The invoice is a legal document with prescribed contents — and defects in it can cost your buyer their credit and you your credibility.

The mandatory contents

  • Your name, address and GSTIN; a consecutive serial number unique to the year
  • Date of issue; recipient details (with GSTIN for B2B)
  • Description, HSN/SAC codes at the required digit level, quantity and value
  • Taxable value, rate and amount of tax shown by head (CGST/SGST or IGST)
  • Place of supply for inter-state billing; signature or digital authentication as prescribed

Special flavours

Exports carry the LUT/IGST declaration wording; reverse-charge supplies must say so; e-invoicing entities need the IRN and QR code for validity; credit and debit notes follow their own content rules and must trace to original invoices.

Timing rules people miss

Goods: invoice at or before removal/delivery. Services: within the prescribed period after supply. Advance receipts have their own documentation.

The systems answer

Configure your software template once against the checklist — then every invoice is born compliant.

We set clients’ invoicing up as part of GST onboarding — get your template checked.