India GST guidelines
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| FACTSHEET | |
|---|---|
| Country code | IN |
| Tax name | Goods and Services Tax(GST) |
| Tax Authority | Central Board Of Indirect Taxes & Customs |
Overview
Indirect taxes in India is called GST (Goods and Services Tax). It came into effect in July 2017. It replaced several indirect taxes such as VAT, excise duty, services taxes etc. Read more
Registration
The registration in GST is PAN based and State specific. Supplier has to register in each of such State or Union territory from where he effectssupply. A person registered in one State is considered ‘unregistered person’ outside the State.
If a person has unit in SEZ(Special Economic Zone) or is a SEZ developer and also unit in domestic tariff Area (i.e. outside the SEZ) in the same State, then he has to take separate registration for his SEZ unit / as a SEZ developer as a separate place of business of him. The GST law does not have the facility of centralized registration for units across multiple states.
Read more
Who should register for GST
Threshold limits of aggregate turnover for exemption from registration and payment of GST for the suppliers of goods is Rs.40 lakhs and Rs.20 lakhs in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura and Uttarakhand with effect from 01.04.2019
Threshold limit of aggregate turnover for exemption from registrationand payment of GST for suppliers of services is Rs.20 lakhs and Rs.10 lakhs in the States of Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
Where to register?
Visit GST portal. Go to Services > Registration > New Regisrtration.
Tax Registration number - GSTIN
Once GST regsitration is complete a supplier is issued a 15 digit GST identification number(GSTIN). The first 2 digits of the GSTIN is the State code, next 10 digits are the PAN of the legal entity, the next two digits are for entity code, and the last digit is check sum number. Registration under GST is not tax specific which means that there is a single registration for all the taxes i.e. CGST, SGST/UTGST, IGST and cesses
GSTIN Format
Regular Registration
Following are the details of the GSTIN format
- 1st 2 digits: This is the state code as per the Indian Census 2011
- Next 10 digits:This is the PAN of the business entity.
- 13th digit: This denotes the serial number of registrations the business entity has for business verticals in the state, under the same PAN. It can range from 1-9 for businesses with up to 9 business vertical registrations in the state and for more than 9 registrations, from A-Z.
- 14th digit:This will be ‘Z’ by default.
- 15th digit: This digit denotes a ‘checksum’. It may be an alphabet or a number.
Regular Expression(Regex)
\d{2}[A-Z]{5}\d{4}[A-Z]{1}[A-Z\d]{1}[Z]{1}[A-Z\d]{1}
Non Resident Taxable Persons (NRTP) for OIDAR Sevices (Online Information Data Base Access and Retrieval)
- Special Code 99 for 'Other Country'
- Special Code 97 for 'Other Terrritory'
Tax rates
On Intra state transactions CGST and SGST/UTGST are applied. In case of intersate transction IGST is appiled . Following are the currently allowed tax rates. Along with these 'cess' might be levied by the state governments on some items
| CGST (%) | SGST (%) | IGST (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.1 |
| 0.125 | 0.125 | 0.25 |
| 1.5 | 1.5 | 3 |
| 2.5 | 2.5 | 5 |
| 6 | 6 | 12 |
| 9 | 9 | 18 |
| 14 | 14 | 28 |
| 0.25 | 0.25 | 0.5 |
Invoice requirements
GST law prescribes no invoice template — it prescribes a fixed list of particulars. Get the particulars right and any layout is valid. The rules live in Chapter VI of the CGST Rules, 2017 and sections 31 and 34 of the CGST Act, 2017.
The first decision is which document you owe:
| Document | When it is used | Contents prescribed by |
|---|---|---|
| Tax invoice | Taxable supply of goods or services by a registered person. [2] | Rule 46 [1] |
| Bill of supply | Supply of exempted goods or services, or any supply by a person paying tax under the composition scheme (section 10) — a bill of supply is issued instead of a tax invoice and carries no tax. [2] | Rule 49 [6] |
| Invoice-cum-bill of supply | A single document where taxable and exempt supplies go to the same unregistered person. It must carry the particulars of Rule 46 (or Rule 54) and Rule 49. [7] | Rule 46A [7] |
| Receipt voucher | Advance payment received against a supply. [2] | Rule 50 [16] |
| Refund voucher | Advance was received and a receipt voucher issued, but no supply followed and no invoice was raised. [2] | Rule 51 [17] |
| Payment voucher | Issued at the time of paying a supplier where the recipient is liable under reverse charge. [2] | Rule 52 [18] |
| Revised invoice | Supplies made between the effective date of registration and the date the registration certificate was issued; must show the words "Revised Invoice" prominently. [2] | Rule 53(1) [9] |
Mandatory content
Particulars of a tax invoice under Rule 46. Clause references are to Rule 46 unless stated.
