All you need to know about Form GSTR-2B

The 39^th GST Council meeting held on 14^th March 2020 recommended significant improvement to simplify the GST return filing to make it easy for the taxpayers to have GST compliance. One such improvement was the introduction of GSTR-2B from which is an auto-drafted ITC statement.

This article talks about Form GSTR- 2B, its importance, features, etc.

What is GSTR-2B?

GSTR-2B is a form that is an auto-drafted ITC (Input Tax Credit) statement generated every month for every recipient. It is a fixed statement generated on the 12^th day of every month according to the information provided in the forms GSTR-1, GSTR-5 & GSTR-6 by their suppliers.

For example, November 2020 GSTR- 2B will generate on 12^th December 2020 and contain all the details of ITC on the transactions done in November.

This document shows a detailed summary & invoice-wise statement of the eligibility & ineligibility of ITC.

Scope & Purpose

GSTR-2B was introduced to simplify the GST compliance for taxpayers. It also helps in computing ITC more accurately.

The council states that the GSTR-2B will help save the time taken to file returns, minimize errors, ease reconciliation & simplify compliance.

What are the benefits of GSTR-2B?

The GSTR-2B contains several details that assist the taxpayer to reconcile ITC easily with their books of accounts and records.

The benefits of GSTR-2B are:

• This will help the accounting team to overview the ITC month-wise easily.
• The report will contain all the required details and consider all the transactions to calculate ITC.
• The ITC will be auto-generated after the supplier fills all the details through GSTR 1, 5 & 6.
• It is generated on the 12^th day of every month to compute the ITC of the previous month.

What are the contents & features of GSTR-2B?

The contents of GSTR-2B is as follows:

• A summary statement that shows whether ITC is available or not for every section.
• The advisory clarifies the kind of action to be taken by the taxpayers’ section wise.
• To download and view the document, wise details, such as credit & debit notes, invoices, etc.

The features of GSTR-2B are as follows:

• GSTR-2B will remain constant for the given tax period.
• The whole document can be downloaded as a PDF or an Excel file. It can also be downloaded section wise.
• The summary will also contain the information from the ICEGATE (Indian Customs Electronic Gateway) system on and inward supplies from SEZ and import of goods.
• One can sort the information as deems fit and also can hide or views columns as per convenience.
• One can view and download the details of the credit & debit notes and invoices etc.
• The statement will imply whether ITC is eligible or not under each section.
• The taxpayer can take actions as per the advisory given in GSTR-2B.
• In more than 1000 records, the taxpayer can either download the full GSTR-2B or the advance search option.

What are the steps to download GSTR-2B?

The following are the steps to access GSTR-2B:

• Log in to the GST portal^[1] (using taxpayer’s credentials).
• Click on services > Returns > Returns Dashboard option.
• Select the financial year and the return filing period from the drop-down menu.
• You can then click on view or download the GSTR-2B form. The form can be downloaded wholly or section-wise in PDF or Excel format.
• Click view advisory to find out the cutoff dates.

How does GSTR-2B help in ITC filing?

The returns will be filed in Form GSTR 3B, but the auto-drafted GSTR-2B statement can be used as a source for calculating ITC claims. The static nature of the return is the key to simplifying the process.

The documents filed under the return contain additional information to specify whether ITC is available or not. It is crucial to determine whether ITC is available or not to determine the further process.

The GSTR-2B return includes the invoices for which the returns have been filed. Further, it contains information, like the date of filing and the filing period.

In addition to this, it helps to avoid a dual claim of ITC during reconciliation.

How does GSTR 2A & GSTR- 2B are different?

Comparison between GSTR 2A & GSTR-2B:

Basis	GSTR 2A	GSTR-2B
Nature of statement	It is dynamic in nature. Based on documents uploaded, it can change.	It is static in nature. The statement is generated every month, and the details cannot be changed after the actions of suppliers or recipients.
Availability	Monthly	On the 12th day of every month
Source of Information	GSTR – 1GSTR – 5GSTR – 6GSTR – 7GSTR – 8ICES	GSTR – 1GSTR – 5GSTR – 6ICES It does not provide TCS or TDS deduction information.
Utility	It is challenging to ensure that all the GSTR 2A credits have been included because of the vendors’ delay in the filing process.	It helps during ITC reconciliation and to identify compliant and non-compliant vendors.
ITC on imports	It contains all the details of ITC on inward supplies from SEZs, and the imports from overseas are available from ICES in the GST system.	It contains all the information on imports from ICES.

Conclusion

GSTR-2B was introduced in the 39^th Council meeting to ease filing returns and computing ITC. It is an auto-drafted statement generated on the 12^th day of every month, which helps computing ITC (Input Tax credit).

This form has made it easy for the taxpayers in GST compliance in minimizing the errors, and it saves time to prepare for return filing.

Read our article: Govt. Allows Taxpayers to File GSTR-3B Returns in a Staggered Manner