An invoice is an instrument issued by a Supplier to the Recipient of Goods/ Services. GST laws prescribe the definitive rules on how an invoice must look like and when it must be issued. However, there are exceptions too.
In some cases, relaxations are available on the format in which invoice is to be issued by a supplier.
Input Service Distributor (ISD)
An Invoice or an ISD credit note should contain details slightly different from a GST Invoice normally issued. This must contain: a. Name, address and GST Registration number or the GSTIN of the Input Service Distributor. b. The serial number of the invoice/credit note numbered consecutively, unique for every financial year. It may contain alphabets, numerals, special characters – hyphen/ dash, or any combination of the above.
- Date of issue.
- Name, address, and GSTIN of the person eligible for the credit.
- The amount of the credit distributed.
- Authentication by the input service provider or his authorised representative by way of his signature or digital signature.
Exceptions – Where ISD is a,
- Banking Company
- Financial Institution
- NBFC
Tax invoice shall be any document containing the details mentioned above, and not necessarily serially numbered. If the registered person has the same PAN and State code as the ISD, he may issue an invoice, a credit or debit note to transfer the credit of common input services to the Input Service Distributor. It shall contain the following details:
- Name, Address and GSTIN
- A consecutive serial number not exceeding sixteen characters, containing alphabets or numerals or special characters. It shall be unique for a particular Financial Year
- Date of issue;
- GSTIN of the supplier of common service and
- Original invoice number whose credit is sought to be transferred to the Input Service Distributor;
- Name, address and Goods and Services Tax Identification Number of the Input Service Distributor;
- Taxable value, rate and amount of the credit to be transferred; and
- Physical or digital signature of the registered person or of his authorised representative.
Insurance/Banking/financial institutions
A supplier who is –
- An Insurer,
- A banking company,
- A financial institution and
- A Non-Banking financial institution
Should issue a consolidated tax invoice or can issue any other document in whatever name instead of a tax invoice for all the supplies made during the month, at the end of the month The document instead of the tax invoice must contain all other information prescribed for a tax invoice except optional information like serial number and recipients address. The invoice may be made available electronically or physically.
Goods Transport Agency (GTA)
In case of a GTA providing services to transport goods by road, the GTA (supplier) should issue a tax invoice or any other document instead of the tax invoice (by whatever name called). The invoice should contain the following details.
- Gross weight of the consignment
- Name of the person sending and receiving the goods
- Registration number of the vehicle in which the goods are transported
- Details of goods transported
- Details of the place of origin and destination
- GSTIN of the person liable for paying tax whether as a consignor, consignee or goods transport agency
- Other fields as mentioned in the invoice format
Passenger Transporter Services
A supplier who provides passenger transportation service is required to issue a tax invoice can be a ticket in any form having following details: Optional Information
- Serial number
- Address of the recipient of the taxable service
Mandatory Information – All the other information as required in a tax invoice.
e-Commerce Operator/ Supplier of OIDAR services
A tax invoice issued by an e-commerce operator or a supplier of OIDAR (online information and database access or retrieval) services to an unregistered buyer must contain-
- The name and address of the recipient
- The PIN code
- The name of the state
The said address will be deemed to be the address on record of the recipient. The above rule will apply irrespective of the value of supply.
Please note that the invoice will also need to contain all the other information as mandatorily required in a tax invoice.