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GST Invoicing

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As India is gearing up to make the switch to GST, there are lots of new rules and regulations to follow when it comes to invoicing. The Government has specified the tax elements that are mandatory to each invoice, and it is absolutely essential that business owners across India update their invoicing processes accordingly.

 
Latest updates as per the 45th GST Council meeting
  • From January 1, 2021, the date in which a debit note is issued (not the date of the invoice) will determine the respective financial year for the purpose of section 16(4) of CGST act, 2017, which highlights the eligibility criteria for availing ITC.
  • Physical copies of tax invoices are not required if the invoice has been generated by the supplier as per rule 48(4) of the CGST Rules, 2017. This rule states that an e-invoice must contain the details of Form GST INV 01 after obtaining the Invoice Reference Number by uploading the information to the online portal.
   

Types of invoices

There are two types of invoice in the GST regime:

GST-specific elements that must be added to a tax invoice

Based on the rules prescribed by the Government, here is what a sample tax invoice will look like in the GST regime:   GST Compliant Invoice

Let’s now look at all these details individually and see what they mean:

Note: If the recipient is not registered under the GST regime, and the value of supply is more than Rs.50,000, the invoice should contain the following details:

Time limits for issuing tax invoices

Supply of goods

If the supply involves the transfer of finished goods from one place to another, then the invoice must be issued at or before the time of transfer. So if a dealer is purchasing pens from a supplier, the supplier needs to issue an invoice at or before the time the pens leave the warehouse. If the supply does not involve the transfer of finished goods, the supplier can issue the invoice when the goods are delivered to the recipient. If a dealer is purchasing a custom partition wall for his/her office that will be completely assembled on-site, the invoice must be issued at the time the completed wall is made available at the recipient’s office. 

Supply of services

In most cases, the tax invoice must be issued within 30 days from the date of supply. If the supplier is a bank or an insurer, then the invoice must be issued within 45 days from the date of supply.  

Number of tax invoice copies that are to be issued

For the supply of goods, the following copies are required:

For the supply of services, the following copies are required:

Note: Physical copies of tax invoices are not required if the invoice has been generated by the supplier as per rule 48(4) of the CGST Rules, 2017. This rule states that an e-invoice must contain the details of Form GST INV 01 after obtaining the Invoice Reference Number by uploading the information to the online portal.  

Revising an already-issued tax invoice

When an invoice is already issued, but there are changes to be made in the taxable value of the product or the tax amount, one of the following needs to be issued:

The format of these documents is exactly the same as that of a tax invoice. The only difference is that it needs to be explicitly specified at the top whether the document is an invoice, a debit note, or a credit note.



       
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