| Required particular | Notes |
|---|---|
| Name, address and GSTIN of the supplier | Clause (a). [1] |
| Consecutive serial number, not exceeding sixteen characters | Clause (b) — in one or multiple series, using alphabets, numerals or the special characters hyphen/dash and slash, in any combination, and unique for a financial year. [1] |
| Date of issue | Clause (c). [1] |
| Name, address and GSTIN or UIN of the recipient, if registered | Clause (d). [1] |
| Name, address and address of delivery of an unregistered recipient, with the State name and code | Clause (e) — required where the value of the taxable supply is ₹50,000 or more; clause (f) requires the same details below that value if the recipient asks for them. Where a taxable service is supplied by or through an e-commerce operator or an OIDAR supplier to an unregistered recipient, or in cases involving online money gaming, the invoice must carry the name of the recipient's State irrespective of value, and that is deemed to be the recipient's address on record. [1] |
| HSN code for the goods or services | Clause (g). The Board may notify how many HSN digits a class of registered persons must show, and which classes need not show it at all. [1] |
| Description of the goods or services | Clause (h). [1] |
| Quantity, and unit or Unique Quantity Code (goods) | Clause (i). [1] |
| Total value of the supply | Clause (j). [1] |
| Taxable value of the supply, after any discount or abatement | Clause (k). [1] |
| Rate of tax — central, State, integrated, Union territory tax or cess | Clause (l). [1] |
| Amount of tax charged under each of those heads | Clause (m). [1] |
| Place of supply with the State name, for inter-State supplies | Clause (n). [1] |
| Address of delivery, where it differs from the place of supply | Clause (o). [1] |
| Whether tax is payable on a reverse charge basis | Clause (p). [1] |
| Signature or digital signature of the supplier or an authorised representative | Clause (q). A proviso removes this requirement for an electronic invoice issued in accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 — the basis on which an IRP-signed e-invoice needs no separate supplier signature. [1] |
| QR code with the IRN embedded in it | Clause (r) — applies only where the invoice is issued in the manner prescribed by Rule 48(4), i.e. registered on the IRP. See Einvoicing in India below. [1] |
| Declaration that Rule 48(4) does not apply | Clause (s) — required where a taxpayer whose aggregate turnover in any preceding financial year from 2017-18 onwards exceeds the Rule 48(4) threshold issues an invoice outside the e-invoice route; the prescribed wording states that the taxpayer is not required to prepare an invoice under that sub-rule. [1] |
Source snapshot captured 2026-08-03 — original
Export and SEZ endorsement. A proviso to Rule 46 requires an export invoice to carry the endorsement "SUPPLY MEANT FOR EXPORT/SUPPLY TO SEZ UNIT OR SEZ DEVELOPER FOR AUTHORISED OPERATIONS ON PAYMENT OF INTEGRATED TAX" or "SUPPLY MEANT FOR EXPORT/SUPPLY TO SEZ UNIT OR SEZ DEVELOPER FOR AUTHORISED OPERATIONS UNDER BOND OR LETTER OF UNDERTAKING WITHOUT PAYMENT OF INTEGRATED TAX", as the case may be. In place of the clause (e) details it must show the recipient's name and address, the address of delivery, and the name of the country of destination. [1]
A bill of supply carries a shorter list — supplier details, the same sixteen-character serial number, date, recipient details, HSN code, description, value after discount or abatement, and signature; the provisos to Rule 46 apply to it, and an electronic bill of supply needs no signature. [6]
Issuance deadline and numbering
| Supply | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Goods, where the supply involves movement | Before or at the time of removal of the goods for supply to the recipient. [2] |
| Goods, in any other case | Before or at the time of delivery, or of making the goods available to the recipient. [2] |
| Services — general rule | Within thirty days from the date of supply of the service. [3] |
| Services supplied by an insurer, a banking company, or a financial institution including an NBFC | Forty-five days from the date of supply of the service. [3] |
| Those same suppliers, plus telecom operators, supplying between distinct persons under section 25 | Before or at the time the supplier records the supply in its books, or before the end of the quarter in which the supply was made. [3] |
| Reverse-charge self-invoice for a supply received from an unregistered supplier | Within thirty days from the date of receipt of the supply — Rule 47A, in force from 1 November 2024. [4] |
