Invoicing Under GST for Services

Ashish M. Shaji

16 Mar, 2023

Invoicing is a legal document used as confirmation for services supplied under the GST regime. The Central Government has notified the public on the rules of invoicing under GST Act and GST Inv-01. As per the GST rule, every supplier of services who have got GST Registration in India is required to issue an invoice within 30 days of rendering services and in the case of banks and NBFC 45 days.

Invoicing under the Current Service Tax Laws

In the current service tax laws, the format of invoicing is simple and there should be minimum details like the name and address of the service receiver, service tax registration number, address of the service provider, tax number of the service provider, service tax rate and tax amount i.e.  In the current laws invoice format, common for B2B service and B2C service.

Format of GST Tax Invoice

The tax invoice has to contain the following mandatory fields:

• Name and address and GSTIN of the supplier ;
• Date of Tax Invoice issuance;
• name and address of the service receiver;
• Accounting Code of services;
• Description of services;
• Value of the services;
• Taxable value of services;
• service tax rate and tax amount;
• Digital signature of supplier.

The Format of Service Tax Invoice: Invoicing under GST for Services

The Invoicing under GST laws has been defined, keeping in mind of further eligibility of input tax credit on the supply of services. There are two types of invoice under the CGST Act^[1].

• Tax invoice – A tax invoice has to be issued when there is taxable supply of services and the purchaser is registered under the GST Act and eligible for an input tax credit.

• Bill of Supply – Bill supply is issued when the service provider is not allowed to collect tax or rendering exempted supply of service or rendering service under composition scheme.

Is Issue of a Bill of Supply Mandatory?

If the aggregate supply of services is less than Rs. 10 lac, then there is no need to issue a bill of supply and above that, it’s mandatory to issue a bill of supply for services.

Time Limit for Issue of Invoice

Normal Supply – the tax invoice must be issued within 30 days from the date of the supply of services and if the supplier of any financial services by NBFC or a bank tax invoice must be issued within 45 days from the date of supply of service.

In the case of reverse charge liability – on the date of receipt of services from a person who is not required to be registered under GST Act.

How many copies of the GST Tax Invoices are required?

Original invoice: the supplier of service will issue an original invoice to the buyer of services. The buyer can keep invoice for the purpose of input tax credit. The serial number on an invoice should be unique and during the tax period, it should be submitted to GST portal in form of GSTR-1.

Duplicate copy: A duplicate copy of invoice has to be retained by the service provider and can be used for assessment and other compliance requirements.

Conclusion

It may be noted that a registered person may not issue tax invoice in case the value of goods or services or both supplied is less than 200 rupees. In case where a recipient is a registered person or if a recipient needs a tax invoice then the supplier can issue the same.

Read our article: Compliance Deadlines for Composition Taxpayers Relaxed