non-availability of input tax credit to the taxpayer against each document filed by his suppliers.

When it is generated and made available to taxpayer?

It may be noted that process of GSTR-2B generation starts after ending of IFF, GSTR-5 and GSTR-6 due date on 13th midnight and therefore GSTR-2B can be made available to the taxpayer in the afternoon of 14th of the month. Further, GSTR-2B is a static statement and is made available for each month on the 14th day of the succeeding month. For example, for the month of July 2021, the statement was generated and made available to the registered person on 14th August 2021. Details of all the documents in GSTR-2B is made available online as well as through download facility.

What are the inputs of GSTR-2B?

• All the B2B information/documents filed by suppliers in their monthly or quarterly GSTR-1, IFF and GSTR-5 filed by NRTP taxpayers.
• Information filed by ISD taxpayers in their GSTR-6.
• Information of ITC of IGST paid on import of goods filed in ICEGATE.

What is the cut-off dates for GSTR-2B generation?

Cut-off dates for GSTR-2B generation are on the basis of due dates of GSTR-1, GSTR-5 and GSTR-6 as
illustrated below.

• For monthly GSTR-1 filers, any GSTR-1 filed between the due date of furnishing for previous month (M-1) to the due date of furnishing of GSTR-1 for the current month (M). For example, GSTR-2B generated for the month of Jan, 2021 contains the details of all the documents filed by suppliers in their monthly GSTR-1 from 00:00 hours on 12th Jan, 2020 to 23:59 hours on 11th Feb 2020.
• For quarterly GSTR-1/IFF, GSTR-5 and 6 filers, any IFF/GSTR-1/5 and GSTR-6 filed between the due date for previous month (M-1) to the due date of furnishing for the current month (M). For example, GSTR-2B generated for the month of Jan, 2021 contains the details of all the documents filed by suppliers in their quarterly GSTR-1/IFF, GSTR-5 and 6 from 00:00 hours on 14th Jan, 2021 to 23:59 hours on 13th Feb 2021.
• The documents furnished by the supplier in any GSTR-1/IFF, GSTR-5 and 6 would reflect in the next open GSTR-2B of the recipient irrespective of the date of issuance of the concerned document. For example, if a supplier furnishes a document INV-1 dt. 15.05.2020 in the FORM GSTR-1 for the month of July, 2021 filed on 11th August 2021, the details of INV-1, dt. 15.05.2020 will get reflected in GSTR-2B of July 2021 (generated on 12th August 2021) and not in the GSTR-2B of May, 2021.

What should be done if IGST of imports is not featuring in GSTR-2B?

GSTR-2B also contains information on import of goods from the ICEGATE system including inward supplies of goods received from Special Economic Zones Units / Developers. This is made available from GSTR-2B of August 2020. In case any Bill of entry is not being reflected in your GSTR-2B, then you can fetch the missing records from ICEGATE by a self-service functionality provided by GSTN.

What about reverse charge entries?

It may be noted that reverse charge credit on import of services is not a part of this statement and will be continued to be entered by taxpayers in Table 4(A)(2) of FORM GSTR-3B. However, reverse charge on import of goods is auto populated from ICEGATE.

Where does ITC available and not-available summary shown?

• ITC Available Summary is captured in Table-3 of GSTR-2B which shows the ITC available as on the date of generation of FORM GSTR-2B. It is divided into following parts:

A. Part A captures the summary of credit that may be availed in relevant tables of FORM GSTR-3B.

B. Part B captures the summary of credit that shall be reversed in relevant table of FORM GSTR-3B.

• ITC not-available summary is captured in Table 4 of GSTR-2B which shows the summary of ITC not available as on the date of generation of FORM GSTR-2B, under the specific scenarios detailed at Sr. No. 11 below. Credit reflected in this table shall not be entered in Table 4(A) of FORM GSTR-3B.
• Credit shown as “ITC Not available” in Table 4, Part A covers the following scenarios only: –

i. Invoice or debit note for supply of goods or services or both where the recipient is not entitled to input tax credit as per the provisions of sub-section (4) of Section 16 of CGST Act, 2017.

ii. Invoice or debit note where the Supplier (GSTIN) and place of supply are in the same State while recipient is in another State.

However, there may be other scenarios for which Input Tax Credit may not be available to the taxpayers as per other legal provisions. Taxpayers are advised to exercise caution and self-assess & reverse such credit in their FORM GSTR-3B.

How can I view and download Form GSTR-2B statement of a tax period?

Navigate to Services> Returns > Returns Dashboard > File Returns > GSTR 2B Tile to view and download Form GSTR-2B statement of a tax period.

Note: Form GSTR-2B statement for a particular tax period is available for view and download only after the Form GSTR-2B gets generated for that tax period.

What details are available in Form GSTR-2B summary?

Form GSTR-2B summary is bifurcated into following two summaries:

ITC Available: A summary of ITC available as on the date of its generation and is divided into credit that can be availed and credit that is to be reversed (Table 3)

ITC not Available: A summary of ITC not available and is divided into ITC not available and ITC reversal (Table 4)

Can I as a taxpayer download and keep a copy of my Form GSTR-2B for future reference?

Yes, Form GSTR-2B for a given tax period will be available for viewing and/or downloading (in Excel and/or JSON formats) in post-login mode on the GST portal.

Can I download individual table wise details in Form GSTR-2B?

Yes, you can download individual table wise details in Form GSTR-2B by clicking Download Excel link available in document details. Such link will be available only when the total number of documents across all tables is upto 1000 documents.

For more than 1000 records, you may either use the advance search option or download the entire file.