A factory in Pune. October close. The CA asks for 2B vs books. You send a Tally ITC report. The numbers do not match. The CA says the GSTIN is wrong. You re-check the photocopy. It is right. The supplier filed under a different GSTIN. The invoice in the books has a number that will never appear in 2B because it does not exist on the portal. Someone spends three hours tracing it. The root cause is a typo from March that nobody caught because the format check passed.
The names are close enough that people use them as synonyms. They are not. Official how-to lives on the GST portal. Due dates move. This page is who-files-what, not a calendar.
GSTR-1: supplier reports outward supplies. GSTR-2B: auto-drafted ITC statement for you, from what suppliers furnished. GSTR-3B: the return where you actually claim and pay. Tally: what you posted from paper. EntryLedger tries to make the fourth pile less dirty. It does not file 1, 2B, or 3B.
A table you can keep
| Pile | Who acts | What it is | If it is wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| GSTR-1 | Supplier | Outward supplies they furnished | Invoice never appears in your 2B |
| GSTR-2B | GSTN (you read) | Auto-drafted ITC statement | You cannot honestly claim that line yet |
| GSTR-3B | You / CA / Clear | The return you furnish | Interest and notices live here |
| Tally | You, from paper | Posted vouchers | Self-inflicted 2B gaps |
Why the four disagree
Timing: they file 1 after you posted. Next month's 2B. You already claimed in 3B or you waited. Both happen.
They filed a different GSTIN, invoice number, or amount than you posted. That one is often entry. Checksum, arithmetic, and duplicates exist so that class of miss is smaller. See GSTIN, totals, duplicates.
Credit notes: they reduce 2B. If you posted the original purchase and ignored the credit note, books stay high. Credit notes are not purchases.
Cancelled GSTIN, composition, RCM: status and scheme are portal facts. Checksum will not save you. Section 16 is the statutory overlay.
Month-end order, without a product fantasy
Download 2B from the portal. Compare to Tally ITC for the period. Investigate misses. Then furnish 3B. Exact buttons: GST tutorial, your return period. Clear is built for this stack. We are not. Keep Clear for filing.
If you do that on dirty vouchers, the sheet is archaeology. If you do it on vouchers that already passed GSTIN and closure, the sheet is mostly "supplier has not filed" and "next period." That is the only ROI story we will tell. No "recon time down 70%."
EntryLedger's export is a Tally-import file. After import, Tally is the books. After that, 2B vs books is the CA. After that, 3B is the return. Skip a layer and you will blame the wrong vendor.
GSTR-1
Supplier files
GSTR-2B
Auto-drafted
GSTR-3B
You claim
Tally
You post
A mismatch without fake frequencies
Books: ₹55,000 ITC on a GSTIN. 2B: ₹50,000 or blank. Do not start with "OCR is 90% so it is probably them." Open the voucher. Recheck GSTIN checksum and the printed total. If those are right, it is likely filing or timing. If the GSTIN is a transposition that still looks valid, it is you. Call the supplier only after you have ruled out your own digits. That order saves everyone a week.
Blank 2B, clean voucher: they have not furnished, or they used a different GSTIN / invoice number. You cannot fix their 1 by re-keying. You can check you did not invent a number. Then the CA nags. Clear's product is built for that nag. Ours is not.
Who owns which call
| Symptom | First call | Not first |
|---|---|---|
| Checksum fail, total off, duplicate | Clerk / review queue | Supplier, GSTN helpdesk |
| Voucher clean, 2B blank | Supplier (have they furnished 1?) | Re-OCR |
| 2B present, books differ on amount | Compare print vs 2B vs Tally | Buy a new ledger |
| Need to furnish 3B this week | CA / Clear | EntryLedger (we do not file) |
Section 16 still sits on top: even a matching 2B line has other conditions. Link section 16. This page is only which statement is which, so you stop using the names as synonyms.
What we will not calendar
QRMP, IFF, and due dates change. The portal and the tutorial are the calendar. If I print "11th of next month" here, it will be wrong for someone. Do not file from a blog.
- GST tutorialGST returns guides index
Official walkthroughs. 2B itself lives on the portal dashboard.
- GST portalgst.gov.in
Returns. Due dates on the portal, not here.
- EntryLedger
Do you file 1, 2B, or 3B?+
No. Tally-ready vouchers only. Filing is the CA or Clear.
If Tally matches 2B, is 3B done?+
No. 3B is still a return you furnish. Matching is prep.
When is 2B available?+
See the official guide and portal for your period. Not a date from this post.