What is a Bill of Supply under GST?

What is Bill of Supply ?

Tax Invoice is issued in case a registered person is supplying taxable goods or services or both and also charge GST from customer.Same way, Bill of supply is issued instead of Tax Invoice in case a registered person supplying exempted goods or service or both or a registered person is paying tax under composition scheme.

Bill of supply issued by such persons does not contain the details pertaining to rate of tax and the amount of tax. Also, the value mentioned in the Bill of Supply is also not taxable value.


What are the differences between Tax Invoice and Bill of Supply?

Tax Invoice Bill of supply
It is issued in case of taxable supply. It is issued in case of exempt supply.
Input Tax Credit can be issued on the basis of Tax Invoice. Input Tax credit cannot be claimed on the basis of Bill of Supply.
Amount of tax & rate of  tax is mentioned on Tax Invoice. Amount of tax & rate of tax not mentioned on Bill of supply.
Composition dealer cannot issue a Tax invoice. Composition dealer issue Bill of supply.
In case the recipient is unregistered and value of supply is more than Rs. 50,000, in that case following information is mandatory on invoice :
  • Name & address of recipient
  • Address of delivery
  • Name of state and its code
No such information is required in case of Bill of supply

What is the format of Bill of supply ?

Now we will understand the content of Bill of supply.

1. Name, address & GSTIN of supplier 
2. Unique Serial No. for a financial year (not exceeding 16 characters) 
3. Date of issue
4. Name, address & GSTIN of the recipient
5. HSN code in case of goods or SAC code in case of services
6. Description of goods or services
7. Value of supply ( after discount, if any)
8. Signature or electronic signature  
format bill supply

What are some relaxation in case of Bill of supply ?

  • Value less than Rs. 200 : In case, where value of goods or services or both is less than Rs. 200 then Bill of supply is not required to issue.
  • Non-requirement of signature or digital signature :- When Bill of supply is issued digitally or electronically then there is no requirement of signature or digital signature. Many a times we come across the invoices which cary statement."This invoice is generated on computer. This does not require signature. "
  • Relaxation for serial No & address of customer : Considering the large amount of transactions in banking, insurance & passenger transportation sector, taxpayers need not to maintain the address of customer & serial no.
  • Deemed Bill of supply : In case of non-taxable supply (like petroleum, alcoholic liquor), tax invoice or other documents issued other any other act shall be considered as Bill of supply.
  • Consolidated bill of supply : When the value of goods or services supplied is less than Rs. 1200 then a seperate Bill of supply is not required if buyer does not demand it. A consolidated Bill of supply can be issued at the end of each day to each recipient separately.
  • Invoice-cum-bill of supply : When a registered person supply both taxable as well as exempted goods or services, then he can issue single ‘ Invoice cum bill of supply’
  • Relaxation in case of HSN Code or SAC : HSN code is 8 digit while SAC is 6 digit code. Relaxation is given for no. of digit of HSN code which is given below:
Turnover
Less than Rs. 1.5 crore HSN code not required
Between Rs.1.5 crore - Rs. 5 crore 2-digit HSN
Above Rs. 5 crore 4-digit HSN

Who is required to issue Bill of supply ?

issue Bill of supply

Given below taxpayers are required to issue Bill of supply :

  • Supplier of Exempted goods or services :

    Any registered person who is supplying any goods or service which are in ambit of GST but not chargeable to tax as they are exempt.

    In such case, registered person issue Bill of supply as an evidence of sale instead of Tax Invoice.

  • Composition Dealer

    A taxpayer who is eligible for composition scheme & opting for composition scheme cannot charge GST in invoice and they are not eligible to recover the amount of tax from the customer.
    In such case, taxpayer is required to issue Bill of supply instead of Tax Invoice.

  • Exporter

    In case of export of goods or services or both, bill of supply may be issued in place of Tax invoice since export supplies are zero rated supplies.Given below details are to be mentioned on bill of supply in case of export :

    1. Name & address of the recipient
    2. Address of delivery
    3. Name of the destination country

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q- Does the provision of E-way bill also apply in the case of Bill of Supply?

Yes, If the value of consignment exceeds Rs. 50,000/-


Q- Can we claim ITC on the basis of Bill of supply

No, Bill of supply is not an evidence to claim ITC


Q- What is the relation between an input tax credit and GST bill of supply?

There is no relation since we cannot claim ITC on basis of Bill of supply


Q- Is HSN code mandatory for bill of supply? -

Yes, HSN is mandatory in case of bill of supply subject to some exceptions

CA Abhishek Soni
CA Abhishek Soni

Abhishek Soni is a Chartered Accountant by profession & entrepreneur by passion. He is the co-founder & CEO of Tax2Win.in. Tax2win is amongst the top 25 emerging startups of Asia and authorized ERI by the Income Tax Department. In the past, he worked in EY and comes with wide industry experience from telecom, retail to manufacturing to entertainment where he has handled various national and international assignments.