GST Guide for Indian Businesses

What is GST?

Goods and Services Tax (GST) is India's unified indirect tax system that replaced multiple taxes like VAT, Service Tax, and Central Excise. It applies to the supply of goods and services across India.

Types of GST

• CGST (Central GST) — Collected by Central Government on intra-state sales
• SGST (State GST) — Collected by State Government on intra-state sales
• IGST (Integrated GST) — Collected by Central Government on inter-state sales
• Cess — Additional tax on certain luxury/sin goods (tobacco, cars, aerated drinks)

GST Rates

• 0% — Essential goods (food grains, vegetables, milk)
• 5% — Packaged food, textiles, transport services
• 12% — Processed food, computers, business class air travel
• 18% — Most services, electronics, restaurants
• 28% — Luxury goods, automobiles, tobacco, aerated drinks

Mandatory Fields on a GST Invoice

• Invoice number and date
• Supplier's name, address, and GSTIN
• Recipient's name, address, and GSTIN (if registered)
• HSN/SAC codes for each item/service
• Description, quantity, unit, rate of each item
• Taxable value and GST amount (CGST/SGST or IGST)
• Total invoice value
• Place of supply

HSN Codes

HSN (Harmonised System of Nomenclature) codes classify goods for GST. Businesses with turnover above ₹1.5 crore must use HSN codes on invoices. GeneBill lets you store HSN codes with each product for automatic inclusion on invoices.

GST Registration

GST registration is mandatory if your annual turnover exceeds:

• ₹40 lakhs — For goods-only businesses (in most states)
• ₹20 lakhs — For service businesses (in most states)
• ₹10 lakhs — For businesses in special category states

GST Returns

• GSTR-1 — Details of outward supplies (sales) — monthly or quarterly
• GSTR-3B — Summary return with tax payment — monthly
• GSTR-9 — Annual return

GeneBill's Pro plan generates GSTR-1 ready reports to make filing easier.