GST Invoice Format: What Every Tax Invoice Must Show (and How BizBahi Fills It)

Details a GST tax invoice must show

• Your name, address and GSTIN (the seller).
• An invoice number: a consecutive serial number of up to 16 characters, unique for the financial year. Only letters, numbers, hyphen (-) and slash (/) are allowed.
• The date of issue.
• The buyer's name, address and GSTIN if the buyer is registered.
• For an unregistered buyer, when the taxable value is ₹50,000 or more: the buyer's name and address, and the delivery address with state name and state code.
• HSN code for goods or SAC code for services (see the HSN section below).
• Description, quantity and unit of each item.
• Total value, and the taxable value after any discount.
• GST rate and tax amount, shown as CGST + SGST (or UTGST) for a sale inside your state, or IGST for a sale to another state, plus cess if any.
• Place of supply with the state name, for sales to another state.
• The delivery address, if it is different from the place of supply.
• Whether tax is payable on reverse charge.
• Signature or digital signature of the seller or an authorised person.

How BizBahi fills these details on every bill

• Seller name, address and GSTIN come from Settings → Business and print at the top of every invoice.
• Invoice numbers run in series from the prefix, starting number and financial year you set once in invoice settings.
• Buyer name, address and GSTIN come from the customer you pick. A walk-in customer can be billed without these.
• HSN/SAC, quantity, unit, rate, discount, taxable value and GST % are printed per item from your products. The HSN / SAC column can be turned on in the print settings.
• BizBahi chooses CGST + SGST or IGST by itself by comparing your state with the place of supply (the customer's state). An HSN-wise tax summary can also be printed below the items (turn it on in the print settings).
• Place of supply is printed on the bill, with the state code in the grid design.
• The total is printed in words, and you can add your signature or stamp image and your own terms in the print settings.
• For an inter-state or high-value sale you can add a ship-to address and the e-way bill number; see the e-way bill and e-Invoice JSON guide.

Tax invoice or bill of supply?

A registered business charging GST issues a tax invoice. A bill of supply is issued when no GST is charged: by a business under the composition scheme, or for exempt goods and services. A bill of supply has no tax columns.

In BizBahi, the document is titled Tax Invoice when your GSTIN is filled in Settings → Business, and Bill of Supply when it is not. If you are under the composition scheme, GST rules also ask you to write "composition taxable person, not eligible to collect tax on supplies" on the bill. BizBahi does not add this line by itself, so put it in Terms & conditions (printed on documents) in Settings.

How many HSN digits you need

• Turnover up to ₹5 crore in the last financial year: a 4-digit HSN code is mandatory on B2B bills (buyer with GSTIN). On B2C bills it is optional.
• Turnover above ₹5 crore: a 6-digit HSN code on all tax invoices.
• Services use SAC codes, which start with 99.

Original, duplicate and triplicate copies

For goods, GST Rule 48 asks for three copies: Original for recipient, Duplicate for transporter and Triplicate for supplier. For services, two copies (original and duplicate) are enough.

In BizBahi's print settings you choose which copies to print. Each copy starts on a new page with its label, for example ORIGINAL FOR RECIPIENT, so you can print all three in one go.

Small bills and walk-in customers

GST rules allow a shop not to issue a separate tax invoice for a sale below ₹200 to an unregistered buyer who does not ask for one, as long as you make one consolidated invoice for such sales at the end of each day. Many shops still give a bill for every sale, which is simpler to keep track of.

With BizBahi you can bill a walk-in customer in a few taps and print a short receipt on a 58mm or 80mm thermal printer. See the thermal printer billing guide and the Hinglish guide on kirana shop ka GST bill kaise banaye.

Common GST invoice mistakes to avoid

• Charging CGST + SGST on a sale to another state (it should be IGST), or the other way round. Pick the customer's correct state so the place of supply is right.
• Missing or wrong buyer GSTIN on a B2B bill, so the buyer cannot claim input tax credit.
• Invoice numbers that repeat or skip in the same financial year.
• No HSN code on B2B bills.
• Issuing a tax invoice and charging GST while under the composition scheme.

Is there one official GST invoice format?

No. GST law does not give one fixed design. It lists the details a tax invoice must show (Rule 46 of the CGST Rules). Any layout that shows all of them is fine, which is why BizBahi offers several print designs.

Can I make a GST bill without the customer's GSTIN?

Yes. A sale to an unregistered customer is a B2C bill and does not need the buyer's GSTIN. For B2C sales of ₹50,000 or more, the buyer's name, address and delivery address with state are needed.

How long can a GST invoice number be?

Up to 16 characters, using letters, numbers, hyphen and slash, and it must be unique in the financial year. In BizBahi you set the prefix and starting number once, and every bill gets the next number.

Does BizBahi decide between IGST and CGST + SGST?

Yes. It compares your business state with the place of supply (the customer's state) and applies IGST for another state or CGST + SGST for your own state.

Can I print a GST invoice on a thermal printer?

Yes. BizBahi prints receipts on 58mm and 80mm thermal printers, and A4 or A5 invoices on normal printers. The same bill details are used in every format.