An invoice is a document issued by a supplier to the consumer. It includes all the costs and quantities of goods and services. GST invoice is the same, but under GST, the seller must match the invoice with that of the buyer’s invoice, or the seller might not be GST compliant. Goods and Services Tax (GST) created a unique tax system that would make India into one single market. With GST, many indirect taxes subsumed into a single-tax.
It also created more transparency compared to the previous tax system. One of the many rules to create transparency to the tax system is the correct invoicing. Under the new law, a seller’s invoice should match with that of the consumer for the product sold. There are different formats and ways to prepare a GST compliance invoice.
Suppliers who are familiar with invoicing can create a GST invoice format in excel, and, for suppliers with little to no experience, they can take the help of software available online. A solution for a lot of queries is in the FAQ section of the GST online website. There are different aspects to becoming GST compliant, and correct invoicing is one of the essential parts of it. Below is the collection of interesting information about GST invoicing.
Contents
There is no specific format for an invoice, but there are necessary points you should mention to make your invoice GST compliant. Your invoice is issued to charge the tax and pass on the input tax credit. In case if the recipient is not registered, and the total value of the goods or services is more than Rs.50,000, then the invoice should mention the name and address of recipient along with the address of delivery with the state name and state code. In any other case, you should make sure you have these necessary fields in your invoice.
There is a time limit rule for issuing an invoice, and it depends on different factors. The time limit for goods is different than the time limit for services.
Triple invoice should be issued if there is a supply of goods. The original or the first copy is for the consumer, the second copy is for the transporter, and the third copy is for the supplier. In the case of services supplied, a duplicate tax invoice should be issued. The original copy is for the consumer, and the second copy is for the supplier of services.
In cases of goods held on approval for sale or products that are held on a return basis, the goods are removed before an actual supply happens. In such cases, the invoice should be issued at a date that is at the time of actual supply. Or before the supply or six months from the date of removal of goods. The supplier, in such cases, must issue a revised tax invoice against the goods supplied earlier.
If a registered supplier is supplying to an unregistered individual, goods, or services which are taxable as well as those that are exempted, then the supplier can issue an “invoice-cum-bill” for all such goods and services. The other types of invoices are:
Creating and issuing an invoice is crucial for any business, and all the rules should be considered carefully to stay GST compliant. GST invoice format in excel is a very efficient format to create invoices, but for other formats or types of invoices, you can check on GST online website or take the help of invoice software that would almost automate the process of creating GST compliant invoices.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Permission to use quotation from any article is granted subject to full credit of the source being given by referencing the direct link of the article on Victor Mochere. However, reproducing any content on this site without explicit permission is strictly prohibited.
We are committed to upholding our editorial standards, including accuracy. Our policy is to review each issue on a case by case basis, immediately upon becoming aware of a potential error or need for clarification, and to resolve it as quickly as possible. If you notice an error or typo that needs correction, please don’t hesitate to contact us for immediate action.
Victor Mochere brings you a daily dose of well curated up to date facts, news, opinions and important updates from Kenya, Africa and around the World.
Copyright © 2021 Victor Mochere. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2021 Victor Mochere. All rights reserved.