Nobody enjoys this part. But an invoice error found at reconciliation is a credit you cannot claim and a supplier conversation that starts three months late. Six fields, thirty seconds.
1. HSN code — and whether it matches the goods
Fabric, made-ups and garments sit under different headings with different rates. Woven cotton fabric, silk fabric, bed linen and readymade garments are not interchangeable for tax purposes even when they arrive in the same carton. If the HSN on the line does not describe what is in the box, the rate is probably wrong too.
2. The rate applied
Most textile fabric attracts 5% GST; several made-up categories and garments above the notified value threshold attract 12%. A single invoice covering fabric and finished made-ups will legitimately carry two rates on two lines. One blended rate across mixed goods is a red flag.
3. Place of supply, and the CGST/SGST vs IGST split
Place of supply follows the shipping address, not the billing address and not where you happen to be sitting. We despatch from Gujarat, so:
- Delivery within Gujarat → CGST + SGST, split equally.
- Delivery to any other state or a union territory → IGST at the full rate.
- A Gujarat delivery invoiced as IGST, or an out-of-state delivery invoiced as CGST + SGST, is a genuine error. Ask for it to be corrected before it is filed.
4. Your GSTIN, spelled correctly
This is the one that cannot be fixed comfortably later. Credit flows to the GSTIN on the invoice as filed in the supplier's GSTR-1. Adding or correcting a GSTIN after filing requires a credit note and a fresh invoice, and if it crosses a return period it becomes everybody's problem.
Put the GSTIN on your trade account before the first order, not after. Our checkout reads it from the account and prints it on the invoice.
5. Freight, and where it sits
Where the seller arranges transport as part of the supply, freight is part of the taxable value of a composite supply and is taxed at the same rate as the goods. It should appear as a line inside the tax computation. Freight added after the tax total is a computation error and understates the tax — which will not survive a reconciliation.
6. Invoice reference, e-way bill and the credit note trail
- The invoice number and date must match the e-way bill accompanying the consignment.
- Any short supply or return should produce a credit note that quotes the original invoice number — that is what lets both sides reverse cleanly.
- Keep the tax invoice, credit notes and the accounting record for eight financial years, as the CGST Act and the Companies Act require.
None of this is exotic. It is a thirty-second check that turns a quarterly reconciliation from an investigation into a formality.
