Detailed rules and guidelines for the issue of invoice and GST invoice format have been provided in the GST Tax Invoice, Credit, and Debit Notes rules. According to the rules, the following entries are mandatory in a GST Tax invoice issued in India.
Name, address and GSTIN of the supplier
A consecutive serial number, in one or multiple series, containing alphabets or numerals or special characters like hyphen or dash and slash symbolised as “-” and “/” respectively, and any combination there of, unique for a financial year
Date of its issue
Name, address and GSTIN or UIN, if registered, of the recipient
Name and address of the recipient and the address of delivery, along with the name of State and its code, if such recipient is un-registered and where the value of taxable supply is fifty thousand rupees or more
HSN code of goods or Accounting Code of Services
Description of goods or services
Quantity in case of goods and unit or Unique Quantity Code there of
Total value of supply of goods or services or both
Taxable value of supply of goods or services or both, taking into account the discount or abatement, if any
Rate of tax (Central tax, State tax, Integrated tax, union territory tax or cess)
Amount of tax charged in respect of taxable goods or services (Central tax, State tax, Integrated tax, union territory tax or cess)
Place of supply along with the name of State, in case of a supply in the course of inter-State trade or commerce
Address of delivery where the same is different from the place of supply
Whether the tax is payable on reverse charge basis
Signature or digital signature of the supplier or his authorized representative
All GST invoices must be prepared in triplicate in case of a supply of goods. The original copy should be marked as Original for Recipient. The duplicate copy should be marked as Duplicate for Transporter and the triplicate copy should be marked as Triplicate for Supplier.
In case of a supply of services, the invoice should be prepared in duplicate. The original copy should be marked as Original for Recipient and the duplicate copy should be marked as Duplicate for Supplier.
Under GST, a tax invoice is an important document. It not only evidences the supply of goods or services but is also an essential document for the recipient to avail of Input Tax Credit (ITC). A registered person cannot avail of Input Tax Credit unless he is in possession of a tax invoice or a debit note.
GST is chargeable at the time of supply. An invoice is an important indicator of the time of supply. Broadly speaking, the time of supply of goods or services is the date of issuance of an invoice or receipt of payment, whichever is earlier. Thus the importance of an invoice under GST cannot be over-emphasized. Suffice it to say, the tax invoice is the primary document evidencing the supply and vital for availing of Input Tax Credit.