The HSN summary report is your sales for a period grouped by HSN code — the total quantity, taxable value and tax under each code. It is the figure set GSTR-1 Table 12 asks for, so on filing day you read it off the report instead of adding up bills by hand. This guide explains what the HSN summary report holds, how many HSN digits you need, and how a small shop gets it in seconds.
It is filing season as we write this: for monthly filers GSTR-1 is usually due around the 11th of the next month, and for quarterly (QRMP) filers around the 13th of the month after the quarter ends — always confirm the current date on gst.gov.in, since extensions happen.
What is Table 12, and where the HSN summary fits
GSTR-1 is your return of outward supplies — the sales you made. Most of it lists bills. Table 12 is different: it does not care about individual invoices at all. It asks you to summarise the whole period by HSN code — one row per code, with the totals rolled up.
An HSN code is the standard code that describes what you sell (see our guide to the HSN code for grocery items for how codes map to your shelf). Table 12 is where those codes come back on the return. That is why a billing tool keeps an HSN summary report: it is the bridge between the bills you raised and the one table on GSTR-1 that is organised by product, not by customer.
Since the May 2025 return period the portal split Table 12 into two tabs — one for B2B supplies and one for B2C — and it no longer lets you type an HSN by hand; you pick each code from a dropdown. Treat these as the current shape but confirm the live behaviour on gst.gov.in when you file, as the portal keeps refining it.
What the HSN summary report contains
For each HSN code in the period, Table 12 (and any HSN summary that feeds it) carries:
| Column | What it means |
|---|---|
| HSN code | The code for the goods (or SAC for services). |
| Description | The standard description for that code. |
| UQC | Unit Quantity Code — the unit, e.g. KGS, PCS, LTR. |
| Total quantity | The quantity sold under that code across all bills. |
| Taxable value | Value after any discount, before tax. |
| Tax amounts | IGST, or CGST + SGST, plus cess if any. |
Whether a row shows CGST + SGST or IGST depends on where those sales went. Within your own state the tax splits into CGST and SGST; to another state it is a single IGST. (Our note on CGST, SGST and IGST covers the split.) The summary just totals whatever each bill charged.
How many HSN digits do you need?
The number of digits is tied to your aggregate annual turnover. Broadly:
- Up to ₹5 crore — 4-digit HSN.
- Above ₹5 crore — 6-digit HSN.
Import/export lines can need 8 digits. These thresholds come from the CGST notifications and do get revised, so confirm the current rule on gst.gov.in or with your CA rather than assuming a digit count. Reporting is required for B2B lines; for B2C, small shops below ₹5 crore have had some relaxation, but the portal has been tightening this — check what applies to you before you file.
A worked HSN summary (Coimbatore kirana)
Take Meena’s provisions store in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Over the period she made many bills, but Table 12 only wants the totals by HSN. Say her sales boil down to two codes (rates shown are illustrative — confirm each on cbic.gov.in):
| HSN | Item | UQC | Qty | Taxable value | Rate | CGST | SGST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1006 | Rice | KGS | 100 | ₹5,000 | 5% | ₹125 | ₹125 |
| 3401 | Soap | PCS | 50 | ₹4,000 | 18% | ₹360 | ₹360 |
Re-adding every column: taxable value ₹9,000, CGST ₹485, SGST ₹485, total tax ₹970, so the sales carried ₹9,970 including tax. Those five numbers are what go against Table 12 — not the dozens of individual bills behind them. Note the rice row’s 100 kg might be spread over twenty different bills; Table 12 does not care, and neither does the report. If any of those sales had gone to a customer in Kerala, that slice would appear as IGST (5% or 18% of its taxable value) instead of the CGST + SGST split, in the same HSN row.
How Yojika builds the HSN summary for you
You add an HSN code to an item once, when you create it. From then on it rides along on every bill and lands in the right place. To get the report:
- Open Reports and go to the GST group.
- Pick your period — the month or quarter you are filing.
- Open HSN summary.
Yojika groups the period’s sales by HSN and totals the quantity, taxable value and tax for each — the exact rows above, computed from your real bills. You can export it as CSV, PDF or Excel to keep alongside your filing. Unlike the GSTR-1 JSON download (which must match one whole finished month or quarter), the HSN summary will show any period you ask for, so you can sanity-check the current month long before it is due.
One honest point: Yojika prepares these figures; it does not file your return. You still upload and submit on the GST portal yourself — Yojika is not a GSP, an e-invoice bridge or an e-way bill tool. What it removes is the manual grouping and arithmetic, which is where Table 12 usually goes wrong. When you are ready to file, the companion GSTR-1 export turns the same period into a portal-ready JSON, and our GSTR-1 due date guide keeps you ahead of the deadline.
Get Table 12 right without the adding-up
If HSN codes live on your items, the summary is one screen and a copy across — no spreadsheet, no re-tallying. Yojika keeps every bill on your own PC, works offline, and prepares the GST figures for you. See how it handles GST and reports, what a licence costs, or download the 14-day trial and check your own HSN summary before the next 11th.
This article is general guidance, not tax advice. GST rules and rates change — verify the current position on gst.gov.in / cbic.gov.in or with your CA before you file.