IMS Under GST: Accept, Reject, Pending and What Happens to GSTR-2B

The Invoice That Appears Before the Reconciliation Starts

A supplier saves an invoice in GSTR-1. Before the recipient downloads GSTR-2B, the record appears on the GST portal in a different place: the Invoice Management System.

Now the purchase team has a decision to make. Is the invoice yours? Was the supply actually received? Is the value correct? Should the input tax credit be included in the next statement, left for later, or kept out entirely?

That is what makes IMS different from a report. It is not only showing what the supplier filed. It gives the recipient a place to respond to the inward supply before the system uses those responses to prepare the draft GSTR-2B.

The practical mistake is treating the dashboard as another inbox to check when there is time. IMS is part of the monthly ITC workflow. A missed action can become a deemed acceptance, and a late correction can require a fresh GSTR-2B computation before GSTR-3B is filed.

What the Invoice Management System Does

IMS displays invoices and other records that suppliers save or file through GSTR-1, GSTR-1A, or IFF. The recipient can review each record and take one of three actions:

Accept the record.
Reject the record.
Pending the record for a later decision, where the rules allow it.

If no action is taken, the record remains in the No Action category. It is not the same as Reject or Pending. At the time of GSTR-2B generation, No Action records are treated as deemed accepted.

IMS does not let the recipient edit the supplier’s invoice. If the GSTIN, invoice number, value, tax amount, or other detail is wrong, the recipient’s action records the problem. The supplier must correct or amend the document in the appropriate return.

The Four Outcomes in Plain Language

IMS status	What it means	Effect on the draft GSTR-2B
Accept	The record belongs to the recipient and the business is willing to consider the ITC, subject to the other legal conditions	It flows into the ITC Available section
Reject	The record is not yours, is duplicated, or contains a problem that should be corrected by the supplier	It appears for reference but does not flow into GSTR-3B as available ITC
Pending	The recipient cannot make a final decision yet and the record is eligible to remain pending	It stays out of the current period’s usable ITC until a later action
No Action	The recipient has not responded	It is treated as deemed accepted when the draft GSTR-2B is generated

Accept does not mean every other ITC condition has disappeared. The invoice still needs to be genuine and relevant, the supply must satisfy the applicable conditions, and the recipient must self-assess restrictions such as blocked credit. IMS is a record decision. It is not a replacement for professional review.

When to Accept an Invoice

Accept a record when it matches the business’s own evidence:

The supplier GSTIN is known and belongs to the transaction.
The invoice number and date match the purchase register.
The taxable value and tax breakup are reasonable.
The goods or services were received or the relevant condition has been met.
The business intends to consider the credit in its return.

The purchase register remains important here. IMS tells you what the supplier reported. It does not tell you whether the invoice was booked correctly, whether the goods arrived, or whether the expense is eligible for ITC under every applicable rule.

Accepting a record too quickly can create a different problem from missing an invoice. It can bring a duplicate, a wrong-entity invoice, or a credit note into the workflow where it needs to be investigated later.

When to Reject an Invoice

Reject is appropriate when the record should not be treated as the recipient’s accepted purchase. Common examples include:

The supplier used the wrong recipient GSTIN.
The invoice belongs to another company or branch.
The invoice is a duplicate of a record already booked.
The document contains a material error that needs supplier correction.
The transaction did not take place.

Rejection is not the same as editing. It sends a clear signal that the supplier needs to correct the source record through GSTR-1A or a later permitted amendment. The supplier and recipient should still communicate, especially for a genuine transaction where the error is only in the GSTIN or amount.

For CAs handling several clients, the reason behind the rejection matters as much as the click. A note such as “wrong GSTIN” or “duplicate invoice” gives the client and the supplier a usable follow-up trail.

When Pending Is the Right Choice

Pending is useful when the team needs more information before accepting or rejecting a record. For example:

The invoice is visible, but the goods receipt has not been confirmed.
The purchase register is still being closed for the month.
The client is checking whether the invoice relates to a business activity.
A credit note needs to be compared with the original invoice and the credit already claimed.

Pending should not become a permanent storage folder. The GSTN rules keep some records in IMS until the Section 16(4) cut-off, but the pending option is restricted for certain document and amendment scenarios. Changes introduced from the October 2025 tax period extended Pending to specified credit notes and certain downward amendments, while also adding an option to declare the amount of ITC that actually needs to be reduced.

The safe practice is to record why an invoice is pending and assign an owner. “Waiting” without a reason does not tell the reviewer what evidence is missing or when the item should be revisited.

The 14th Is a Checkpoint, Not Always the Final Lock

For monthly filers, GSTR-2B is generated on the 14th of the succeeding month. Under IMS, the first statement is treated as a draft based on the records and actions available at that point.

