GST invoice format: mandatory fields, a sample, and the rules around it

1. Name, address and GSTIN of the supplier.
2. A consecutive serial number of up to 16 characters, unique for the financial year, using letters, numerals, hyphen or slash.
3. Date of issue.
4. Name, address and GSTIN of the recipient, if registered.
5. For an unregistered recipient where the value is ₹50,000 or more: name, address, delivery address and the state with its code. Below that, only if the customer asks.
6. HSN code of goods or SAC of services.
7. Description of the goods or services.
8. Quantity and unit, for goods.
9. Total value of the supply.
10. Taxable value, after discounts.
11. Rate of tax: central, state, integrated and cess, as applicable.
12. Amount of tax under each.
13. Place of supply with the name of the state, for inter-state supplies.
14. Delivery address where it differs from the place of supply.
15. Whether tax is payable on reverse charge.
16. Signature or digital signature of the supplier or an authorised representative. Not required on an e-invoice.

HSN digits depend on turnover: four digits where the previous year’s aggregate turnover was up to ₹5 crore, six digits above that, and eight digits on export invoices. See our HSN guide.

The sample is an inter-state sale, so integrated tax is charged and the place of supply shows the state. For a sale within the state, replace the IGST line with CGST at 9 percent and SGST at 9 percent. Any layout, in any software or in a spreadsheet, is valid provided the particulars are present.

• Bill of supply for exempt supplies and by composition taxpayers, with no tax shown.
• Invoice-cum-bill of supply where taxable and exempt items go to an unregistered customer together.
• Receipt voucher for advances, and a refund voucher if the supply does not happen.
• Credit and debit notes for returns, price changes and corrections, linked to the original invoice.
• Delivery challan for job work, goods sent on approval and movements that are not supplies.
• Self-invoice for purchases from unregistered suppliers under reverse charge, within 30 days.
• Consolidated invoice at the end of the day for sales to unregistered customers below ₹200 each, where they do not ask for one.

A business whose aggregate turnover exceeded ₹5 crore in any financial year from 2017-18 must report every B2B invoice, credit note and debit note to the Invoice Registration Portal and print the returned IRN and QR code on it. An invoice without an IRN, where one was required, is not a valid invoice, and the customer gets no credit. Businesses with turnover of ₹10 crore and above must report within 30 days of the invoice date. Businesses above ₹500 crore also print a dynamic QR code on B2C invoices. Our e-invoicing setup connects Tally, Zoho or custom billing to the portal.

• The customer’s GSTIN missing or wrong, so the invoice lands in nobody’s GSTR-2B.
• IGST charged on a supply within the state, or the reverse, from a wrong place of supply.
• Serial numbers reused or reset mid-year, which the GSTR-1 rejects.
• HSN with too few digits, or not matching the rate charged.
• Tax shown on a bill of supply by a composition dealer, which is collected without authority.
• Invoice date after the goods moved, which also breaks the e-way bill.

Errors are corrected through credit or debit notes and amendments in GSTR-1, within the time limit of 30 November following the financial year. Our return filing service reviews invoice data before it reaches GSTR-1.