GST Invoice
GST Invoice — a tax invoice issued under India's GST law that includes mandatory fields like GSTIN, HSN/SAC codes, place of supply, and applicable tax rates.
What is a GST Invoice?
A GST Invoice is the tax invoice issued under India’s Goods and Services Tax regime when a registered business supplies goods or services to another party. For logistics, a GST Invoice is what a transporter issues to a customer (typically the consignor) for the freight services rendered.
Mandatory fields on a GST Invoice
The GST law specifies the minimum content for a valid tax invoice:
- Name, address, and GSTIN of the supplier (transporter)
- Consecutive serial number, unique per financial year
- Date of issue
- Name, address, and GSTIN of the recipient (customer)
- Place of supply (state) — critical for IGST vs. CGST+SGST determination
- HSN / SAC code for the service or goods
- Description, quantity, unit, and total value
- Taxable value, GST rate(s) applied, and tax amount
- Signature or digital signature of the supplier
Missing any of these can invalidate the invoice — meaning the customer can refuse it or be denied input tax credit.
GST Invoice vs. E-Invoice
A regular GST Invoice is what businesses with turnover below ₹5 Cr issue. Businesses above that threshold must additionally generate an E-Invoice — a JSON-format invoice validated by the GST Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) and assigned an IRN (Invoice Reference Number) and QR code.
The E-Invoice is the underlying compliance layer; the PDF GST Invoice you actually send the customer carries the IRN and QR code printed on it.
Common GST Invoice mistakes in logistics
- Wrong HSN / SAC code for the freight service (5%, 12%, and 18% have different SAC codes)
- Place of supply mis-stated, causing IGST vs. CGST+SGST classification errors
- Mismatch between e-way bill data and invoice data
- Missing GSTIN of the recipient (means B2C treatment, no input credit)
- Late issue beyond the statutory window
How HashTMS handles GST Invoicing
HashTMS issues fully GST-compliant invoices in a single click from completed trips. HSN/SAC codes are pre-mapped per service type, place of supply is derived from origin/destination, e-invoice generation is integrated with the IRP for businesses above the threshold, and reconciliation against trip data prevents data mismatches with e-way bills.