Introduction for invoices under the GST regime:

The purpose of this article is to spread awareness about the soon to be implemented Goods and Service Tax in India. This is the second article on invoice under the GST and deals with provisions relating to invoices under GST regime as enshrined in the Model Law and draft rules. The provisions relating to invoice issued by Input Service Distributor is not dealt with in this article.

Manner of Issuing Invoice in respect of goods

The invoice shall be prepared in triplicate, in case of supply of goods, in the following manner:–

1.     The original copy being marked as ORIGINAL FOR RECIPIENT.

2.     The duplicate copy being marked as DUPLICATE FOR TRANSPORTER.

3.     The triplicate copy being marked as TRIPLICATE FOR SUPPLIER.

Provided that the duplicate copy is not required to be carried by the transporter if the supplier has obtained an Invoice Reference Number.

Manner of Issuing Invoice in respect of services

The invoice shall be prepared in duplicate, in case of supply of services, in the following manner:-

1.     The original copy being marked as ORIGINAL FOR RECEIPIENT.

2.     The duplicate copy being marked as DUPLICATE FOR SUPPLIER.

Serial number of invoices to be filed

The serial number of invoices issued during a tax period shall be furnished electronically through the Common Portal in FORM GSTR-1.

Invoice reference number

A registered taxable person may obtain an Invoice Reference Number from the Common Portal by uploading, on the said Portal, a tax invoice issued by him in FORM GST INV-1, and produce the same for verification by the proper officer as required. The Invoice Reference Number shall be valid for a period of 30 days from the date of uploading.

Credit and Debit Notes under GST regime

Where a tax invoice has been issued for supply of any goods and/or services and the taxable value and/or tax charged in that tax invoice is found to exceed the taxable value and/or tax payable in respect of such supply, or where the goods supplied are returned by the recipient, or where services supplied are found to be deficient, the registered taxable person, who has supplied such goods and/or services, may issue to the recipient a credit note containing such particulars as may be prescribed.

Any registered taxable person who issues a credit note in relation to a supply of goods and/or services shall declare the details of such credit note in the return for the month during which such credit note has been issued but not later than September following the end of the year in which such supply was made, or the date of filing of the relevant annual return, whichever is earlier, and the tax liability shall be adjusted in the manner specified in this Act. No reduction in output tax liability of the supplier shall be permitted if the incidence of tax and interest on such supply has been passed on to any other person.

Where a tax invoice has been issued for supply of any goods and/or services and the taxable value and/or tax charged in that tax invoice is found to be less than the taxable value and/or tax payable in respect of such supply, the taxable person, who has supplied such goods and/or services, shall issue to the recipient a debit note containing such particulars as may be prescribed. Debit Note shall include a supplementary invoice.

Any registered taxable person who issues a debit note in relation to a supply of goods and/or services shall declare the details of such debit note, in the return for the month during which such debit note has been issued and the tax liability shall be adjusted in the manner specified in this Act.

Contents of a Tax Invoices under GST regime

A tax invoice shall be issued by the supplier containing the following details:-

1.     Name, address and GSTIN of the supplier

2.     A consecutive serial number containing only alphabets and/or numerals, unique for a financial year.

3.     Date of its issue.

4.     Name, address and GSTIN/ Unique ID Number, if registered, of the recipient.

5.     Name and address of the recipient and the address of delivery, along with the name of State and its code, if such recipient is unregistered and where the taxable value of supply is fifty thousand rupees or more.

6.     HSN code of goods or Accounting Code of services.

7.     Description of goods or services.

8.     Quantity in case of goods and unit or Unique Quantity Code thereof.

9.     Total value of goods or services.

10. Taxable value of goods or services taking into account discount or abatement, if any.

11. Rate of tax (CGST, SGST or IGST),

12. Amount of tax charged in respect of taxable goods or services (CGST, SGST or IGST).

13. Place of supply along with the name of State, in case of a supply in the course of inter-State trade or commerce.

14. Place of delivery where the same is different from the place of supply.

15. Whether the tax is payable on reverse charge.

16. The word “Revised Invoice” or “Supplementary Invoice”, as the case may be, indicated prominently, where applicable along with the date and invoice number of the original invoice.

17. Signature or digital signature of the supplier or his authorized representative.

Export invoices under GST regime

In case of exports, the invoice shall carry an endorsement “SUPPLY MEANT FOR EXPORT ON PAYMENT OF IGST” or “SUPPLY MEANT FOR EXPORT UNDER BOND WITHOUT PAYMENT OF IGST”, as the case may be, and shall, in lieu of the details specified in point 5 above, contain the following details:

1.     Name and address of the recipient.

2.     Address of delivery.

3.     Name of the country of destination.

4.     Number and date of application for removal of goods for export [ARE-1].

Contents of Bill of supply

The bill of supply will contain details mentioned in point 1 to 6, 10 and 17 of contents of a tax invoice.

Supplementary tax invoice and Credit or debit notes

A supplementary tax invoice and a credit or debit note shall contain

1.     Name, address and GSTIN of the supplier.

2.     Nature of the document.

3.     A consecutive serial number containing only alphabets and/or numerals, unique for a financial year.

4.     Date of issue of the document.

5.     Name, address and GSTIN/ Unique ID Number, if registered, of the recipient.

6.     Name and address of the recipient and the address of delivery, along with the name of State and its code, if such recipient is unregistered.

7.     Serial number and date of the corresponding tax invoice or, as the case may be, bill of supply.

8.     Taxable value of goods or services, rate of tax and the amount of the tax credited or, as the case may be, debited to the recipient.

9.     Signature or digital signature of the supplier or his authorized representative.

Revised invoice in case of registration granted on earlier date

Every registered taxable person who has been granted registration with effect from a date earlier than the date of issuance of certificate of registration to him, may issue revised tax invoices in respect of taxable supplies effected during the period starting from the effective date of registration till the date of issuance of certificate of registration.

The registered taxable person may issue a consolidated revised tax invoice in respect of all taxable supplies made to a recipient who is not registered under the Act during such period.

In case of inter-State supplies, where the value of a supply does not exceed two hundred and fifty thousand rupees, a consolidated revised invoice may be issued separately in respect of all recipients located in a State, who are not registered under the Act.

The author is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and also a qualified Company Secretary. The author has also done DISA(ICAI), certificate on IFRS (ICAI), Certificate on Forex and Treasury Management (ICAI), Certificate on Forensic Accounting and Fraud Prevention (ICAI). The author practices as a Chartered Accountant under the name and style of Rishabh Kumar Barmecha and Associates and is an expert in auditing, financial investigation, direct and indirect taxation. The author can be reached at rishabhkumarbarmecha@gmail.com or 91 9007909221 or Twitter @CARKBarmecha.