Goods and Service Tax (GST) replaced the previous Value Added Tax (VAT) regime to make India a One-country One-Tax nation. GST is an indirect tax that will make the country a unified common market. GST is a destination-based tax as it is collected at the place where the ultimate consumption is done. The tax comes out of the pocket of the consumer no matter how long the journey of goods has been.
India is evolving into a major economy in the world by introducing schemes like the ‘Digital India Campaign’, ‘Make in India Initiative’, etc. Implementing GST is another effort to increase the growth of GDP and make India emerge as a major player in the global market.
Did you know? About 160 countries have an existing GST regime, and the Indian one derives its inspiration from the Canadian model.
Also Read: GST Registration Limits - Increased GST Registration Threshold Limits | Explained
What are the Benefits of GST?
The GST Act, of 2017 aimed at bringing revolutionary changes within the Indian economy regarding indirect taxes. The post-GST Indian market now works on a unified taxation model that is easy to comply with and benefits both the taxpayers and businesses.
Let us have a look at some of the major reforms brought by GST benefits:
1. Uniformity and Ease of Compliance
- Now the nation is running on a one country, one tax model. A lot of confusion earlier existed because of varying state legislations.
- All GST-related services such as registrations, returns, payments, etc. are available to taxpayers and businesses online providing much-needed ease of compliance.
2. Removal of Tax Cascading
- Earlier there were a lot of hidden taxes in doing business across different states of the country
- The pre-GST supply chain involved taxes on goods at every stage of production, which sometimes resulted in over-taxation
- The GST regime has an in-built Input Tax Credit (ITC) mechanism to facilitate the seamless movement of goods
3. Increase in Exports Volume
- After absorbing several taxes into GST, the final manufacturing cost of Indian products is now more economical
- Lower costs with industry-standard quality make Indian products and the manufacturing industry more competitive in the international trade market
4. Higher Revenue Collection
- The entire process related to GST is now online with the IT infrastructure established under the Digital India Initiative
- The cost of collection of GST revenues for the government is hence negligible
- It also prevents business owners from running to various government offices to pay their taxes.
Also Read: Difference Between Interstate GST and Intrastate Supply Under GST Explained
What is a GST Invoice or Bill?
The GST bill is the building block of this tax reform system. This invoice contains the details of the parties involved in a transaction and lists all goods and services sold, with their prices. This bill must also display any percentage of discounts offered along with taxes charged on each item.
As a GST registered business, it is mandatory to provide GST Invoices, also known as GST bills to your buyers.
Prescribed GST Bill Format in Word Format
Section 2(66) of the GST Act, 2017 directs concerned parties to refer to Section 31 of the Act to know the format of a GST invoice. Businesses can create this invoice in any format and can also customise it as per their needs. However, the items in Section 31 are mandatory to make the customised invoice GST compliant.
You can use the various free online invoice generators to create and download a PDF copy of your invoice. Such platforms also allow downloading an excel or download GST bill format Word format that suits your needs. You can curate this format to make it look more presentable as per your requirement.
The bill format in Word with GST invoice can be an electronic one or printed on paper.
Below are the mandatory fields of a GST invoice. Here is a list of details that must be present in a GST tax invoice. These details are mentioned in Rule 54 of the CGST Act of 2017.
- Name, GSTIN, and address of the supplier
- Invoice number
- Date of issuance
- Invoice type
- Shipping and billing address
- Name of the customer
- GSTIN of the customer if registered
- Details of products and services provided, including description, quantity, etc
- SAC code or HSN code
- Rate of CGST, IGST, UTGST, and SGST charged
- Total tax amount and discounts, if any
- Reverse charge
- Signature of the invoice issue
Also Read: How to Register as GST Practitioner? Duties, Responsibility & Registration Process
How to Make a Standard GST Bill Format in Word?
You can create a GST bill format in Word. Let us take a look at the simple steps to create an invoice in Microsoft Word:
Open Microsoft Word
- Open Microsoft Word and select the blank word document from ‘New’.
Insert Tables
- The invoice must be in tabular form for easy understanding.
- Click on the ‘Insert’ tab, then click on ‘Table’.
- From the dropdown menu, select ‘Insert Tables’ and select the number of rows and columns depending on the data you want to include.
Adjust Columns and Rows Dimensions
- Adjust the size of each row and column depending on the details you want to include in them.
- After inserting the table click on the ‘Layout’ tab that appears in the right-hand corner of the menu bar. Here you will find the option to change the dimensions of rows and columns.
Enter the Details of your Company
- You will need to include several details like your company’s name, address, pin code, and GSTIN.
- For example, 370/8, ABC View, Street No. ABC, Grand Road, Gurugram, 122001.
Add Other Transaction-related Details
- After this, include other details related to the transaction such as the invoice date, purchase order number, and invoice due date.
Provide Details of the Customer
- To make an invoice GST compliant you also need to include your customer’s details.
- These include the name of the customer’s company, their address, pin code, and GSTIN detail.
Add HSN/SAC Codes for Each Product
- Below the customer details, insert a column that describes each line item as goods or services sold, their quantity, price, HSN/SAC codes, the total transaction amount, and GST rates as applicable.
- Since you will not be able to use formulas in Word, it is better to do the calculations elsewhere and keep it handy to put the final figures in the respective sections.
Add Bank Details
- Towards the end of the invoice, include your details such as your bank’s name and account number along with the IFSC code.
Signature
- Finally, insert a section for the signatures of your company’s GST authority. This signature can be of the owner of the business or one of their representatives.
Also Read: All About GST Accounting - Meaning, GST Journal Entry and Purchase
Conclusion
Invoices are instruments that act as legal evidence of goods or services or both being sold by GST-registered businesses to their customers. Businesses use them to collect payments from buyers for the sales transactions mentioned in the invoice.
MS Excel and MS Word are widely used in creating customised GST bill format in Word format as they offer a range of functions like inserting tables, design functions, merging cells, etc. However, you need to be ready with the calculations and put them manually in case you use MS Word.
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