GSTR-9 Table 8A: How GSTR-2B Replaced GSTR-2A

9 Table 8A explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.

Table 8A is the only place in Part III that starts from what suppliers said, rather than what the taxpayer claimed. Which statement supplies that figure changed in October 2024 — and the change is not merely cosmetic, because GSTR-2A and GSTR-2B contain different things.

Table 8A is "an auto-populated detail & non-editable." "Till FY 2022-23, the value… shall be auto-populated from Tables 3 and 5 of Form GSTR-2A. However, Form GSTR-9 has been amended vide Notification No. 20/2024-CT dated 08.10.2024 to provide that from the FY 2023-24 onwards, data reflected in Table 3(I) of Form GSTR-2B shall be auto populated in Table 8A."

What each source contains

GSTR-2A, Tables 3 and 5. "Table 3 of Form GSTR-2A relates to 'inward supplies received from a registered person including supplies attracting reverse charge'. Table 5 relates to 'Debit / Credit notes received during the current tax period'."

GSTR-2B, Table 3(I). "Table 3(I) (both Part A & Part B) of Form GSTR-2B relates to 'All other ITC – Supplies from registered person other than reverse charge'."

The material difference is reverse charge. GSTR-2A's Table 3 includes supplies attracting reverse charge; GSTR-2B's Table 3(I) excludes them.

And that is the right exclusion for Table 8's purpose. Table 8 compares the forward charge credit available against the forward charge credit claimed — "The first section relates to the comparison of credit availed on forward charge by the registered person with the credit available as per inward supply uploaded by the suppliers." Reverse charge credit never had to appear in it. The Guide is explicit: "ITC relating to following are not subject to reconciliation: import of services, reverse charge, ISD."

Both sources capture debit and credit notes. From GSTR-2B, "what is auto-populated… is the data relating to credit availed on inward supplies, where GST is payable under forward charge and amendments made thereto in the form of debit/credit notes."

The frozen dates for the early years

For the years when GSTR-2A supplied the figure, it was taken as at a fixed date, not as it stood later:

This matters when reopening those years. The Table 8A figure in a filed GSTR-9 is a snapshot, and today's GSTR-2A for the same period will show a different, larger number as suppliers filed late. A comparison against the current statement will not reproduce the return.

And an option existed for the first two years. Notification No. 56/2019-CT dated 14.11.2019 allowed registered persons "to upload the details for the entries in Table 8A to 8D (Reconciliation of GSTR-2A with GSTR-3B) duly signed, in PDF format in Form GSTR-9C (without the CA certification)."

The discrepancies to expect

The Guide lists what verification of GSTR-2A/2B typically throws up:

Purchases that are not yours. Invoices reported by a supplier against the wrong GSTIN.

Ineligible purchases. "Purchases for which credit is ineligible, on which ITC has not been availed, however, this forms part of Form GSTR-2A/2B when the supplier uploads the same." These inflate 8A without ever being claimable — and are what Table 8F exists to absorb.

Twin reporting. "There could be cases where a single transaction could have two inward supplies in Form GSTR-2A/2B. For example, the amount paid for the purchase of air ticket would entail two inward supplies; one from the airline for the ticket and second from the travel agent charging a commission. Both the credits would be available though the transaction is a single one."

And the payment condition is satisfied even though the airline was never paid directly: "payment would be made by the registered persons only to the travel agent and not the airline. The condition of making the payment would have been satisfied although payment is not made directly to the airline carrier" — per Explanation (ii) to section 16(2)(b), inserted by the CGST (Amendment) Act, 2018.

The transition artefact. "Invoices pertain to the FY 2022-23, but the supplier reported them in Form GSTR-1 after the due date of March 2023. Due to the transition of data auto-population in Table 8A from Form GSTR-2A to Form GSTR-2B, these invoices are auto-populated in Table 8A of GSTR-9 for both FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24."

A double count across two years, created by the switch itself. It cannot be edited out, since 8A is non-editable — it must be explained.

Missing invoices. "Inward supplies where Form GSTR-1 has not yet been filed would be conspicuous by its absence."

A verification utility exists. "GSTN has issued an advisory dated August 18, 2020 regarding the utility available on Annual Return dashboard for verifying the invoice level details of amount auto-populated in Table 8A."

Table 8B, and its delinking from 6H

Table 8B was "the aggregate of input tax credit uploaded in Table 6B and 6H."

That changed for FY 2024-25: "Table 8B will auto populate based on amount reported in Table 6B only. Amount reported in the Table 6H will not be part of Table 8B."

The reasoning is precise: "ITC which is reclaimed by the recipient will not in GSTR 2B again and hence it will not be auto populated in Table 8A. As the ITC reclaimed is also not required to be reported in the Table 8C. Therefore, delinking of Table 6H with 8B will mitigate the possibility of causing difference in Table 8D."

The logic is symmetry. Table 8D is 8A − (8B + 8C). A reclaim adds to 8B but never adds to 8A, because a reclaimed invoice does not reappear in GSTR-2B — so including 6H in 8B pushed 8D negative for no substantive reason.

The Guide's worked example. Mr A claims ITC in March 2025 (Table 4A5) and reverses it in March 2025 (Table 4B2) because the goods had not reached his factory; he reclaims it in April 2025. He reports it in Table 6B and Table 7H of GSTR-9 for FY 2024-25. "Table 8A will have the corresponding ITC and also the table 8B will be auto populated from Table 6B… As a result, there is no difference in Table 8D."

And the negative rule that follows: "ITC which is reclaimed in next FY should not be reported in table 8C as it will create the mismatch in Table 8D. This reclaim should be reported in Table 13 only."

Key takeaways

• Table 8A is auto-populated and non-editable.
• Till FY 2022-23 it came from Tables 3 and 5 of GSTR-2A; from FY 2023-24, from Table 3(I) of GSTR-2B — Notification No. 20/2024-CT dated 08.10.2024.
• GSTR-2A Table 3 included reverse charge; GSTR-2B Table 3(I) excludes it — correctly, since Table 8 reconciles forward charge only.
• Import of services, reverse charge and ISD credit are outside Table 8 reconciliation entirely.
• Early-year figures are frozen snapshots — 1 May 2019, 1 November 2019 and 1 November 2020 for FY 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.
• Expect wrong-GSTIN invoices, ineligible purchases, twin reporting (airline plus travel agent), and invoices double-counted across FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24 from the source switch.
• Explanation (ii) to section 16(2)(b) satisfies the payment condition where payment went to an intermediary.
• From FY 2024-25, Table 8B draws from Table 6B only — 6H is delinked, because reclaimed credit never reappears in 8A.
• Reclaims in the next year go to Table 13, never Table 8C.

Read next

• GSTR-9 Table 8D: The Negative Value, and What It Means
• GSTR-9 Tables 8E, 8F and 8K: The ITC That Lapses
• GSTR-9 Tables 6B to 6H: Classifying ITC Availed

Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on Form GSTR-9 and its instructions, section 16(2) of the CGST Act, 2017, Notifications No. 56/2019 and 20/2024-Central Tax and GSTN advisories dated 18 August 2020 and 9 December 2024, as reproduced in the ICAI Technical Guide on GST Annual Return (Form GSTR-9).