| Continuous supply of goods with successive statements or payments | Before or at the time each statement is issued or each payment is received. [2] |
| Continuous supply of services | On or before the due date of payment where it is ascertainable from the contract; otherwise when the supplier receives payment; where payment is tied to an event, on or before the date that event is completed. [2] |
| Service contract that ceases before completion | At the time the supply ceases, for the supply made up to that point. [2] |
| Goods sent on approval, for sale or return | Before or at the time of supply, or six months from the date of removal, whichever is earlier. [2] |
| Revised invoice for the pre-certificate period | Within one month from the date the registration certificate is issued. [2] |
Numbering. The serial number must be consecutive, no longer than sixteen characters, and unique for a financial year; multiple series are allowed, and only alphabets, numerals, hyphen/dash and slash may be used. The same sixteen-character rule is repeated for bills of supply, receipt/refund/payment vouchers, revised invoices, credit and debit notes, Input Service Distributor invoices and delivery challans. [1] [9] The serial numbers of invoices issued during a tax period must be furnished electronically through the common portal in FORM GSTR-1 (and in FORM GSTR-1A, if any). [5]
Manner of issue. A paper invoice for goods is prepared in triplicate — marked ORIGINAL FOR RECIPIENT, DUPLICATE FOR TRANSPORTER and TRIPLICATE FOR SUPPLIER — and for services in duplicate (ORIGINAL FOR RECIPIENT, DUPLICATE FOR SUPPLIER). Neither applies to an invoice prepared under Rule 48(4). [5]
Credit and debit notes
- Credit note — the supplier may issue one where the taxable value or tax charged on an invoice exceeds what was payable, where goods are returned, or where the goods or services are found deficient. One or more credit notes may be issued for supplies made in a financial year. [8]
- Debit note — the supplier shall issue one where the taxable value or tax charged on an invoice is less than what was payable. For the purposes of the Act a debit note includes a supplementary invoice. [8]
- Contents (Rule 53(1A)) — supplier name, address and GSTIN; the nature of the document; a consecutive serial number of up to sixteen characters, unique for the financial year; date of issue; recipient details (and, for an unregistered recipient, name, address, address of delivery, State name and code); the serial number(s) and date(s) of the corresponding invoice(s) or bill(s) of supply; the value of the taxable supply, the rate of tax and the amount credited or debited; and the signature or digital signature. [9]
- Declaration deadline — a credit note must be declared in the return for the month of issue, and no later than 30 November following the end of the financial year in which the supply was made, or the date of furnishing the relevant annual return, whichever is earlier. The month was changed from September to the thirtieth day of November with effect from 1 October 2022. A debit note carries no such cut-off — it is simply declared in the return for the month of issue. [8]
- Credit-note conditionality (from 1 October 2025) — the supplier gets no reduction in output tax liability unless the recipient, if registered, has reversed the input tax credit attributable to the credit note; in other cases, unless the incidence of tax has not been passed on to anyone else. [8]
- Watching — the Finance Act, 2026 inserts post-supply discounts under section 15(3)(b) as a further ground for a credit note. The CBIC text records this amendment as not yet notified as at this guide's last update. [8]
- Any invoice or debit note raised for tax payable under section 74, 129 or 130 must prominently carry the words "INPUT TAX CREDIT NOT ADMISSIBLE". [9]
Currency and language
Rule 46 fixes the particulars, not the currency, so an invoice may be denominated in a foreign currency — export invoices routinely are, provided they carry the endorsement above. Where the consideration is in a currency other than Indian rupees, Rule 34 fixes the conversion for determining the value of the supply: [11]
- Goods — the rate of exchange notified by the Board under section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 for the date of the time of supply determined under section 12.
- Services — the rate of exchange determined as per generally accepted accounting principles for the date of the time of supply determined under section 13.
Language: this guide could not confirm any invoice language prescribed by the CGST Act or the CGST Rules, so none is stated here rather than guessed.
