CGST Act · Chapter VII
Tax Invoice Credit and Debit Notes
s. 31Tax invoice
The tax invoice is the document on which GST turns: it fixes the time of supply, it carries the tax, and it is the recipient's passport to credit. Section 31 sets when it must be issued, and the special documents that replace or supplement it.
- Under section 31(1) of the CGST Act, 2017 an invoice for goods must be issued before or at the time of removal for supply (or delivery, where there is no movement).
- An invoice for services must be issued within the prescribed period — generally thirty days of supply (Rule 47).
- A recipient paying reverse charge on supplies from an unregistered supplier must issue a self-invoice — from 01.11.2024 within thirty days of receipt (Rule 47A) — and a payment voucher on payment.
- E-invoicing on the Invoice Registration Portal applies to businesses with aggregate turnover above Rs. 5 crore in any year since 2017–18 (Rule 48(4)).
s. 31ADigital payment facility
Section 31A is a nudge towards traceable payments: businesses of a prescribed class must give their customers the option to pay electronically.
- Section 31A of the CGST Act, 2017, in force from 01.01.2020, lets the Government prescribe a class of registered persons who must offer prescribed modes of electronic payment to recipients.
- Registered persons with aggregate turnover above Rs. 500 crore must print a dynamic QR code on B2C invoices (Rule 46, Notification 14/2020-Central Tax).
s. 32Prohibition of unauthorised collection
Section 32 protects customers from being charged a "tax" that is not owed or will not reach the Government.
- Under section 32 of the CGST Act, 2017 a person who is not registered must not collect any amount by way of GST.
- A registered person may collect tax only in accordance with the Act and rules — so composition taxpayers and suppliers of exempt goods may not charge it.
- Any amount collected as tax but not paid to the Government must be paid over under section 76.
s. 33Tax amount on invoice
Section 33 is a transparency rule: where tax is part of the price, the customer must be able to see it.
- Under section 33 of the CGST Act, 2017, where a supply is made for consideration, the person liable to pay tax must prominently indicate the amount of tax forming part of the price in all documents relating to assessment, tax invoice and similar documents.
s. 34Credit and debit notes
Section 34 lets a supplier correct an invoice after the event — down by a credit note, up by a debit note. A credit note reduces the supplier's tax only within a time limit, and since 01.10.2025 only if the recipient has reversed the matching credit.
- Under section 34(1) of the CGST Act, 2017 a supplier may issue credit notes where the invoiced value or tax exceeds what was payable, goods are returned, or supplies are found deficient — one or more for supplies of a financial year.
- A credit note must be declared by 30 November following the end of the financial year of the supply, or the annual return if earlier.
- From 01.10.2025, the supplier's tax is not reduced unless the registered recipient has reversed the credit attributable to the credit note; for unregistered recipients, unless the tax incidence has not been passed on (proviso to section 34(2)).
- The Finance Act, 2026 adds post-sale discounts under section 15(3)(b) as a ground for credit notes, but that change has not yet been brought into force.
- A debit note is issued where the invoiced value or tax is less than payable; it includes a supplementary invoice.