GST tax invoice checklist: what to check before you book a purchase invoice

A GST tax invoice must carry the particulars listed in Rule 46 of the CGST Rules, 2017. For a B2B purchase of goods, accounts payable should be able to tick every line of this checklist before an invoice is posted:

• Supplier's name, address and GSTIN.
• A consecutive serial number of up to 16 characters, using letters, numbers, hyphens or slashes, unique for the financial year.
• Date of issue.
• Recipient's name, address and GSTIN.
• HSN code of the goods: at least 4 digits if the supplier's aggregate turnover in the previous financial year was up to ₹5 crore, and 6 digits above that.
• Description of the goods.
• Quantity and unit, or unique quantity code.
• Total value of the supply.
• Taxable value, after any discount.
• Rate and amount of tax, shown separately for central tax, state or Union territory tax, integrated tax and cess.
• Place of supply, with the name of the state, for inter-state supplies.
• Delivery address, where it differs from the place of supply.
• Whether tax is payable on reverse charge.
• Signature or digital signature of the supplier or its authorised representative. An electronic invoice issued under the Information Technology Act doesn't need one.

Beyond the Rule 46 particulars, accounts payable should check that the invoice matches what was ordered, what was received, and the supplier's GST record. Run these checks before posting, because errors are cheapest to fix while the supplier is still waiting to be paid.

1. The supplier's GSTIN is active. Search it on the GST portal and confirm the legal name matches your vendor master and the registration isn't cancelled or suspended.
2. Your GSTIN is the right one. A business with plants in more than one state holds a separate GSTIN in each. The invoice must carry the GSTIN of the plant that received the goods.
3. The tax type matches the place of supply. Goods moving within a state carry CGST and SGST; goods moving between states carry IGST. A Delhi vendor delivering to a plant in Noida or Gurugram should charge IGST.
4. The HSN code and rate are right for the item, and the same as on earlier invoices for it.
5. Price and quantity match the PO, and quantity matches the GRN. Short or rejected quantities need a credit note from the supplier, not a note in the margin.
6. The arithmetic is right: taxable value times rate equals tax, and the totals add up.
7. The IRN and QR code are present where the supplier must e-invoice (see below).
8. It isn't a duplicate. The same supplier invoice number hasn't already been booked this financial year.

These checks are the invoice side of a three-way match: the PO, the GRN and the invoice must agree before payment.

Under Section 16 of the CGST Act, you can claim input tax credit on a purchase only if all of these conditions are met:

• You hold a tax invoice or debit note issued by a registered supplier.
• The supplier has reported the invoice in its GSTR-1 and it has been communicated to you, which in practice means it appears in your GSTR-2B.
• You have received the goods. For goods received in lots, credit is available when the last lot arrives. Goods delivered to someone else on your instruction (bill to you, ship to them) count as received.
• The credit has not been restricted in your GSTR-2B.
• The supplier has actually paid the tax to the government.
• You have filed your own GSTR-3B return.

Two time conditions also apply. If you don't pay the supplier the value and the tax within 180 days of the invoice date, the credit must be reversed with interest; it can be claimed again once you pay. And credit for an invoice can't be claimed after 30 November following the end of the financial year it belongs to, or after you file the annual return for that year, whichever is earlier.

Some purchases are blocked from credit altogether under Section 17(5), whatever the invoice says. Your tax team will know which apply to you.

GSTR-2B is the monthly statement of input tax credit generated for each GSTIN from your suppliers' filings, made available on the 14th of the following month. Since 1 January 2022, credit can be claimed only on invoices that appear in it, so the monthly match decides how much credit you can take.

1. Download GSTR-2B for each GSTIN and match it against your purchase register by supplier GSTIN, invoice number, date and tax amount.
2. Sort mismatches into three groups: in your books but not in GSTR-2B, in GSTR-2B but not in your books, and in both with different values.
3. For invoices missing from GSTR-2B, ask the supplier to report them in GSTR-1. Hold the credit until they appear, then claim it in that month, within the time limit.
4. For invoices in GSTR-2B that you don't recognise, check whether the goods went to another plant, or whether your GSTIN was used in error.
5. Keep a list of suppliers who repeatedly file late, and share it with purchase.

Since October 2024, the GST portal's Invoice Management System (IMS) has let recipients accept, reject or keep pending each supplier invoice before GSTR-2B is generated. Rejecting a wrong invoice there is cleaner than reversing credit later.

E-invoicing

Since 1 August 2023, e-invoicing has been mandatory for a supplier whose aggregate turnover in any financial year from 2017-18 onwards exceeded ₹5 crore. It applies to B2B invoices, credit and debit notes, and exports. The supplier reports the invoice to the Invoice Registration Portal, which returns a 64-character Invoice Reference Number (IRN) and a signed QR code for the invoice. Some sectors are exempt, including SEZ units, banks and other financial institutions, insurers, goods transport agencies and passenger transport services.

For the buyer, the rule is simple. If the supplier is required to e-invoice, an invoice issued without an IRN is not treated as an invoice under Rule 48(5), and credit on it is at risk. Check the IRN and QR code are there; the QR code can be scanned to verify the IRN. An e-invoice can be cancelled on the portal only within 24 hours of generation, so later corrections need a credit or debit note.

E-way bills

An e-way bill must be generated before goods move when the consignment value exceeds ₹50,000. The consignment value includes GST and excludes any exempt goods on the same invoice. Some states set a higher limit for movement within the state, so check the rule for the states your goods travel between.

The e-way bill is generated by whoever causes the movement: usually the supplier or its transporter, or you, if you send your own vehicle. Validity is one day for every 200 km for normal cargo. Goods moving without a required e-way bill can be detained, which hurts most when the consignment is a breakdown spare.

The commonest invoice errors are predictable, and each has a standard fix: the supplier corrects it through a credit note, a debit note, a GSTR-1 amendment or a fresh invoice. Don't alter an invoice by hand or adjust it only in your own books.

For orders supplied through GODOWN, every delivery is tracked to your gate and comes with a GST tax invoice tied to its PO, so accounts payable matches against one supplier instead of dozens. The platform is customised to your workflow and works alongside your ERP. See Delivery & GRN.