TemplateHub
Excel Guides

GST Rule 46 Invoice Fields: A Cell-by-Cell Checklist for Excel

By Arshad Ansari, software engineer. About the editor

What CGST Rule 46 actually requires on a tax invoice, which cells buyers and CAs check first, and how that maps to a working Excel GST invoice — with an 18% intra-state example.

A GST tax invoice in Excel is valid only if the fields are present — not because the file looks like Tally. Rule 46 of the CGST Rules lists those fields. This checklist is the one used when TemplateHub's GST invoice workbook was laid out: every label on the sheet maps to a rule item, then an 18% intra-state line is used to prove the maths.

This is not legal advice. It is the practical list CAs and AP teams actually reject invoices for.

The fields that get invoices rejected

Work top to bottom. If a cell is blank, the buyer's ITC is the first thing at risk.

  1. Your legal name and address — as on the GST registration, not a trading-name-only header.
  2. Your GSTIN — 15 characters. A missing GSTIN is the fastest rejection.
  3. Invoice number — unique for the financial year, consecutive, not more than 16 characters. Do not reuse INV-001 next April without a FY prefix (INV-26-001 is safer).
  4. Invoice date — the date of supply, not the date you remembered to type the file.
  5. Recipient name, address, GSTIN (if registered). For B2C above the notified threshold you still need enough identity to support the supply.
  6. Place of supply — the state that decides CGST+SGST vs IGST. Wrong place of supply is how an intra-state sale is billed as IGST (or the reverse).
  7. HSN or SAC on each line. Description-only lines fail many e-invoice and GSTR-1 mappings later.
  8. Taxable value, rate, and tax amount shown separately — not a single "total with tax" cell.
  9. CGST and SGST split for intra-state, or IGST for inter-state. Never both on the same intra-state line.
  10. Amount in words and a signature / authorised-signatory space.

Worked example: one 18% intra-state line

Suppose you sell 10 units at ₹1,200 each, GST 18%, buyer in the same state.

| Cell | Value | |---|---| | Quantity | 10 | | Rate | 1,200 | | Taxable value | 12,000 | | GST rate | 18% | | CGST 9% | 1,080 | | SGST 9% | 1,080 | | Line total | 14,160 |

If you instead type CGST as 18% of 12,000 (₹2,160) and leave SGST blank, the invoice is wrong even though the grand total might still be ₹14,160. The split is the compliance, not just the total.

For a buyer in another state, do not split. Charge IGST 18% = ₹2,160 on the same taxable ₹12,000.

What Excel must calculate (and what you must type)

Type: description, HSN/SAC, quantity, rate, GST %.
Formula: taxable = qty × rate; CGST = taxable × (GST% / 2); SGST = the same; total = taxable + CGST + SGST.

Do not hard-code 9% in the formula if the rate cell can be 5% or 12%. A 5% intra-state line is 2.5% + 2.5%. GTA and other special rates are a different document — see the self invoice format under GST (RCM) when you are the recipient under Reverse Charge.

Place of supply vs your state

  • Same state as your GST registration: CGST + SGST.
  • Different state: IGST.
  • SEZ / export: usually IGST at 0% with a LUT or IGST paid — do not use the standard intra-state template without changing the tax block.

If you are unsure of the place of supply, stop and check the contract. Filling "Maharashtra" because that is where you sit, when the service is delivered in Karnataka, is how GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B disagree.

Common Excel-specific failures

  • Merged cells in the item table — inserting a row breaks SUM.
  • Tax as text ("1,080") — SUM ignores it. Use numbers with 2 decimal places.
  • Invoice number as a date format — Excel turns "03-04" into 3 April. Set the number cell to Text before typing.
  • GSTIN in a number format — leading zeros vanish. GSTIN must be text.

Download the mapped workbook

The GST Invoice Template already has these labels. The step-by-step GST invoice guide walks through building the same structure from a blank sheet. If the supplier is unregistered and tax is under RCM, do not use this tax invoice at all.

FAQ

Is an Excel GST invoice legal?

Yes, if Rule 46 fields are present. The law does not require a particular software.

Do I need e-invoicing as well?

If your turnover is above the current e-invoice threshold, you still need IRN/QR in addition to a well-formed invoice. Excel can feed the data; it does not replace the IRP.

Can I edit an invoice after sending it?

Issue a credit note / debit note. Overwriting a sent PDF and keeping the same invoice number is how series integrity breaks.