A GST tax invoice is a legal commercial document issued by a registered taxpayer in India when supplying goods or services. Under Section 31 of the CGST Act, 2017, issuing a compliant GST invoice is mandatory for registered suppliers to enable buyers to claim Input Tax Credit (ITC).

Mandatory Requirements Under Rule 46 of CGST Rules

A legally compliant GST invoice must contain:
  1. Name, address, and GSTIN of the supplier
  2. Consecutive Serial Number containing only alphabets, numerals, and special characters (hyphen or slash), unique for a financial year, not exceeding 16 characters. 3. Date of issue 4. Name, address, and GSTIN/UIN of the recipient (if registered). 5. Place of Supply along with the name of the State and its numerical state code (e.g., 27 for Maharashtra, 07 for Delhi). 6. HSN code of goods or SAC code of services based on turnover thresholds. 7. Description of goods or services, quantity, and unit of measurement. 8. Total value of supply, taxable value, rate of tax (CGST, SGST, IGST), and total tax amount. 9. Signature or Digital Signature of the supplier or authorized representative.

    Intra-State vs Inter-State Supplies

    • Intra-State Supply (Within the same state): If your business is in Maharashtra and your client is also in Maharashtra, you charge CGST + SGST (each at half the total GST rate, e.g. 9% + 9% for an 18% slab).
      • Inter-State Supply (To another state): If your business is in Maharashtra and your client is in Karnataka, you charge IGST (Integrated GST at the full 18%).

        How to Create Your Invoice in Under 2 Minutes

        With our Free GST Invoice Generator, you do not need expensive ERP software. Simply enter your business GSTIN, customer details, line items with HSN/SAC codes, select the GST mode, and instantly download a print-ready A4 PDF.