Mandatory Fields on an Indian Invoice
Under the CGST Act 2017, a valid GST tax invoice must contain the following fields:
- Supplier details — Legal name, address, and GSTIN of the seller
- Invoice number & date — Sequential, unique per financial year
- Recipient details — Buyer name, address, and GSTIN (for B2B transactions)
- HSN / SAC code — Harmonised System of Nomenclature for goods; SAC for services
- Description of goods/services — Quantity, unit, and rate per unit
- Taxable value — Value of supply before tax
- GST rate and amount — CGST + SGST (intra-state) or IGST (inter-state)
- Total invoice value — Including taxes, in figures and words
- Signature or digital signature of the authorised signatory
Invoice Format for Different Business Types
B2B Invoice (Business to Business)
When selling to another GST-registered business, you must capture their GSTIN. This enables them to claim Input Tax Credit (ITC). Both supplier and recipient GSTIN must appear on the invoice.
B2C Invoice (Business to Consumer)
For sales to unregistered consumers above ₹2.5 lakh, a full tax invoice is mandatory. For smaller retail transactions, a simplified invoice or bill of supply may be issued.
Export Invoice
Export invoices must carry the declaration "Supply Meant for Export on Payment of IGST" or "Supply Meant for Export Under Bond/LUT Without Payment of IGST", along with shipping bill details.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Wrong or missing HSN/SAC codes — attracts penalties during scrutiny
- Incorrect GST rate — always verify the slab for your goods category
- Reusing invoice numbers — must be sequential within the financial year
- Missing place of supply — determines whether CGST+SGST or IGST applies
- Incorrect buyer GSTIN — blocks their Input Tax Credit claim
Create Compliant Invoices Automatically
Manually maintaining invoice formats is error-prone. Bizflow auto-fills HSN codes, validates GSTINs, and applies the correct tax rates based on your product catalog — so every invoice is compliant from day one.