Section 31 of GST Act: GST Tax Invoice

Amended and updated notes on section 31 of CGST Act, 2017. Detail discussion on provisions and rules related to GST tax invoice.

Amended and updated notes on section 31 of CGST Act, 2017. Detail discussion on provisions and rules related to GST tax invoice.

Chapter VII (Sections 31–34) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 deals with the provisions related to tax invoice, credit and debit notes. Section 31 of CGST 2017 provides for GST tax invoice.

Recently, we have discussed in detail section 30 (Revocation of cancellation of registration) of CGST Act 2017. Today, we learn the provisions of section 31 of Central GST Act 2017.

Section 31 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 has been notified by the Ministry of Finance vide Notification No. 9/2017-Central Tax, G.S.R. 658(E), dated 28.06.2017. This notification was come into force from 1st July, 2017 i.e. the commencement date of section 31 is 1-7-2017.

Name of Act	The Central Goods and Services Tax Act 2017
Enacted by	Parliament of India
Administered by	Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs
Governing body	GST Council
Number of Chapters	21
Number of Sections	174
You are reading:
Chapter No.	VII
Chapter Name	Tax invoice, credit and debit notes
Section No.	31
Section Name	Tax invoice
*Updated 2024 Edition*	*GST Law Book PDF*

Relevant Rules and Forms for GST Section 31:

Rule 46: Tax invoice
Rule 46A: Invoice-cum-bill of supply
Rule 47: Time limit for issuing tax invoice
Rule 48: Manner of issuing invoice
- FORM GST INV-01: Cardinality means whether reporting of the item(s) is mandatory or optional as explained below
Rule 49: Bill of supply
- FORM GST INV-01: Cardinality means whether reporting of the item(s) is mandatory or optional as explained below
Rule 50: Receipt voucher
Rule 51: Refund voucher
Rule 52: Payment voucher
Rule 53: Revised tax invoice and credit or debit notes
Rule 54: Tax invoice in special cases
Rule 55: Transportation of goods without issue of invoice
Rule 55A: Tax Invoice or bill of supply to accompany transport of goods

Table of Contents

Section 31 of Central GST – Tax invoice¹

Section 31 of CGST Act 2017 shall come into force on 01.07.2017 vide Notification No. 9/2017-Central Tax, G.S.R. 658(E), dated 28.06.2017.

Section 31(1) of CGST Act

Section 31(1): A registered person supplying taxable goods shall, before or at the time of, —

(a) removal of goods for supply to the recipient, where the supply involves movement of goods; or
(b) delivery of goods or making available thereof to the recipient, in any other case, issue a tax invoice showing the description, quantity and value of goods, the tax charged thereon and such other particulars as may be prescribed:

Provided that the Government may, on the recommendations of the Council, by notification,—

(a) specify the categories of services or supplies in respect of which a tax invoice shall be issued, within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed;
(b) subject to the condition mentioned therein, specify the categories of services in respect of which—
(i) any other document issued in relation to the supply shall be deemed to be a tax invoice; or
(ii) tax invoice may not be issued.

Proviso of sub-section (1) of section 31 was substituted by the Finance Act 2020

Section 31(2) of CGST Act

Section 31(2): A registered person supplying taxable services shall, before or after the provision of service but within a prescribed period, issue a tax invoice, showing the description, value, tax charged thereon and such other particulars as may be prescribed:

Provided that the Government may, on the recommendations of the Council, by notification and subject to such conditions as may be mentioned therein, specify the categories of services in respect of which––

(a) any other document issued in relation to the supply shall be deemed to be a tax invoice; or
(b) tax invoice may not be issued.

Section 31(3) of CGST Act

Section 31(3): Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections (1) and (2) ––

(a) a registered person may, within one month from the date of issuance of certificate of registration and in such manner as may be prescribed, issue a revised invoice against the invoice already issued during the period beginning with the effective date of registration till the date of issuance of certificate of registration to him;
(b) a registered person may not issue a tax invoice if the value of the goods or services or both supplied is less than two hundred rupees subject to such conditions and in such manner as may be prescribed;
(c) a registered person supplying exempted goods or services or both or paying tax under the provisions of section 10 shall issue, instead of a tax invoice, a bill of supply containing such particulars and in such manner as may be prescribed:

Provided that the registered person may not issue a bill of supply if the value of the goods or services or both supplied is less than two hundred rupees subject to such conditions and in such manner as may be prescribed;
(d) a registered person shall, on receipt of advance payment with respect to any supply of goods or services or both, issue a receipt voucher or any other document, containing such particulars as may be prescribed, evidencing receipt of such payment;
(e) where, on receipt of advance payment with respect to any supply of goods or services or both the registered person issues a receipt voucher, but subsequently no supply is made and no tax invoice is issued in pursuance thereof, the said registered person may issue to the person who had made the payment, a refund voucher against such payment;
(f) a registered person who is liable to pay tax under sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) of section 9 shall issue an invoice in respect of goods or services or both received by him from the supplier who is not registered on the date of receipt of goods or services or both;
(g) a registered person who is liable to pay tax under sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) of section 9 shall issue a payment voucher at the time of making payment to the supplier.

Section 31(4) of CGST Act

Section 31(4): In case of continuous supply of goods, where successive statements of accounts or successive payments are involved, the invoice shall be issued before or at the time each such statement is issued or, as the case may be, each such payment is received.

Section 31(5) of CGST Act

Section 31(5): Subject to the provisions of clause (d) of sub-section (3), in case of continuous supply of services, ––

(a) where the due date of payment is ascertainable from the contract, the invoice shall be issued on or before the due date of payment;
(b) where the due date of payment is not ascertainable from the contract, the invoice shall be issued before or at the time when the supplier of service receives the payment;
(c) where the payment is linked to the completion of an event, the invoice shall be issued on or before the date of completion of that event.

Section 31(6) of CGST Act

Section 31(6): In a case where the supply of services ceases under a contract before the completion of the supply, the invoice shall be issued at the time when the supply ceases and such invoice shall be issued to the extent of the supply made before such cessation.

Section 31(7) of CGST Act

Section 31(7): Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where the goods being sent or taken on approval for sale or return are removed before the supply takes place, the invoice shall be issued before or at the time of supply or six months from the date of removal, whichever is earlier.

Explanation: For the purposes of this section, the expression “tax invoice” shall include any revised invoice issued by the supplier in respect of a supply made earlier.

Section 31 of CGST Act 2017 shall come into force on 01.07.2017 vide Notification No. 9/2017-Central Tax, G.S.R. 658(E), dated 28.06.2017. ↩︎

March 28, 2024

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