Non-GST billing for garagesWhen a garage bill carries no GST.

Three documents, three situations

A garage bill is not one document with optional tax. The document follows how the garage is registered.

• GST registered, regular scheme: a tax invoice. It charges CGST and SGST inside the state, or IGST across states.
• GST registered, composition scheme: a bill of supply. It carries the GSTIN, the composition declaration and no tax columns.
• No GSTIN: a plain bill under the heading the garage chooses, such as Invoice, Cash memo or Bill. No GSTIN, no tax columns, no GST wording.

If your garage has no GSTIN

A garage outside GST still needs a bill. It records who brought which vehicle, what work was done and what was charged.

Do not print a GSTIN, do not call the paper a tax invoice, and do not add CGST, SGST or IGST. The bill can still show a serial number, a date, your address, the customer, the vehicle and the total.

If you are on composition

A composition taxpayer issues a bill of supply and cannot collect GST from the customer. The composition rate is paid by the dealer, not added to the bill.

The bill of supply carries your GSTIN and a declaration that you are a composition taxable person, not eligible to collect tax. Check your eligibility and the current rate with your accountant.

What every bill still needs

Whether or not GST applies, keep the same basics:

• A serial number from one series, never reused
• The date of issue
• The garage name, address and phone
• The customer name and, for a vehicle job, the registration
• Each line's description, quantity, rate and value
• The total, and who issued it
• The same records kept for your accountant and any inspection

Mistakes to avoid

• Charging GST without a registration, or after a registration has been cancelled.
• Issuing a tax invoice with no GSTIN on it.
• Calling a plain bill a bill of supply. A bill of supply belongs to a registered composition taxpayer.
• Using one number series for tax invoices and non-GST bills.
• Leaving the old treatment switched on after registering for GST, or after moving to composition.
• Backdating a bill to a treatment that no longer applies.

In Garage Master

The GST treatment lives on the garage record. A GSTIN with no composition gives a tax invoice. Composition gives a bill of supply. No GSTIN gives a plain bill under the heading you chose in Settings.

The document and its heading are frozen when the bill is issued, so a later change to the treatment cannot rewrite history. Non-GST bills stay in the monthly records for your accountant.

Garage Master does not file GST returns or create government e-invoices. Review the treatment with your accountant before you issue.