GST
GST-compliant invoices for your online store: what Indian sellers need
Updated · Written by the TeraCart team
If you are registered for GST, every sale from your online store needs a tax invoice that shows your GSTIN, a serial number unique for the financial year, the HSN code, the taxable value, and CGST plus SGST for a sale inside your state or IGST for a sale to another state. TeraCart creates a numbered PDF invoice with that split for any order, on every plan. It does not yet capture a buyer's GSTIN, issue credit notes or file e-invoices, so check it against what your accountant needs before you rely on it.
What a GST tax invoice must show
A registered seller issues a tax invoice for every supply of goods, before or at the time the goods are sent. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs lists the required fields in its guide to tax invoices, under Rule 46 of the CGST Rules. A seller who is on the composition scheme, or who sells only exempt goods, issues a bill of supply instead. The table sets those fields beside what TeraCart's invoice prints today.
| Required on the invoice | TeraCart's invoice today |
|---|---|
| Supplier name, address and GSTIN | Yes. The GSTIN prints once you enter it in Settings, then GST and tax. |
| A consecutive serial number, unique for the financial year | Yes, in part. A sequential number per store, such as INV-0007, issued when the invoice is first downloaded. There is no separate series for each financial year. |
| Date of issue | Prints the order date, not the day the PDF was made. |
| Recipient name and address, and GSTIN if registered | Name and address, yes. There is no field for a buyer's GSTIN. |
| HSN code, description and quantity | Yes, once you set an HSN code on the product. |
| Total value and taxable value after discount | Partly. The invoice shows a Taxable Amount, but it includes shipping, and the order discount is not spread across the lines that tax is worked out on. See the check below. |
| Rate and amount of CGST, SGST or IGST | Partly. Each line shows one combined tax rate and amount. The totals show CGST and SGST, or IGST, as amounts, chosen by the buyer's state, with CGST and SGST each half of the tax. |
| Place of supply, for sales to another state | Not printed. |
| Whether tax is payable on reverse charge | Not printed. |
This is general information, not tax advice. Your chartered accountant decides which fields apply to your business.
CGST, SGST or IGST: which one applies
For goods, the place of supply is where the delivery ends. When that is in your own state, the tax is split into CGST and SGST, each half of the rate. When it is in another state, the whole amount is IGST.
TeraCart compares the state in your store address with the buyer's shipping state and prints CGST and SGST, or IGST, to match. It compares the names as text, so enter your own state in full, for example Rajasthan and not RJ, the way the checkout lists it. If either state is missing, the invoice falls back to CGST and SGST. The checkout's state list has no union territories such as Chandigarh or Puducherry, so test an order if your store or a buyer is in one.
Set your store up for GST
- Open Settings, then GST and tax. Tick Enable GST and enter your 15-character GSTIN. The invoice prints whichever GSTIN is saved here, and TeraCart does not check its format, so read it twice.
- Open Settings, then General, and set your state in full.
- Open each product and set its HSN code and GST rate. The rate is chosen from a list, one rate per product. Importing products from a file or from Shopify does not bring HSN codes or rates, so set them by hand.
- Place a test order, open it in Orders and choose Download invoice. It appears once an order is paid, or, for a COD order, once the order has moved past unfulfilled.
Check the invoice before you rely on it
At checkout, TeraCart charges the product price you set and adds no tax on top, so your prices act as GST-inclusive. The invoice, though, works out tax on top of that same price for each line, so its lines, tax rows and final Total do not add up. The final Total is always the amount the customer paid. Download a test invoice and check its lines against that Total before you send invoices to customers or use them for filing.
Shipping and any COD fee are not taxed on the invoice. The COD fee, and any tip, sit inside the final Total without a line of their own. If your accountant needs them taxed or itemised, handle that outside TeraCart for now.
What TeraCart does not do yet
- Buyer GSTIN for B2B sales. A business buyer cannot enter a GSTIN at checkout, so the invoice cannot carry it.
- Credit notes. When a customer returns goods, a registered seller can issue a credit note and report it in the GST return. TeraCart has no credit note document.
- Invoices for customers. Only your team can download an invoice. It is not emailed and it does not appear on the shopper's order page.
- A bill of supply. The PDF is always titled Tax Invoice. If you are not registered, or use the composition scheme, do not send it as it is.
- E-invoicing, e-way bills and filing. Above a turnover limit set by the government, B2B invoices must also be registered on the e-invoice portal. TeraCart does not do that, produce e-way bills, file GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B, or export to Tally or Zoho Books.
Most stores can still use the PDF as an order record and let their accountant's software issue the formal invoices. Ask your accountant which of the gaps above apply to you.
Questions people ask
Does TeraCart create GST invoices automatically?
It creates a PDF when you ask for one from the order page. It is not generated or emailed automatically, and customers cannot download it themselves yet.
Do I need a GSTIN to sell on TeraCart?
No. The GST settings are optional, and the invoice prints a GSTIN only if you enter one. Whether you must register depends on your turnover and what you sell, which your chartered accountant can tell you.
Can I send a B2B invoice with my buyer's GSTIN?
Not from TeraCart today. There is no GSTIN field at checkout, so a business buyer's invoice has to be made in your accounting software.
What happens to the invoice when an order is returned?
Nothing changes on the invoice. A credit note is the document for a return, and TeraCart does not issue one, so your accountant's software needs to raise it.
Does TeraCart handle e-invoicing or e-way bills?
No. If your turnover is above the e-invoicing limit, or you move goods that need an e-way bill, use the government portal or your accounting software for those documents.
Is a GST invoice included on the Free plan?
Yes. GST invoices are available on every plan, and so are Shiprocket labels and the basic COD controls: a COD fee, an order cap, part payment and OTP. Blocking risky COD buyers needs Pro. Read the COD and RTO guide for the controls that protect your margin.