GST IMS: Accept, Reject or Pend Invoices for ITC 2026

The GST Invoice Management System, or IMS, is a facility on the GST portal at gst.gov.in where you, as the buyer, act on every invoice and credit note your suppliers file in GSTR-1, GSTR-1A or the IFF, before you file your GSTR-3B. For each record you choose Accept, Reject or Pending, and that single choice decides whether the Input Tax Credit reaches your GSTR-2B as eligible credit. Acting deliberately is the difference between a clean return and a credit mismatch notice.

The flow runs in a fixed order. Your supplier files GSTR-1, GSTR-1A or IFF. Each outward record they report lands on your IMS dashboard. You act on each one. On the 14th of the following month the system draft-generates your GSTR-2B from your IMS actions. The eligible credit then auto-populates into your GSTR-3B, which you file and pay.

For QRMP taxpayers, GSTR-2B is generated quarterly, not monthly, so your IMS window follows the same quarterly rhythm. If you want a refresher on how your supplier amends a record after the original GSTR-1, see the GSTR-1A amendment guide, because an amendment also appears on your IMS dashboard for fresh action.

1. Log in at gst.gov.in and open Services, then Returns, then Invoice Management System (IMS) dashboard.
2. The dashboard groups records as Invoices, Debit Notes and Credit Notes, with separate tabs for inward supplies.
3. Open a record, match it against your purchase register and the physical goods or service received.
4. Select Accept, Reject or Pending against each line. You may also act in bulk after filtering.
5. You can keep acting even after GSTR-2B is generated on the 14th, right up to the moment you file GSTR-3B, and then recompute GSTR-2B so it reflects your latest actions.
6. When a credit note is accepted, the portal now lets you declare whether ITC reversal is full, partial or not required, so you reverse only what you actually availed.

A new business that has not yet started receiving invoices can prepare by reading how to apply for GST registration in 2026, since IMS becomes active the moment your GSTIN starts receiving inward supplies.

If you take no action on a record by the time GSTR-2B is generated, the system treats it as deemed accepted and lets the credit flow into your GSTR-2B as eligible ITC. GSTN frames this as a facilitation so that genuine, routine invoices do not need a manual click, and your attention is needed only where a record must be Rejected or kept Pending.

The risk is the mirror image of that convenience. A fake, duplicate or wrong-GSTIN invoice that you ignore will be deemed accepted and pull ineligible credit into your return. Under Section 16, you can claim ITC only on a genuine supply actually received, and Section 38 governs the communication of inward details. Wrongly availed credit invites reversal with interest and penalty. So silence is a decision, and on a bad invoice it is the wrong one.

The IMS dashboard went live as an optional facility from October 2024. From the October 2025 tax period it became the operative basis on which GSTR-2B is built. Whether IMS is strictly “mandatory” is genuinely debated: the 55th GST Council proposed amendments to Section 38 of the CGST Act and Rule 60 of the CGST Rules to lock the link between IMS actions and GSTR-2B, and some experts argue that until that formal amendment is notified, IMS is not compulsory in the strict legal sense. In practice, because inaction triggers deemed acceptance, ignoring IMS still carries real consequences. Treat it as operative, not optional.

A Pune trader buys steel and the supplier accidentally files the same tax invoice twice in GSTR-1, each showing ₹18,000 of GST. Both records appear on the trader's IMS dashboard. If the trader does nothing, both are deemed accepted and ₹36,000 of credit flows into GSTR-2B, but only ₹18,000 is genuine.

The correct action: Accept the first record and Reject the duplicate. GSTR-2B then carries only the real ₹18,000, GSTR-3B auto-populates the correct figure, and there is no excess credit to explain later. Had the trader instead kept the duplicate Pending, the credit simply would not appear until the trader acted, which is a safe holding position while checking with the supplier.

• Ignoring the dashboard entirely. Inaction is not neutral, it is deemed acceptance of everything, including bad invoices.
• Rejecting a genuine invoice in haste. A wrongly rejected real invoice strips eligible ITC you are entitled to. Verify before you reject.
• Forgetting to recompute GSTR-2B after acting late, so the return does not reflect your final actions.
• Over-reversing on credit notes by not using the partial-reversal declaration, reversing more ITC than you ever availed.
• Letting Pending records lapse beyond the one tax period or one quarter window without resolving them.

If you suspect a supplier has filed an invoice in your name that you never received, you can also seek records through an RTI to the GST authority. Our AI RTI draft tool helps you frame that request, and The RTI Playbook explains the wider process.

From the October 2025 tax period, GSTR-2B is built on your IMS actions, so it is operative. Some experts note the strict legal “mandatory” tag awaits the formal amendment of Section 38 and Rule 60 proposed by the 55th GST Council. Either way, inaction means deemed acceptance, so acting is the safe course.

It is deemed accepted and its ITC flows into GSTR-2B as eligible credit. This is convenient for genuine invoices but dangerous for wrong or duplicate ones, which is why you should always reject what is not yours.

On the 14th of the month following the tax period for monthly filers, and quarterly for QRMP taxpayers. You can still act in IMS after that date until you file GSTR-3B, then recompute GSTR-2B.

Monthly filers can hold a record Pending for one tax period, and QRMP filers for one quarter. Credit notes and downward amendments are among the records you may keep Pending while you verify them.

Rejection removes the credit from your GSTR-2B and flags the mismatch back through the system. It does not change your supplier's output tax liability, which they declared in GSTR-1, but it does stop you from wrongly availing credit. Persistent mismatches can draw scrutiny, so coordinate with the supplier.

• GSTR-1A: amending outward supplies
• GSTR-7: TDS under GST
• GSTR-9: annual return filing guide
• Apply for GST registration in 2026

• GSTN Advisory on Invoice Management System (IMS), tutorial.gst.gov.in revised advisory PDF, verified: three actions Accept, Reject, Pending and deemed acceptance on inaction.
• GSTN FAQs on New Changes in IMS from October 2025 tax period, tutorial.gst.gov.in, verified: GSTR-2B on the 14th, action allowed until GSTR-3B filing, recompute GSTR-2B, monthly versus quarterly QRMP generation, Pending window, and partial ITC reversal on credit notes.
• 55th GST Council Meeting proposals on Section 38 of the CGST Act and Rule 60 of the CGST Rules, as reported by cbic-gst.gov.in and reputable secondaries, verified: the “mandatory” debate pending formal amendment.
• Section 16 and Section 38, CGST Act 2017, for ITC eligibility and communication of inward supply details.