The monthly timeline looks like this:

Suppliers save or file documents in GSTR-1, GSTR-1A, or IFF.
Those records become visible to recipients in IMS.
The recipient reviews the records and takes action where needed.
The draft GSTR-2B is generated on the 14th.
The recipient reconciles the statement with its books and prepares GSTR-3B.

Actions can still be taken or changed after the draft GSTR-2B is generated and before the recipient files GSTR-3B. If the position changes after the draft is created, the recipient needs to recompute GSTR-2B so the change is reflected in the return preparation.

The useful operational deadline is therefore earlier than the filing deadline. A CA team that waits until the GSTR-3B screen is open has left very little time to investigate a wrong invoice, contact a supplier, and recompute the statement safely.

What Does Not Come Through IMS

IMS is not a complete list of every amount that can appear in GSTR-2B. GSTN guidance identifies records that bypass IMS and flow directly into GSTR-2B, including:

Documents from GSTR-5 and GSTR-6.
Import documents received through ICEGATE.
Reverse charge records.
Documents marked unavailable due to place-of-supply rules or Section 16(4).
Certain records where ITC reversal is required under Rule 37A.

This is why “not visible in IMS” should not automatically be read as “not present in GSTR-2B.” The team must still review the final statement and apply the relevant ITC treatment to records that did not have an IMS action.

Credit Notes Need Extra Care

An invoice and a credit note do not have the same effect on ITC. A credit note can reduce the credit connected to an earlier purchase, and the recipient may need to consider whether that credit was already claimed and what amount should be reversed.

The October 2025 IMS changes added an option for the recipient to declare the amount of ITC to be reduced in certain cases. That matters when the full credit-note value does not match the amount of credit actually availed earlier. Accepting or rejecting a credit note without checking the original invoice and prior return can produce an incorrect reversal.

For credit notes, the reviewer should check three things together:

The original invoice and its accepted or rejected status.
The credit note value and reason.
The amount of ITC already claimed or reversed in the books and returns.

This is a review task, not a bulk-action task. The more unusual the note, the more important the supporting trail becomes.

A Practical IMS Routine for CA Firms

An effective routine does not require every client to work at the same speed. It needs the same checkpoints for every client:

Collect the books first. Have the purchase register, goods receipt information, and prior ITC decisions available before reviewing the portal records.
Review by exception. Start with high-value invoices, wrong GSTINs, duplicates, credit notes, and suppliers with a history of filing errors.
Use a reason for every Reject and Pending action. The next person should understand what happened without calling the original reviewer.
Finish the first pass before the 14th. Leave time for supplier follow-up and corrections.
Recompute after late changes. If an action changes after the draft GSTR-2B is generated, recompute it before relying on the values in GSTR-3B.
Reconcile the final statement with the books. IMS decisions reduce one class of uncertainty, but they do not replace the books-to-portal reconciliation.
Archive the decision trail. Keep the invoice, action, reason, correction, and final ITC treatment together for future review.

For firms managing many clients, the same routine becomes difficult when invoices are scattered across email, WhatsApp, and folders. Having the purchase records in one review queue before the IMS window opens gives the CA team the evidence it needs to make a decision on the portal.

Where Invozen Fits

Invozen does not replace the GST portal’s IMS actions. Its role is earlier in the workflow: collect purchase invoices, extract the relevant fields, validate the data, and keep the client records ready for review.

That preparation matters because an IMS action is only as reliable as the information behind it. A reviewer should not have to search through a WhatsApp thread to find the document that explains why an invoice was rejected, or compare three versions of a spreadsheet to decide whether a pending record was finally booked.

With structured invoice records, the team can compare the portal record with the source invoice and purchase register. Invozen does not assign IMS reviewers or track portal decisions, so keep reviewer assignments and decision evidence in your existing process. IMS remains the place where the recipient responds.

The Short Version

IMS turns inward invoice data into a decision workflow:

Accept genuine records that belong to the business.
Reject records that are wrong, duplicated, or need supplier correction.
Keep eligible records Pending only when a real decision is not yet possible.
Remember that No Action becomes deemed acceptance at draft GSTR-2B generation.
Treat the 14th as a working checkpoint and recompute GSTR-2B after late changes.
Review records that bypass IMS directly in GSTR-2B.

The goal is not to click Accept or Reject faster. It is to make sure the right person makes the right decision with the right invoice in front of them.

Note: GST portal functionality, document eligibility, and return procedures can change. This article is a practical overview, not legal or tax advice. Confirm the current position with your tax adviser and the official GST portal before acting.