To make a GST bill, you issue a tax invoice that carries a fixed set of details — your shop’s GSTIN, a unique invoice number, each item with its HSN code and tax, and the correct CGST/SGST or IGST split for the sale. This guide shows you how to make a GST bill step by step, with a worked small-shop example, the invoice-numbering rule, and the mistakes that cause trouble at return-filing time.
What you need before you start
Before you write a single bill, keep these ready:
- Your shop’s GSTIN and registered address.
- A running invoice number series for the current financial year.
- Each item’s HSN code and its GST rate.
- The customer’s state (the place of supply) — this decides the tax type.
How to make a GST bill, step by step
- Add your shop details. Print your shop name, address and GSTIN at the top. This identifies you as a registered supplier.
- Give the bill a number and date. Use the next number in your series and today’s date in DD/MM/YYYY format.
- Add the buyer. For a business (B2B) sale, record the buyer’s name, address and GSTIN. For an ordinary walk-in customer, a name is enough — but if the sale is ₹50,000 or more you must record their name, address and state.
- List each item. Write the description, HSN code, quantity and rate, then the taxable value (item value after any discount).
- Apply the tax. Work out whether the sale is intra-state or inter-state, then add the CGST + SGST or IGST lines (explained below).
- Total it up. Add the taxable value and the tax, round to the nearest rupee, and show the final amount. Sign the bill.
The mandatory fields of a GST tax invoice
Under Rule 46 of the CGST Rules (reference on cbic.gov.in), a tax invoice for goods should carry these particulars:
| # | Field | Note for a small shop |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shop name, address & GSTIN | Printed once at the top. |
| 2 | Invoice number | Unique and consecutive for the year; up to 16 characters. |
| 3 | Date of issue | DD/MM/YYYY. |
| 4 | Buyer’s name, address & GSTIN | GSTIN only if the buyer is registered (B2B). |
| 5 | HSN code of each item | 4 or 6 digits by turnover — see below. |
| 6 | Description, quantity & unit | e.g. “Notebook, 10 pcs”. |
| 7 | Taxable value | Item value after any per-item discount. |
| 8 | Tax rate & amount | CGST + SGST, or IGST. |
| 9 | Place of supply | The buyer’s state — decides the split. |
| 10 | Reverse charge | For ordinary retail sales this is normally “No”. |
| 11 | Signature | Physical or digital signature of the supplier. |
On HSN digits: as per Notification 78/2020 – Central Tax, shops with aggregate turnover up to ₹5 crore report a 4-digit HSN code and those above ₹5 crore report 6 digits. Rules can change, so confirm the current requirement on gst.gov.in or with your CA.
CGST + SGST or IGST? The rule that decides your bill
The tax you charge depends on where the sale is supplied, not where the buyer is standing:
- Same state (intra-state): split the GST into CGST + SGST, each at half the rate.
- Different state (inter-state): charge a single IGST at the full rate.
A worked example
Meena runs a stationery shop in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She sells 10 notebooks at ₹50 each to a walk-in customer, also in Tamil Nadu. Say the notebooks are taxed at 12% (always confirm the current rate for your goods).
- Taxable value = 10 × ₹50 = ₹500.
- It’s an intra-state sale, so 12% splits into CGST 6% = ₹30 and SGST 6% = ₹30.
- Invoice total = ₹500 + ₹30 + ₹30 = ₹560.
If the same order went to a customer in Kerala, it would be inter-state: IGST 12% = ₹60, and the total is still ₹560 — but shown as one IGST line, not two.
Invoice numbering: keep it clean for the whole year
Your invoice numbers must be unique and consecutive within a financial year (in India,
1 April → 31 March), and the serial can be up to 16 characters. A common, safe format
is a prefix + the year + a running number that resets to 0001 each 1 April:
INV2026-27/0001
INV2026-27/0002
...
Skipping or repeating numbers is what causes mismatches when you file returns, so it is worth automating.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Wrong tax type. Charging CGST + SGST on an inter-state sale (or IGST on a local one).
- Broken numbering. Gaps or duplicate invoice numbers across the year.
- Missing place of supply. Without it, the correct split can’t be proven.
- No HSN, or the wrong number of digits for your turnover band.
- Rounding mid-calculation. Round only the final total, to the nearest rupee.
Making the bill without the headache
You can produce all of the above by hand or in a spreadsheet. The reason most shops don’t is speed and accuracy at the counter: the tax split, HSN, and running invoice number have to be right on every sale, in the language your customers read, on whatever printer you own.
Yojika is built for exactly this. It’s offline-first GST billing software for Indian small shops: the tax engine handles the CGST/SGST/IGST split automatically from the place of supply, invoice numbering resets correctly each financial year, and you can print to A4, A5, or a thermal receipt printer — with invoices available in all 22 official Indian languages. Your business data stays on your own PC, not in someone’s cloud.
- See what’s included on the features page.
- Or download Yojika and try it free for 14 days.
New to this? Start with our companion guide to the GST invoice format for small shops, which breaks down every mandatory field in detail.
This article is general information, not tax advice. GST rules, rates and thresholds change — confirm the current position on gst.gov.in or with your CA.