An invoice is a key element of the sales process. It is the prime document that serves as a bill for the service/s or product/s your business has provided. As per GST laws, every supplier who has acquired GST registration in India has to issue an invoice in the pre-notified format, while supplying goods or services. Meaning every business transaction affected by nature involving removal of goods for supply to recipient or provision of service to the recipient can only be executed by the issue of invoices to the recipient, irrespective of whether such supplier operates such business online or offline.

As per GST Invoice rules, a GST invoice or tax invoice issued by the supplier shall contain the following details-

1. GSTIN of the supplier, Name of the firm or business, and address
2. A consecutive serial number containing only alphabets and/or numerals, unique for a financial year,
3. Date of its issue,
4. Name, address and GSTIN/ Unique ID Number, if registered, of the recipient,
5. Containing the following details: –
1. GSTIN, name and address of the recipient and the address of delivery
2. the name of State and its code,
3. if such recipient is unregistered, and
4. where the taxable value of supply is fifty thousand rupees or more,
6. HSN code of goods or accounting code of services,
7. Description of goods or services,
8. Quantity in case of goods and unit or Unique Quantity Code thereof,
9. The total value of goods or services,
10. The taxable value of goods or services considering discount or abatement, if any,
11. Rate of tax (CGST, SGST or IGST),
12. Amount of tax charged in respect of taxable goods or services (CGST, SGST or IGST),
13. Place of supply along with the name of State, in case of a supply during inter-State trade or commerce,
14. Place of delivery where the same is different from the place of supply,
15. Whether the tax is payable on reverse charge,
16. The word “Revised Invoice” or “Supplementary Invoice” indicated prominently, where applicable along with the date and invoice number of the original invoice, and
17. A signature or digital signature of the supplier or his authorized representative.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling a product or providing a service, the chances are you’ll need to issue an invoice somewhere along the line. Invoices help you get paid, so they’re pretty important.
Like a lot of things in life, timing is everything. It’s essential to think about when to invoice a customer, because that decision will be based on the type of product or service you’ve provided – and how often you provide it. First, let’s go over what exactly an invoice is and why they’re a great way to get paid.

After generating the return file in json format through Returns Offline tool, login to the for uploading the invoices. Ensure that you are connected to the Internet to upload the JSON file to the Portal. The serial number of all invoices issued during a tax period should be filed every month in FORM GSTR-1. Hence, GST invoicing plays a vital role in input tax credit claims for the counter-party.