The Invoice Management System (IMS) is a GST portal facility that lets a recipient accept, reject or keep pending each invoice filed by suppliers before it flows into GSTR-2B. Only accepted (and deemed-accepted) invoices form part of GSTR-2B and become eligible ITC, giving recipients control over their credit.
What IMS does
When a supplier files GSTR-1/IFF, each invoice appears on the recipient's IMS dashboard with three actions: Accept, Reject or Pending. Accepted and no-action (deemed accepted) invoices flow into GSTR-2B as available ITC; rejected invoices do not; pending invoices are held and excluded from that month's 2B.
The workflow
| Action | Effect on GSTR-2B | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| Accept | ITC flows to 2B | Invoice matches books |
| No action (deemed accept) | ITC flows to 2B | Matched, no manual action taken |
| Reject | Excluded from 2B | Wrong GSTIN, not your invoice, duplicate |
| Pending | Held; excluded for now | Goods not yet received, dispute |
The pending-invoice trap
Marking an invoice pending keeps it out of the current 2B without rejecting it, which is useful for goods-in-transit. But credit on a pending invoice is deferred, and it must be actioned before the Section 16(4) time bar (30 November of the following year), or it can be lost. Build a routine to clear the pending queue each month.
Impact on suppliers
A rejection feeds back to the supplier and can affect their liability reconciliation, so reject only with reason and communicate with the supplier. Used well, IMS reduces the year-end mismatch burden in GSTR-9/9C and cuts wrong-ITC reversals.
Key takeaways
- IMS lets recipients accept, reject or hold invoices before 2B.
- Accepted and deemed-accepted invoices become eligible ITC.
- Pending invoices defer credit — clear them before the 16(4) time bar.
- Reject only with reason; it affects the supplier's reconciliation.