GST Invoice - Check GST Bill Formats, E-Invoice Rules & Payment

GST invoice refers to the document generated by a registered taxpayer under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime in India. The GST invoice is used to record the details of the transaction between the supplier and the buyer, which includes the goods or services supplied, the quantity of goods or services, the price of the goods or services, and the applicable GST rate.The GST invoice is a crucial document under the GST regime, as it serves as evidence for the transaction and helps in claiming input tax credit (ITC) . Input tax credit refers to the credit of the tax paid on inputs used in the production or supply of goods or services, which can be set off against the output tax liability.The GST invoice must comply with the guidelines issued by the government and must contain certain mandatory details including the:

• GSTIN (Goods and Services Tax Identification Number) of the supplier and the buyer,
• The invoice number and date,
• The description of goods or services supplied,
• HSN / SAC Code
• The quantity and unit of measurement,
• The value of goods or services,
• The rate and amount of GST charged,
• The place of supply

Overall, the GST invoice is a crucial document that helps in maintaining transparency in the transaction between the supplier and the buyer and ensures compliance with the GST laws and regulations.

As per the GST regulations in India, a GST tax invoice should be issued by a registered supplier to the buyer of goods or services. A registered supplier refers to a person who is registered under the GST regime and is liable to pay GST on the supply of goods or services. It is mandatory for every registered supplier to issue a GST tax invoice.

IN CASE OF GOODS *Where supply involves movement of goods: -

• Invoice shall be issued before or at the time of removal of goods.

*In any other case

• Invoice shall be issued before or at the time of delivery or making goods available

*In case of continuous supply of goods: -

• where successive statements of accounts or successive payments are involved, the invoice shall be issued before or at the time each such statement is issued or as the case may be such payment is received.

*Where the goods are being sent on approval or taken on approval for sale or return are removed before the supply takes place the invoice shall be issued early of

• at the time of supply i.e the approval

or

• six months from the date of removal.

Invoice shall contain the following particulars

• Description of the goods provided
• Quantity of the goods provided
• Value of the goods provided
• Tax charged

Supplier of goods shall make invoice in triplicate

• The original copy shall go to the customer
• The second copy to the transporter
• The third copy shall be kept with the supplier himself

Also Read: What Are the Required Documents For GST Registration? IN CASE OF SUPPLY OF SERVICE *Invoices can be issued prior to providing service, but must be issued within 30 days after completion of service. Note: For banking, insurance, financial institutions, including NBFCs, the time limit is extended to 45 days. *For continuously supplied services, invoices must be issued:a) on or before the due date of payment, if the due date is ascertainable from the contract.b) before or at the time of payment, if the due date of payment is not ascertainable from the contract.c) on or before the completion date of an event, if the payment is linked to the completion of an event.*In case where the supply of services ceases before completion, the invoice shall be issued at the time when the supply ceases and shall only be for the supply made before the cessation.The invoice shall be issued in duplicate for both the recipient and the supplier, and shall contain the following particulars:

• Description of services provided
• Value of services provided
• Tax charged
• Any other necessary particulars.

When an individual gets liable for first time registration

• Any person who gets liable for registration shall apply for registration within 30 days of getting liable .
• Registration certificate shall be granted within 7 working days by the proper officer if all the documents are found in place.
• Then the newly registered person shall issue revised GST Invoice within 1 month from the date of getting liable till the date of getting the registration certificate. The supplier also has an option to issue consolidate revised GST INVOICE only when the transaction had taken place with an unregistered person.However,in case of interstate supply when the transaction happens with an unregistered person and the transaction amount exceeds two lakh fifty thousand consolidated revise GST INVOICE is not allowed. Normal GST INVOICE shall be required to be issued by the supplier.

OTHER INSTANCES

• Exemption from Issuing GST Invoice
• Issuing Bill of Supply
• Issuing Receipt or Refund Voucher

INVOICE IN CASE OF REVERSE CHARGE MECHANISM (RCM)

• In case of Reverse charge mechanism where the recipient is a registered person, the supplier shall issue GST invoice mentioning GST shall be paid in RCM.

However, if the supply is made to an unregistered person, then the supplier shall issue invoice on itself as self-billing

Debit Notes

• A debit note is a document used to inform a buyer of the amount owed to the seller.
• It records an increase in the amount of money owed by the buyer to the seller.
• A debit note must include a supplementary invoice and creates additional tax liability.
• The treatment of a debit note is identical to that of a GST invoice in terms of returns and payments.
• There is no time limit for issuing a debit note.

Credit Notes

• A credit note is a document used to inform a buyer that the seller is reducing the amount owed.
• It records a decrease in the amount of money owed by the buyer to the seller.
• A credit note allows the supplier to decrease their tax liability without requiring a refund.
• A credit note must be issued no later than September following the end of the financial year in which the supply was made or the date of furnishing the relevant annual return.

Provisions related to E-invoicing

E-Invoice is a system in which B2B invoices are authenticated electronically by GSTN for further use on the common GST portal. Under the electronic invoicing system, an identification number will be issued against every invoice by the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) to be managed by the GST Network (GSTN).

Let us understand who all are required to report E-Invoices

All registered business with an aggregate turnover in any preceding financial year from 2017-2018 onwards is greater than 50 crore shall be required to issue e-invoices.Initially, the government applied the e-invoice turnover limit of more than Rs. 500 crore from 1st October 2020, which was referred to as phase I. In phase II, businesses with an annual turnover of more than Rs.100 crore started issuing e-invoices from 1st January 2021.After that, the government extended e-invoicing to businesses with an annual turnover of more than Rs.50 crore from 1st April 2021, which was called phase III. A year later, in phase IV, the government reduced the e-invoice limit to more than Rs.20 crore.Recently, the government implemented phase V, which started from 1st October 2022. Under this phase, businesses with an annual turnover of over Rs.10 crore are required to issue e-invoices. So, the government has been gradually lowering the turnover limit for e-invoicing to bring more businesses into the system.E-invoicing is not voluntary, only notified person above are required to report invoices on IRP. Following class of person are exempt from issuing e-invoicing even though the turnover exceeds 50 cr from year 2017-2018 onwards.

• SEZ
• Insurer or banking company or financial institution including NBFC
• Goods Transport Agency supplying services in relation to transportation of goods by roads in a goods carriage.
• Supplier of passenger transportation service.
• Person supplying services by way of admission to exhibition of cinematograph films in multiplex screens

All B2C invoices issued by a registered person whose aggregate turnover in any preceding financial year from 2017-2018 onwards exceeds rupees 500cr will have a QR Code.The purpose of this provision is to enable digital payments where buyers can use UPI paymentsNon-Applicability of Dynamic QR Code

• Dynamic QR Code is not applicable to an unregistered person by following suppliers.
• Insurer or banking company or financial institution including NBFC.
• Goods Transport Agency supplying services in relation to transportation of goods by road in a goods carriage.
• Supplier of passenger transport service
• Person supplying services by way of admission to exhibition of cinematographic films in multiplex screens.
• Supplier of Online Information and Database Retrieval (OIDAR) services

Dynamic QR Code shall contain the following details:

• Supplier GSTIN number
• Supplier UPI ID
• Payee’s Bank A/c number and IFSC
• Invoice number and Invoice Date.
• Total Invoice Value and
• GST amount along with breakup i.e. CGST, SGST, IGST, CESS, etc.

Further, Dynamic QR Code should be such that it can be scanned to make a digital payment.