Invoicing system under GST

Invoicing forms a crucial function when it comes to the execution of a transaction. The invoice becomes a basic document for recording the sale/purchase in books of accounts.

In the GST regime, two types of invoices will be issued:

1. Tax invoice : In case of Taxable Supply
2. Bill of supply : In case of Exempt Supplies or in case of Composition Dealer

Number of copies of Invoice under GST

In case of Supply of Goods, Three copies will be prepared

1. Original for Recipient
2. Duplicate for Transporter
3. Triplicate for Supplier

In case of Supply of Services, Two copies will be prepared

1. Original for Recipient
2. Duplicate for Supplier

Time Limit for Issue of Invoice

In case of Supply of Goods

In case of supply of services

In case of Continuous Supply of Services

However

Points to Remember

1. If the Invoice is issued from effective date of registration till the date of issue of Registration Certificate RC) then a revised Invoice may be issued within a period of one month from the date of receipt of Registration Certificate (RC)
2. Option to not to issue a in case the value of Goods or Services supplied is less than Two Hundred Rupee.
3. In case of receipt of Advance Money 'Receipt Voucher' shall be issued.
4. If under point no. 3 no supply is made 'Refund Voucher' may be issued.
5. Under Reverse Charge Mechanism, Recipient shall issue an Invoice.
6. When the supply of services ceases under a Contract before the completion of supply, Invoice shall be issued at the time when supply ceases.
7. If goods are sent on approval basis Invoice shall be issued at the time of confirmation or Six months from the date of removal whichever is earlier.
8. Tax Invoice shall include a Revised Invoice.

Contents of Tax Invoice

Invoice shall contain the following particulars:

1. name, address and GSTIN of the supplier;
2. a consecutive serial number not exceeding sixteen characters, in one or multiple series, containing alphabets or numerals or special characters hyphen or dash and slash symbolised as '-' and '/' respectively, and any combination thereof, unique for a financial year;
3. date of its issue;
4. name, address and GSTIN or UIN, 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 value of taxable 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 supply of goods or services or both;
10. taxable value of supply of goods or services or both taking into account discount or abatement, if any;
11. rate of tax (central tax, State tax, integrated tax, Union territory tax or cess);
12. amount of tax charged in respect of taxable goods or services (central tax, State tax, integrated tax, Union territory tax or cess);
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. address of delivery where the same is different from the place of supply;
15. whether the tax is payable on reverse charge basis; and
16. signature or digital signature of the supplier or his authorized representative:

Points to Remember

In case of export of goods or services Invoice shall contain an endorsement

'SUPPLY MEANT FOR EXPORT ON PAYMENT OF INTEGRATED TAX' or
'SUPPLY MEANT FOR EXPORT UNDER BOND' or
'LETTER OF UNDERTAKING WITHOUT PAYMENT OF INTEGRATED TAX' as the case may be.

1. In case of export of goods or services, In replacement of Point no. 5 given above the following shall be substituted
2. name and address of the recipient;
3. address of delivery; and
4. name of the country of destination

Bill of Supply

A bill of supply is issued in cases when a registered person is a supplier of exempted goods/services, OR, if they have opted to pay GST under the composition scheme. In either of these cases, the registered person cannot charge GST to the buyer, and hence there is no tax amount listed on the bill.

Contents of Bill of Supply

It should have the following details:

1. Name, address and GSTIN of the supplier
2. Bill of supply number (it must be generated consecutively and each bill of supply will have a unique number for that financial year)
3. Date of issue
4. If the recipient is registered then the name, address and GSTIN of the recipient
5. HSN Code of goods or Accounting Code for services**
6. Description of goods/services
7. Value of the goods/services after adjusting any discount or abatement
8. Signature of the supplier

** HSN Code:

• Turnover less than 1.5 crores - HSN code is not required to be mentioned
• Turnover between 1.5 -5 crores can use 2-digit HSN code
• Turnover above 5 crores must use 4-digit HSN code

Cases where Bill of Supply may not be issued

The registered person might not issue a bill of supply if the value of supply is less than Rs. 200.

He may also decide not to issue when:

1. the recipient is not a registered person AND
2. the recipient does not require such bill of supply

The registered person shall issue a consolidated bill of supply for such supplies at the end of each day in respect of all such supplies.

Serial Number

Serial number is highly flexible and can be customized in every manner. Only the following points are to be considered:

1. Serial number for the Invoice book shall be consecutive.
2. It may be either in Computerized or Manual Mode.
3. It shall not exceed Sixteen Digits.
4. It may be in one or multiple series.
5. It may contain alphabets or numerical.
6. It may contain special characters hyphen or dash and slash symbolized as '-' and '/' respectively, and any combination thereof.
7. Every serial number must be unique.
8. It must have separate series for each year.
9. Separate series for each registration.
10. For Financial year 2017-18 separate series will start w.e.f. July 01, 2017

Serial Number for the Invoice can be designed for the following

1. For separate registration
2. For separate year
3. For separate product line
4. For separate field and separate counters
5. For separate Branches

Suggested way of using Alphanumerical Serial Number in different situations

Case I: Single Registration Single Premises Single Counter
0000001/2017-18

Case II: Single Registration Multiple Premises Single Counter

Premises 1 00001/B1/2017-18
Premises 2 00001/B2/2017-18

Case III: Single Registration Multiple Premises Multiple Counter

Premises 1 Counter 1 01/B1/01/2017-18
Premises 1 Counter 2 01/B1/02/2017-18
Premises 2 Counter 1 01/B2/01/2017-18
Premises 2 Counter 2 01/B2/02/2017-18

The author can also be reached at carohitjain@hotmail.com