Onboarding

#Introduction

Thanks for choosing Octa GST to manage your GST compliance!

Till now, you might be tracking the ITC on your purchase invoices manually in Excel or you might be using a software for the same. In any case, you must have claimed the ITC on some of your invoices of previous few months and some invoices might still be pending because they haven't been reconciled with GSTR-2B yet. Since you are just getting started, Octa GST doesn't know which one of your purchase invoices are still pending for ITC claim. This article explains how you can update the initial ITC information in Octa GST, so that it can report the correct ITC claims, re-claims, and reversals in the upcoming GSTR-3B return.

#Step-1: Import Purchase Register

You will need to import your purchase register of last few months. How far you need to go back? Well, it depends on the last period which has been claimed fully as per your records. For example:

Book Period	Invoice count on which ITC claim is pending
Nov-2023	0
Dec-2023	1
Jan-2024	3
Feb-2024	25
Mar-2024	53
Apr-2024	112
May-2024 (Current month for which GSTR-3B filing is due)	634 (all invoices would be pending)

In the above example, you must import your purchase register starting with Dec-2023 period. Off course, this is only the minimum you must import. If you prefer to import more period, you can definitely do so. Many users prefer to import last 12 months or previous financial year, which is a reasonable approach.

To import your purchase register:

• Open Purchase page
• Click Import
• Select the Excel file you wish to import
• Continue the on-screen instructions
• If Octa GST shows errors during import, fix those errors & try the same process again

#Step-2: Fetch GSTR-2B

This step is simple, you simply need to fetch the GSTR-2B from Govt GST System.

• Open GSTR-2B page
• Click on Fetch button
• Select the GSTIN and period

It is recommended to fetch at least last 18 months of GSTR-2B so that Octa GST can correctly link the purchase invoices with GSTR-2B.

#Step-3: Reconcile

Use the steps below to match the purchase invoices with GSTR-2B:

• Open Reco-2B page
• Select the GSTIN
• Select the period (last 18 months)
• Click on Match & Reconcile

#Step-4: Generate Pending ITC Report

Use the steps below to generate the report of all pending invoices.

• Open ITC Claim → Pending page
• Click on Import Claims button
• Click on Export button
• Select the GSTIN
• Select the period (exclude the period for which GSTR-3B filing is due)
• Download the report from Robot page

#Step-5: Import ITC Claims

Fill the following columns in the report generated in the previous step:

• Claim Period: In which period you claimed the ITC?
• ITC Action: Which action you took in that period. Most common is Claim but you can also specify other actions such as Re-Claim & Reversals.
• Claim Description: A short note on why ITC action was taken. This is optional and you can leave it blank.
• ITC: The amount of ITC you claimed on that invoice.
• Claim Status: Complete if the ITC is fully claimed on that invoice, otherwise Pending
• Link Doc ID: This is optional and you can leave it empty.

Once the required data has been filled, use the steps below to import the same:

• Open ITC Claim → Pending page
• Click on Import Claims button
• Click on Import button
• Select the target file
• Follow on-screen instructions

Once the ITC claim data is successfully imported, only those invoices will be shown on ITC Claim → Pending page, whose ITC hasn't been claimed yet.

#Summary

Importing the initial ITC claim information is important because it helps Octa GST report the ITC correctly in upcoming GSTR-3B returns. It is a one time exercise only. Once you start using Octa GST for ITC claim tracking, it will automatically keep track of ITC actions and pending invoices.