A registered person must issue a tax invoice if he is supplying taxable goods or services. The tax invoice provisions in Section 31 are central to the time of supply rules, the input tax credit system and the matching mechanism.

Invoicing Under GST (Supply of Goods):

A supplier of taxable goods must issue the tax invoice before or at the time of:

• Removal of goods for supply to the recipient, where the supply involves movement of goods;

• Delivery of goods or making available thereof to the recipient, in any other case.

“Removal of goods” is defined in section 2(96), to mean-

• Dispatch of the goods for delivery by the supplier thereof or by any other person acting on behalf of such supplier;

• Collection of the goods by the recipient thereof or by any other person acting on behalf of such recipient.

A supply which involves movement of goods is a supply wherein goods have to be delivered to a certain place. A supply which does not involve movement will be a supply where delivery of the goods does not involve movement. A supplier of taxable services is ordinarily liable to issue the tax invoice within 30 days from the date of supply of service.

Manner Of Issuing A Tax Invoice:

An invoice must be issued in triplicate for the purposes of supply of goods and must be marked as follows:     • Original marked as “Original for recipient”;     • Duplicate marked as “Duplicate for transporter”;     • Triplicate marked as “Triplicate for supplier”; An invoice must be issued in duplicate in case of supply of services:     • Original marked as “Original for recipient”;     • Duplicate marked as “Duplicate for supplier”. Serial numbers of invoices issued during a tax period should be furnished in FORM GSTR-1.

GST Tax Invoice Format:

The tax invoice must be prepared in accordance with Rule 46 and the following must be mentioned on the invoice:

1. Supplier’s Details:

      • Name       • Address         • Goods and Services Tax Identification Number- GSTIN

2. Recipient’s Details (if recipient is registered):

      • Name       • Address         • Goods and Services Tax Identification Number- GSTIN

3. Recipient’s details (if recipient is unregistered and value of taxable supply is Rs.50,000 or more);