Simplified invoices
India has no general "simplified invoice" with a reduced field set. What exists instead is a de-minimis relief plus a set of special-case documents:
- Under ₹200 — a registered person may skip the tax invoice where the value of the goods or services supplied is less than two hundred rupees, but only if the recipient is unregistered and does not ask for an invoice; a consolidated tax invoice must then be issued at the close of each day covering all such supplies. Suppliers of admission to cinematograph films on multiplex screens are excluded from this relaxation. The same ₹200 relief applies to a bill of supply. [2] [1]
- Insurers, banks, financial institutions and NBFCs — may issue a consolidated monthly tax invoice or equivalent document at the end of the month, physically or electronically, whether or not serially numbered and whether or not it carries the recipient's address, provided it contains the other Rule 46 information; no signature is needed on an electronic one. [10]
- Passenger transport — a ticket in any form counts as the tax invoice, whether or not serially numbered and whether or not it carries the recipient's address, if it holds the other Rule 46 information; an electronically issued ticket needs no signature. A multiplex cinema e-ticket is deemed to be a tax invoice on the same basis. [10]
- Goods transport agencies — the invoice or consignment note must additionally show the gross weight of the consignment, consigner and consignee names, the goods carriage registration number, details of the goods and of the origin and destination, and the GSTIN of the person liable to pay the tax. [10]
- Input Service Distributors — a shorter particulars list under Rule 54(1); where the ISD is an office of a bank or NBFC, the invoice may be any document in lieu, whether or not serially numbered, so long as it carries the same information. [10]
- Consolidated revised invoices — for unregistered recipients, and, for inter-State supplies where a supply does not exceed ₹2,50,000, one consolidated revised invoice per State. [9]
Retention
- Seventy-two months — every registered person required to keep books under section 35(1) must retain them until the expiry of 72 months from the due date of furnishing the annual return for the year to which those accounts and records relate. [12]
- Extension where a dispute is live — a person who is party to an appeal, revision or other proceedings before an Appellate Authority, Revisional Authority, Appellate Tribunal or court, or who is under investigation for an offence under Chapter XIX, must keep the related records for one year after final disposal of that matter, or the 72-month period, whichever is later. [12]
- What is covered and where it is kept — accounts together with all invoices, bills of supply, credit and debit notes and delivery challans must be preserved for the section 36 period. Manual records must be kept at every related place of business named in the registration certificate; digitally maintained records must be accessible at every such place. Books are kept at the principal place of business, with each additional place holding its own. [13] [15]
- Electronic archiving is accepted — records may be maintained in electronic form, authenticated by digital signature. A proper electronic back-up must be kept so the information can be restored after accidental loss, and the records must be produced on demand in hard copy or in an electronically readable format, along with file details, passwords and an explanation of any codes used. [13] [14]
Technical format
A format is mandated only for the class of registered persons notified under Rule 48(4): the invoice must be prepared by including the particulars of FORM GST INV-01 — the e-invoice schema, exchanged as JSON — and uploading them to the Invoice Registration Portal to obtain an Invoice Reference Number. An invoice that should have been issued this way but was not is not treated as an invoice at all. [5] For the turnover thresholds, IRP/IRN/QR mechanics and reporting time limits, see Einvoicing in India below and the India IRP e-invoicing guide; the schema and API details are set out in the GST e-invoice system detailed overview (PDF).
What a compliant invoice looks like
India prescribes particulars and a reporting schema, not a layout. NIC states this directly: a taxpayer may print the e-invoice as a paper invoice "as he is doing today, by also placing entity logo and other information, as needed" — the schema governs only what is reported to the IRP, though the QR code must also be printed, being a mandatory particular under Rule 46. [13]
Within that freedom, GSTN publishes a worked sample showing the Rule 46 particulars alongside the IRN and QR code — supplier GSTIN, name and address, invoice serial number and date, IRN No., separate "billed to" and "shipped to" blocks with place of supply, and a line-item table carrying the HSN code, taxable value and separate CGST, SGST, IGST and cess columns. [14]
Source snapshot captured 2026-08-03 — original
Every figure in this section is taken from the CBIC tax-information repository's live consolidated text of the CGST Act, 2017 and the CGST Rules, 2017, accessed 2026-08-03.
Einvoicing in India
Einvoicing is mandatory for businesses with a turnover of more than Rs.20 crores. This is the revised threshold limit as per the notification on Feb'22 with effect from 1st day of April, 2022.
Einvoicing in india is enabled by Invoice Regsritaion Portal (IRP). Invoices issues by the supplier has to be regestered with the IRP. On successful registration IRP returns a QR code and an IRN(invoice reference number). The QR code has to be affixed on the invoice before sending it to the buyer. Some supplier also add the IRN number on the invoice in addition to the QR code.
Note that IRP portal is registration network and not an einvoice delivery network. This implies that merchants have to send the invoice to the receivers themselves after registering it with the IRP. This is in contrast with other einvoicing networks such as Peppol, which sends the einvoices to the end receipient.
Auto-population of einvoice for returns filing
The invoices successfully registered on the IRP will be automatically popluated on GSTR-1. This will be available for download as an excel file. Read more..
