GST Invoice Guide: Components, Formats and Time to Issue

Specific details are required when creating invoices for your clients. The seller’s and buyer’s information, as well as information on the products or services and transaction data, are all required. Consider making a list of all the prerequisites before you start writing your own invoices.

Who Is Required To Submit A GST Invoice?

Unless they are supplying goods that are exempt from the tax framework, all GST-registered vendors must issue GST-compliant invoices. In that instance, you are permitted to issue a bill of supply. You should issue both a GST-compliant invoice and a bill of supply if you’re a composition dealer.

When Do You Need A GST Invoice?

Any time you sell products or provide a service, you should submit a GST-compliant invoice. If the sale is less than?200 or the recipient isn’t registered for GST, you don’t need to send a GST-compliant invoice. Some unexpected circumstances necessitate the use of a GST invoice, such as:

A supplier must still issue a GST invoice after receiving an advance payment from a customer. If the transaction is cancelled, the GST invoice should be cancelled with a return voucher.

A GST invoice must be issued when a registered person obtains supplies from an unregistered person.

Because each branch in a different state has its own GSTIN, you must transfer supplies to that branch.

Which GST Rates Should You Use?

It’s also crucial to know whether your invoice should include SGST, CGST, or IGST. All intrastate transactions should be subject to SGST and CGST, whereas interstate sales should be subject to IGST.

What Is A Tax Invoice ?

A commercial document that a provider of goods or services issues to the recipient in a transaction is known as a GST e-invoice. A document like this lists the names of the parties involved as well as the specifics of the goods or services provided in a transaction.

The following are some of the details:

• Name
• Product name
• Description
• Quantity of products or services sold
• Supplier and purchaser information
• Terms of supply
• Supply date
• Price of each good sold or service delivered
• Discount

Since the invoice matching facility available under the GST regime, the importance of tax invoices has grown. This is because, in order to claim GST credit, the supplier’s return for outward supplies must match the recipient’s return for inward supplies.

As a result, issuing a tax invoice is required of every registered person making taxable supplies.

Moreover, a tax invoice does not have to follow any certain format. However, there are a few key elements that must be included in such a tax invoice.

Who Should Be In Charge Of Issuing GST Invoices?

If your firm is GST registered, you must issue GST-compliant invoices to your customers for the sale of goods and/or services.

Your GST-registered merchants will issue you purchase invoices that are GST-compliant.

What Are The Fields That Must Be Present On A GST Invoice?

To charge the tax and pass on the input tax credit, a tax invoice is usually produced.

The following fields are required on a GST-compliant  invoice:

• Date and invoice number
• Name of the client
• Addresses for both shipping and billing
• GSTINs of both the customer and the taxpayer (if both are registered)**
• HSN/SAC code for the location of supply
• Description, quantity (number), unit (metre, kg, etc.) and total value of the item
• Discounts and taxable value
• Tax rates and amounts, such as CGST, SGST, and IGST
• The supplier’s
• The supplier’s signature

If the recipient is not registered AND the value exceeds Rs. 50,000, the invoice should include the following information:

• Recipient’s name and address,
• delivery address,
• State name and state code

Invoice Format for GST

These 16 points should appear on all invoices produced by firms subject to the GST:

1. The supplier’s name, address, and GSTIN.
2. A 16-character serial number that contains letters, digits, special characters (hyphen, dash, and slash symbolised as “-” and “/” respectively) and any combination thereof, and is unique for each financial year.
3. The year it was published.
4. The recipient’s name, address, and GSTIN or UIN, if applicable.
5. If the receiver is unregistered and the value of the taxable supply is Rs 50,000 or more, the address and name of the recipient, as well as the address of delivery, must be provided, along with the name of the state and its code.
6. Accounting Code of Services or HSN Code of Goods
7. An item’s or service’s description.
8. In the case of commodities, the quantity and unit, or the Unique Quantity Code.
9. Total value of products or services supplied, or both.
10. The taxable value of a supply of goods or services, or both, after deducting any discounts or abatements.
11. The tax rate is (central tax, state tax, integrated tax, union territory tax or cess).
12. The amount of tax levied on taxable products or services (central tax, state tax, integrated tax, union territory tax or cess).
13. If the provision is made in the course of interstate trade or commerce, the location of the supply, as well as the name of the state, is required.
14. When the delivery address is different from the supply address.
15. If the tax is owed on a reverse charge basis.
16. The supplier’s or his authorised representative’s signature or digital signature.

In Case Of Exports You’ll Need A Tax Invoice

If products or services are being exported, an affirmation must be included on the invoice.

“supply for export with IGST payment” or “supply for export with IGST payment but no bond or Letter of Undertaking (LUT)”

In addition, such an invoice must include the following information in place of the information listed below:

• name and address of recipient,
• delivery address,
• name of destination country, and
• number and date of application for removal of goods for export

In addition, the registered person is exempt from issuing a tax invoice if:

The value of the products or services provided is less than Rs. 200, and the recipient is not a registered person.

Hence an invoice is not required. In this instance, at the conclusion of each day, the recipient must provide a consolidated tax invoice for all supplies.

Is There a Time Limit On Issuing Tax Invoices?

In order to determine the time of supply under GST, the time limit for sending invoices is used.

There are two possibilities here.

A. Taxable Goods Supply

If the supply is of taxable items, the invoice must be issued prior to or at the time of removal of the commodities. Assuming that such a supply includes commodities movement.

Kapoor Pvt Ltd in New Delhi, for example, provides items to Sharma Enterprises in Mumbai. On March 10th, 2019, the products were removed from the plant in New Delhi. As a result, the tax invoice in this case must be issued by March 10th, 2019.

In the case of taxable items, an invoice must be issued at the time of delivery to the receiver. Assuming that such a supply does not entail goods movement.

For example, on June 5, 2019, Mr. Sharma travels to Kolkata for a vacation and purchases a laptop from Croma Store. Because no goods are moving, the tax invoice must be submitted before or at the time of delivery, which is on or before June 5, 2019.

B.Supply of Taxable Services

In the case of taxable services, the invoice must be issued before or after the service is provided. However, such an invoice must be issued within 30 days of the completion of the service. Moreover, this period is extended to 45 days in the case of Banking and Financial Services Institutions (BFSIs).

In the case of a continuous supply of commodities, there are times when successive payments are required or a succession of statements of accounts is required. In this scenario, the invoice must be sent before or concurrently with the issuance of the statement of accounts or the receipt of the payment.

Issuing Invoices In A Specific Manner

In the case of a supply of products, the invoice must be issued in three copies. In this instance:

• The recipient receives the original copy of the invoice,
• The transporter receives a duplicate copy, and
• The supplier receives a triplicate copy.

Issuance Of An Invoice Through The Reverse Charge Mechanism

A registered person must issue a tax invoice for goods or services obtained from an unregistered supplier under reverse charge. This means that the supplier of goods or services is not registered under the reverse charge mechanism on the date of receipt of such goods or services.

Furthermore, while making payment to such a source, the recipient must send a payment voucher to the supplier.

Conclusion

It’s not difficult to create GST invoices if you know exactly what you need to include. Using GST-compliant cloud-hosted accounting software like Refrens.com, can make the process go more smoothly.

Author Bio

Hetvi works as a Product Associate at Refrens.com – Online Invoice Generator & India’s most powerful platform for freelancer’s growth. She has worked for some renowned companies as a Brand and Digital marketing associate. You can follow Refrens.com on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.