GST Invoice Format in India (2026): Rule 46 Checklist + Example

A GST tax invoice in India must show your name, address and GSTIN; a serial number unique for the financial year; the date; your customer's name, address and GSTIN (if registered); the HSN or SAC code, description and quantity of each item; the taxable value; the rate and amount of CGST and SGST, or IGST; the place of supply for inter-state sales; whether tax is payable on reverse charge; and your signature. Those details come from Rule 46 of the CGST Rules. This guide turns them into a checklist, with a worked example and the steps to make a GST bill on your phone.

Who issues a GST tax invoice

Only GST-registered businesses issue tax invoices and charge GST. Registration is generally required once your turnover crosses ₹40 lakh for goods or ₹20 lakh for services (₹20 lakh and ₹10 lakh in special category states), and for some businesses, such as inter-state suppliers of goods, at any turnover.

If you aren't registered, you can't charge GST: send a plain invoice with no GST and no GSTIN. Composition dealers and businesses selling only exempt items issue a bill of supply instead of a tax invoice, also without GST; a composition dealer must write "composition taxable person, not eligible to collect tax on supplies" at the top.

The Rule 46 checklist

1. 01Your name, address and GSTIN.
2. 02A consecutive serial number of up to 16 characters (letters, numbers, "-" and "/"), unique for the financial year.
3. 03The date of issue.
4. 04Your customer's name, address and GSTIN (or UIN) if they are registered.
5. 05For an unregistered customer: name, address, delivery address and the state name and code when the value is ₹50,000 or more (or when they ask for it).
6. 06The HSN code for goods or SAC code for services.
7. 07A description of the goods or services.
8. 08The quantity and unit, for goods.
9. 09The total value and the taxable value after any discount.
10. 10The rate and amount of each tax: CGST and SGST (or UTGST), or IGST, and cess if any.
11. 11For inter-state supplies, the place of supply with the state name.
12. 12The delivery address, if it's different from the place of supply.
13. 13Whether tax is payable on reverse charge.
14. 14Your signature or digital signature (not needed on an e-invoice under the IT Act).

Rule 46 doesn't require the words "Tax Invoice", but it's the standard title and makes the document clearly different from a bill of supply.

HSN and SAC codes: how many digits

Under Notification 78/2020-Central Tax, businesses with turnover up to ₹5 crore in the previous year show a 4-digit HSN/SAC code (optional on invoices to unregistered customers), and businesses above ₹5 crore show 6 digits. Goods use HSN codes; services use SAC codes, which start with 99.

CGST + SGST or IGST?

• Within the same state (intra-state): split the rate into CGST and SGST. At 18% that's 9% CGST + 9% SGST. In a union territory without a legislature, UTGST replaces SGST.
• Between states (inter-state): charge the full rate as IGST, and write the place of supply with the state name, for example "Place of supply: Karnataka (29)".
• Since 22 September 2025 most goods and services fall into the 5% or 18% slabs, with 40% for a short list of luxury and sin goods; the old 12% and 28% slabs were largely removed. Check the rate for your HSN/SAC code.

Example: a web developer in Pune billing a client in Bengaluru

• Tax invoice INV-2026-0042 · Date: 3 November 2026
• From: Sahyadri Web Studio · Pune, Maharashtra · GSTIN 27ABCDE1234F1Z5 (example)
• To: Brightleaf Foods Pvt Ltd · Bengaluru, Karnataka · GSTIN 29AABCB1234C1Z2 (example)
• Place of supply: Karnataka (29) · Tax payable on reverse charge: No
• Website development · SAC 998314 · 1 × ₹40,000
• IT support, 3 months · SAC 998313 · 1 × ₹10,000
• Taxable value: ₹50,000
• IGST (18%): ₹9,000
• Total: ₹59,000
• Signature of the authorised signatory

If the same client were in Mumbai (also Maharashtra), the tax lines would be CGST (9%) ₹4,500 and SGST (9%) ₹4,500, with the same ₹59,000 total.

Timing, copies and records

• Goods: issue the invoice before or at the time of removal or delivery. Services: within 30 days of the supply.
• Goods invoices are made in triplicate (original for the buyer, duplicate for the transporter, triplicate for you); services in duplicate.
• Under ₹200 to an unregistered customer who doesn't ask for an invoice, you can skip it and issue one consolidated tax invoice at the end of the day.
• Keep invoices and GST records for 72 months from the due date of the annual return for that year.

E-invoicing (IRN) above ₹5 crore

If your aggregate turnover in any year since 2017-18 was over ₹5 crore, your B2B invoices and exports must be e-invoices: reported to the Invoice Registration Portal, which returns an Invoice Reference Number (IRN) and a QR code to print on the invoice. Below that threshold, a regular PDF tax invoice is fine.

Common mistakes

• Charging IGST on a same-state sale, or CGST + SGST on an inter-state one.
• Leaving out the place of supply on an inter-state invoice.
• Missing HSN/SAC codes, or the customer's GSTIN on a B2B invoice (they can't claim input tax credit without it).
• Restarting or repeating invoice numbers within the same financial year.
• Charging GST while unregistered, or as a composition dealer.

How to make a GST bill on mobile with InvoiceNexora

1. 01In Settings → Business Profile, add your business address. In Settings → Defaults, enter your GSTIN as the Tax Registration Number, turn on the "Tax invoice" title, and add your signature.
2. 02Add your client with their address (including the state) and their GSTIN in the Tax number field. It prints under their address.
3. 03Pick the CGST + SGST preset for a same-state client, or IGST for another state. Both start at 18%; change the rate if your item is in the 5% slab.
4. 04Add each item with its HSN/SAC code in the description, for example "SAC 998314", plus quantity and price.
5. 05In the invoice notes, add "Place of supply: Karnataka (29)" for inter-state sales and "Tax payable on reverse charge: No". Then share the PDF on WhatsApp or by email. Everything works offline.

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