What must a GST tax invoice contain? A checklist for a small shop or salon

Who this is for

This guide summarises Rule 46 of the CGST Rules, which sets out what a tax invoice must contain. It is a plain-words summary of the official text on the CBIC portal, not tax advice. Your CA should confirm what applies to your business, because the rules have been amended over time.

The checklist, in the order the rule lists it

1. Your name, address and GSTIN.
2. A consecutive serial number, not more than sixteen characters, that is unique within the financial year.
3. The date of issue.
4. The customer's name, address and GSTIN or UIN, if the customer is registered.
5. If the customer is not registered: for a taxable value of fifty thousand rupees or more, the customer's name, address, delivery address and the State name and code. Below fifty thousand rupees, those details are needed only if the customer asks for them.
6. The HSN code and a description of the goods or services.
7. The quantity and unit for goods.
8. The total value of the supply, and the taxable value after any discount.
9. The rate of tax and the amount of tax charged, shown by type (central, State, integrated, Union territory or cess).
10. For inter-State supplies, the place of supply with the name of the State.
11. The delivery address, if it is different from the place of supply.
12. Whether tax is payable on a reverse-charge basis.
13. Your signature or a digital signature, or your authorised representative's.

Things that often cause confusion

An electronic invoice issued under the IT Act does not need your signature. Where an e-invoice is issued under Rule 48(4), the invoice carries a QR code with the Invoice Reference Number, and the rule lists that as a required particular.

For customers who are not registered and do not need an invoice, the rule allows a consolidated invoice at the end of each day. The official page notes that a related monthly consolidated provision was omitted from 1 November 2024, which is one reason to check the current text with your CA rather than an old checklist.

A simple habit (our advice)

Make one invoice template that already has your name, address and GSTIN, a numbering series that cannot repeat, and all the columns above, so staff only fill in the customer and the items. Keep a copy of every invoice. If your billing software prints the fields for you, check one printed invoice against this list once a year.

Check one of your printed invoices against the list, and ask your CA about anything missing.

How this post was made: an AI drafted it from the official pages listed under Sources, every figure was checked against those pages, and the Reveaxa team approved it before it was published. Our own advice is marked as such. If a source changes, we update the post and its date.

Reveaxa guide reference: RVX-B-gst-tax-invoice-checklist-small-business