Invoicing guide
Invoicing in India
GST — how it works, what an invoice needs, and where the numbers come from.
Data as of 2026-01-15. Sources: cbic-gst.gov.in (opens in new tab), www.gst.gov.in (opens in new tab).
This is general guidance, not tax advice — verify with your tax authority.
The tax regime
India taxes most sales under a GST system (regime type: gst). The document title Ochre prints is “Tax Invoice” once you're registered, or “Invoice” if you're not.
Tax registration number
The tax registration number for India is labelled GSTIN on an Ochre invoice.
Format: 2 digits, then 5 uppercase letters, then 4 digits, then 1 uppercase letter, then 1 character (a digit from 1 to 9 or an uppercase letter), then "Z", then 1 character (a digit or an uppercase letter).
Registration & thresholds
4,000,000 INR — ₹40 lakh for goods, ₹20 lakh for services in normal-category states; ₹20L/₹10L in special-category states. VERIFY per current CBIC notification.
Rates
| Standard (18%) | 18% |
|---|---|
| Merit (5%) | 5% |
| Demerit (40%) | 40% |
| Gold & precious metals (3%) | 3% |
| Exempt / Nil-rated | 0% |
| Out of scope | 0% |
Rates shown are for intra-state supplies (split CGST + SGST). Inter-state supplies carry the same total as a single IGST line; exports and SEZ supplies are zero-rated.
Price display
Ochre's default for India is tax-exclusive pricing on a line item.
There is no requirement that consumer-facing prices display tax-inclusive.
Rounding
Tax is rounded half up, applied on each line, to a precision of 0.01.
Mandatory invoice fields
- Seller's tax registration number
- Customer's tax registration number (B2B)
- Document title (e.g. “Tax Invoice”)
- Sequential invoice number
- Issue date
- Tax category code on each line
- Tax broken down by component (e.g. CGST/SGST/IGST)
- Place-of-supply statement
- Reverse-charge statement (where it applies)
- Signature or digital signature
Fiscal year & dates
The fiscal year starts April 1. Dates print in DD-MM-YYYY order.
Currency
INR (₹), shown to 2 decimal places.
E-invoicing
Businesses with aggregate turnover above ₹5 crore must report B2B invoices to the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) and print the IRN + QR code. Ochre does not yet file to IRP — verify your obligation with your CA.