India's New GST Invoice Format

Hello @lubos

In India the tax system is changing from July this year. And the requirements for a legally accepted invoice is changed. Even though the invoice layout can be customized, there will be some complications regarding the new invoice format that is needed.

A lot of customization will be necessary from the user side regarding the number of columns and their content. It shall be a great help for the Indian users if you could come up with an update regarding this.

I shall try to update you with any latest info available regarding this from time to time.

NOTE: The same shall be applicable to purchase invoices too.

**EDIT 1:

As per latest update received,

The invoice shall be prepared in triplicate, in case of supply of goods, in the following manner:
–
(a)
the original copy being marked as ORIGINAL FOR RECIPIENT;
(b)
the duplicate copy being marked as DUPLICATE FOR TRANSPORTER; and
(c)
the triplicate copy being marked as TRIPLICATE FOR SUPPLIER. **

Please follow the link for complete details.

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Holy Macroni, gst on top of gst’ed item. :scream:

@lubos are you working on this ??
as GST will be applied within less than a month in india .
and we have no idea how to customize manager to show taxable amount per item .

thanks in advance for your reply.

If this is being worked upon, I would like to bring to your notice another post too which will be related…

Can someone narrow down what is Manager missing right now that needs to be added? I’m looking to find out what’s minimal viable layout. Not an example which has so much information it hardly fits A4 with just two line items.

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Thanks @lubos

is it possible to implement something in options where we can choose what fields should be displayed as column on the invoice? if so it would be helpful if all the above headings in the sample invoice above are available to choose from…

Else,

  1. The item code column can be made to display the HSN code in the invoice while printing. The HSN code can be saved while creating the inventory item.
  2. A drop down menu in the column to select the unit of goods at each line.
  3. The discount column can be displayed optional as needed from the settings which when not displayed will also eliminate the need of ‘Total’ column, only the ‘Taxable Value’ shall be displayed.
  4. The tax name can be saved with the tax rate so that we can eliminate the need of sub-columns under them. Just a column with the tax heading and the tax value to be shown. All the tax columns need to be displayed even if the tax rates are set as a multiple tax.
  5. The subtotal of all values can be implemented as a row below like in the example to show the subtotal of value of goods and the tax values under each tax rate.
  6. The rest can be implemented like we do already with custom fields and placements.
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Are you saying, every invoice in India must show HSN code for each line item you sell? Or is it applicable only under certain circumstances?

Well that is what the notification received says… Even we would like to keep the invoice layout minimal and tidy… but when the govt says so we have to do what they say…

The HSN code is being implemented at present based on the annual turnover of a company which decides whether we should mention them on the invoice or not… but as a global rule it will be mandatory sooner or later for everyone…

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What if you sell unique product which you have created yourself? Do you have to register it with government to obtain HSN code for that product?

Anyway, I think HSN code column could be solved by creating “Inventory Item” or “Non-inventory item” with custom field HSN and mark this custom field to show on printed documents. Then “HNS” column will appear on quotes, invoices, orders etc.

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i am not sure about unique products @lubos. I guess they will have to be classified under an HSN code which would closely relate to the product. Anyway that is a headache for us doing the business.

Regarding this, if the item code is still printed along with the HSN code i guess that would create space issues since we need so many columns to be implemented now. Is it possible if we can optionally disable to print the item code as most of use the same to enter the product name which can still be inserted in the description field itself.

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Code column won’t show if you are not using it. When creating inventory or non-inventory items, leave Code field empty, then it won’t show on invoices.

When maintaining an inventory, if the code column is empty then do we have any workaround to select the inventory item while making an invoice? i tried typing in the description area but the inventory items do not come up…

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Sorry I got that fixed. We just need to enter and save in the ‘ITEM NAME’ field while leaving the ‘ITEM CODE’ blank and still select the item while making the invoice.

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@lubos
thanks for your reply !
but what about tax charged per item ?
is there any way to show tax charged per item in invoice?

You mean the actual amount? Is it required by law?

If you answer “yes”, do you have any reference?

Yes @lubos

It is required by law. That is the main reason I gave you the sample invoice in the first place. The scope of customization from our side is only half of what is actually required. We need help with the remaining.

Now that we are clear with implementing the HSN code column, we need help with the others.

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OK, you’ve answered “yes” but you didn’t provide any reference.

I am sorry but i guess i do not understand what you mean by reference… :confused:

Can you please explain so that i can help you in a way possible from my side

Reference means you refer to some reputable source to support what you are claiming. In this case, you are claiming tax amount must be shown on each line item.

Thanks… Now i understood…
Please check the below.
http://www.cbec.gov.in/resources//htdocs-cbec/gst/draft-formats-under-invoice-rules.pdf;jsessionid=98D31C5AB7F13582EA237998A6A3776F

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