1
Issue invoice within the time limit
For goods: issue the invoice at or before delivery of goods. For services: issue within 30 days of completion of service. Late invoices can lead to penalties and ITC issues for buyers.
GST Invoice Format Reference
Correct GST invoice format with mandatory fields explained
See a sample GST invoice template with every mandatory field labelled. Use it as a reference for creating compliant tax invoices for your Indian business.
Sharma General Store ① Supplier Name
123, Main Market, Sector 14, Gurugram, Haryana – 122001 ② Supplier Address
GSTIN: 06AABCS1234A1Z5 ③ Supplier GSTIN
Phone: +91 98100 12345 | Email: sharma@example.com
GSTIN: 06AABCS1234A1Z5 ③ Supplier GSTIN
Phone: +91 98100 12345 | Email: sharma@example.com
Tax Invoice
Invoice No: INV-2025-0042 ④ Invoice No.
Date: 26 May 2025 ⑤ Invoice Date
Date: 26 May 2025 ⑤ Invoice Date
Bill To ⑥ Recipient Name
Ramesh Trading Co.
42, Industrial Area, Phase 2, Chandigarh – 160002
⑦ Recipient Address
42, Industrial Area, Phase 2, Chandigarh – 160002
⑦ Recipient Address
Recipient GSTIN ⑧ For B2B
04AABCR5678B1Z8
Place of Supply: Chandigarh (04) ⑨ Place of Supply
Place of Supply: Chandigarh (04) ⑨ Place of Supply
| # | Description ⑩ Item Desc. | HSN ⑪ | Qty | Rate (₹) | GST% | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basmati Rice (Premium, 5kg pack) | 1006 | 10 pcs | 350.00 | 5% | 3,500.00 |
| 2 | Sunflower Oil (1 litre tin) | 1512 | 24 tins | 120.00 | 5% | 2,880.00 |
| 3 | Detergent Powder (1kg pack) | 3402 | 30 pcs | 85.00 | 18% | 2,550.00 |
Amount in Words:
Eleven Thousand Two Hundred and Thirty-Five Rupees Only Optional but recommended
Terms & Conditions:
Payment due within 30 days. Goods once sold will not be taken back. Optional
Eleven Thousand Two Hundred and Thirty-Five Rupees Only Optional but recommended
Terms & Conditions:
Payment due within 30 days. Goods once sold will not be taken back. Optional
Subtotal₹8,930.00
CGST ⑫₹252.50 + ₹229.50
SGST ⑬₹252.50 + ₹229.50
Total Tax₹964.00
Discount Optional– ₹ –
Grand Total₹9,894.00
①
Supplier Name
Full legal name of your registered business — as it appears in your GST registration certificate.
②
Supplier Address
Complete address of the principal place of business as registered with GST authorities.
③
Supplier GSTIN
Your 15-digit GST Identification Number. Mandatory on every tax invoice issued by a registered taxpayer.
④
Invoice Number
A consecutive serial number unique for a financial year. Can include letters and special characters but must be unique and sequential.
⑤
Invoice Date
Date of issue of the invoice. For goods, should be at or before delivery. For services, within 30 days of supply.
⑥⑦
Recipient Name & Address
Name and address of the buyer. Mandatory for B2B invoices. For B2C invoices, recipient GSTIN is not required.
⑧
Recipient GSTIN
Buyer's GSTIN. Required for B2B invoices where the buyer is GST-registered. Enables the buyer to claim Input Tax Credit (ITC).
⑨
Place of Supply
State where the supply is delivered. Determines whether CGST+SGST (same state) or IGST (inter-state) applies.
⑩
Description of Goods/Services
Name and description of each item supplied. Should be specific enough to identify the product or service clearly.
⑪
HSN / SAC Code
HSN code for goods, SAC code for services. Mandatory for businesses with turnover above ₹5 crore (6-digit code). 4-digit code for ₹1.5–5 crore turnover.
⑫
CGST
Central Goods and Services Tax — half the applicable GST rate, collected by the central government. Applicable for intra-state supply only.
⑬
SGST
State Goods and Services Tax — the other half of GST, collected by the state government. Applicable for intra-state supply. For inter-state, IGST applies instead.
GST Invoice Rules
Key GST invoice rules every small business must follow
2
Keep original + two copies
For goods, issue three copies — original for buyer, duplicate for transporter, triplicate for your records. For services, issue two copies — original for buyer, duplicate for your records.
3
Invoice number must be sequential
Every invoice must have a unique serial number for the financial year. You can have separate series for different types (e.g., GST-2025, SVC-2025) but each series must be consecutive without gaps.
Create GST invoices in the correct format automatically with Ledgerly
Ledgerly generates GST invoices with all mandatory fields — GSTIN, HSN code, CGST/SGST breakup — automatically. No formatting needed.
- All mandatory GST invoice fields filled automatically
- Sequential invoice numbering handled by the system
- PDF invoice ready to share or print from the app