by GST is a regime that has brought a revolution in the world of taxation. It has had an impact on pretty much every industry. Whether it is the impact of GST on real estate, manufacturing, production, media, entertainment, IT, or any other industry, advantages, and disadvantages, we can see both significantly. And although the compliances have become lesser, they have got stricter too. Earlier, when you could tamper with the invoices, that is not possible now. There is a proper GST Invoice format in excel that you need to follow and make valid invoices
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What is GST Invoice?
A GST invoice is basically a legal proof of the transactions you have done in the course of your business operations. It is a receipt that contains a list of your products or services with their prices and GST rates applicable to them. The net amount inclusive of GST shall show at the bottom of this receipt. In a simple and common language, you can call this a bill.
Every business registered under GST has to issue this invoice mandatorily and as per the prescribed format. In case of any failure to issue an invoice, strict penalties are levied on the defaulting business.
Format of Invoice
There is a specified format of the invoice which details the fields that your invoice must have. First of all, the date of the supply of goods or services must be mentioned on the invoice. The invoice must also show the day. Next comes the customer’s name, address, and GSTIN. Then is the list of products along with prices, quantity, unit value, and other important descriptions. The GST rates shall also be mentioned, and it shall be indicated if they are payable on a reverse charge basis. The invoice also needs to be authenticated with the supplier’s signature. This can also be done online using the emsigner for GST from where you can put your digital signature on your documents.
The format for this invoice is made in excel, which is easy for you to follow. You only have to enter the values, rest assured.
What Invoices are Issued Under GST?
There are many invoices issued under the GST Act. And you have to be in strict compliance with all of them.
Here is a comprehensive list of the invoices you are required to issue as a registered supplier or service provider in the GST Act.
Bill of Supply
This is just like a GST invoice, but for the instances where the GST is not chargeable. The supplier can not issue an invoice containing GST rates where they are not applicable. But still, an invoice is needed for proof of the transactions. So, instead of a GST invoice, the buyer issues a simple bill of supply. It contains the list of products and their prices against them.
Aggregate Invoice
It can be cumbersome to issue separate invoices of small values. So, to ease this out, the GST Act has introduced aggregate invoices. In this, you can issue one single invoice for separate bills of value less than 200. This means that if you have, for instance, five invoices, all of the values less than Rs. 200, you can just combine all the invoices and issue one single invoice against it.
Debit Note
It sometimes happens that we buy a product, but then we want to get it replaced, and the replaced product is of a higher value. In this case, the seller needs to increase the value of the invoice. But instead of making the invoice all over again, the seller simply issues a debit note indicating the extra upper price that needs the buyer need to pay.
Credit Note
This is the opposite of debit notes. Here the value of the invoice decreases. But again, instead of creating a new invoice, the buyer issues a simple credit note to the seller for the value that the seller needs to pay back to the buyer.
Importance of Invoice
An invoice is an extremely important requirement for you to run your business smoothly. It is proof you have to show compliance with the law. Apart from that, there are some more reasons that we can attribute to the importance of compliance.
A Proof of Transactions
An invoice systematically records all your transactions. Thus, it is a proof of the transactions you are making in your business. This proof is important to keep a check on your operations. It is also important from the legal point of view since all your transactions are tallied against your invoices.
A Check on Stock
With an invoice, you will have a record of your transactions. This will help when you are performing a physical verification of your stocks. You can easily tally how much stock has been sold, how much stock has been purchased, and even if there is any discrepancy, you can detect it in a matter of minutes. This keeps a check on frauds and cheats within the organization.
Shows Profit or Loss
With a proper record of your invoices, you can prepare your financial accounts, which will show you your profit and loss. This will help you monitor them and take actions to achieve better profits or overcome the losses.
Conclusion
So, these were the invoices or bills that you must issue under the GST Act, depending upon the situation. Also, it is very critical that you follow the GST Invoice Format in Excel while issuing these invoices. They are of utmost importance and can help a long way in overcoming the impact of GST on real estate, manufacturing, production, IT, or any other industry. Not only that, maintaining invoices will keep you in compliance with laws, and you will save yourself from strict penalties. You shall have the proof of your transactions. Moreover, you can monitor your operations better with the ability to verify and check. With invoices, you can essentially take a step towards getting more profits and more growth. So, always issue your invoices and take the essential step you need towards growth.