State code
It is noticed that the state codes defined by the GST council doesnot match with the ISO code.
Exemptions
Offenses
Following are considered as offenses under GST law.
- Making a supply without invoice or with false/incorrect invoice;
- Issuing an invoice without making supply;
- Not paying tax collected for a period exceeding three months;
- Not paying tax collected in contravention of the CGST/SGST Act for a period exceeding 3 months;
- Non deduction or lower deduction of tax deducted at source or not depositing tax deducted at source under section 51;
- Non collection or lower collection of or non- payment of tax collectible at source under section 52;
- Availing/utilizing input tax credit without actual receipt of goods and/or services;
- Fraudulently obtaining any refund;
- Availing/distributing input tax credit by an Input Service Distributor in violation of Section 20;
- Furnishing false information or falsification of financial records or furnishing of fake accounts/documents with intent to evade payment of tax;
- Failure to register despite being liable to pay tax;
- Furnishing false information regarding registration particulars either at the time of applying for registration or subsequently;
- Obstructing or preventing any official in discharge of his duty;
- Transporting goods without prescribed documents;
- Suppressing turnover leading to tax evasion;
- Failure to maintain accounts/documents in the manner specified in the Act or failure to retain accounts/documents for the period specified in the Act;
- Failure to furnish information/documents required by an officer in terms of the Act/Rules or furnishing false information/documents during the course of any proceeding;
- Supplying/transporting/storing any goods liable to confiscation;
- Issuing invoice or document using GSTIN of another person;
- Tampering/destroying any material evidence;
- Disposing of/tampering with goods detained/seized/attached under the Act.
Penalty
Any taxable person who has committed any of the offences shall be punished with a penalty that shall be higher of the following amounts:
- The amount of tax evaded, fraudulently obtained as refund, availed as credit, or not deducted or collected or short deducted or short collected, or
- A sum of Rs.10,000/-
Any registered person who has not paid tax or makes a short payment of tax on supplies shall be a liable to penalty which will be the higher of:
- 10% of the tax not paid or short paid, or
- A sum of Rs.10,000/-
Any person who contravenes any provision of the Act or the rules made under this Act for which no separate penalty has been prescribed shall be punishable with a penalty that may extend to Rs.25,000/-
Frequently Asked Questions
No. As per the 14th amendment to CGST Rules (Rule 46, page 51), digital signatures are not necessary on a GST invoice if it is an e-invoice. According to the IRP portal, the IRP digitally signs the invoice after receiving the details from the supplier, authenticating its genuineness — so a separate supplier signature is not required.
No. IRN generation is not required for B2C invoices. However, businesses with annual turnover exceeding ₹500 crores must display a dynamic QR code on B2C invoices from 1st December 2020 (as per GST rules). This QR code enables scan-and-pay functionality but is entirely separate from the B2B e-invoicing mandate. If B2C invoices are uploaded to IRP, they will be rejected.
Yes, you can cancel an IRN within 24 hours of its generation. An IRN cannot be cancelled if a valid or active e-way bill exists for the same invoice. Note that you cannot delete or modify an IRN or invoice — it can only be cancelled. You must then issue a credit note and generate a new invoice with a new invoice number to get a fresh IRN.
No. An e-invoice or IRN cannot be partially cancelled. It must be fully cancelled.
Important Wesbites
| Description | Website |
|---|---|
| GST council | Website |
| GST law | Website |
| GST State code | Official Pdf |
| HSN code search | Website |
| GST rates | Wesbite |
| Help Desk Number | 1800-103-4786 |
| GSTIN Lookup | Search |
| GST Login | Visit Website |
| Notifications | GST Notifications |
Latest updates
10-May-2023E-Invoicing threshhold limit reduced to Rs. 5 Crore from 01st August 2023- CBIC issued a notification mandating businesses with turnover of over 5 crore required to generate e-invoice from August 1. The current limit is 10cr. Learn More
06-May-2023Deferment of implementation of time limit on reporting old einvoices- The imposition of time limit of 7 days on reporting old e-invoices on the e-invoice IRP portals for taxpayers with aggregate turnover greater than or equal to 100 crores has been deferred by three months Learn More
13-Apr-2023Time limit for reporting invoices on the IRP portal- The invoices should be reported to IRP within 7 days of generation. This is applicable to businesses with annual turnover of 100Cr and above. Learn More
- Example, if an invoice has a date of April 1, 2023, it cannot be reported after April 8, 2023
