Bill of supply format for composition and exempt sales
The bill you issue when there is no GST to show on the face of the document — the required particulars, the declaration composition dealers must print, and where people get it wrong.
Create a bill of supply freeA bill of supply looks like an invoice with the tax column removed, because that is exactly what it is. Two kinds of sellers use it: composition dealers, who pay tax out of their own margin and cannot collect it from customers, and any registered seller supplying goods or services that are exempt, nil-rated or outside GST.
The document is governed by Rule 49, which borrows most of its particulars from the tax invoice rule and drops everything to do with rate and tax amount. What it adds — and what shops forget — is the declaration a composition dealer must carry at the top of every bill.
What this format must carry
Every field below, with whether it is mandatory and what it is for.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The words "Bill of Supply" | Label it plainly so nobody mistakes it for a tax invoice. Composition dealers should never print "Tax Invoice" on their bills. | |
| Serial number | Consecutive, up to 16 characters, unique for the financial year — the same numbering discipline a tax invoice needs. | |
| Date of issue | Date the bill is raised, following the same timing rules as an invoice for the underlying supply. | |
| Supplier name, address and GSTIN | Your registered details. A composition dealer is still a registered person and still prints a GSTIN. | |
| Recipient name, address and GSTIN | GSTIN only where the buyer is registered. A composition dealer's buyer gets no credit either way. | |
| HSN or SAC code | Required on the same turnover-based digit rules as a tax invoice, even though no rate is being charged. | |
| Description and value of goods or services | A single value column. There is no taxable value, no rate and no tax amount, because none is being collected. | |
| Composition declaration | Composition dealers must print that they are a composition taxable person and are not eligible to collect tax on supplies. Exempt-supply sellers do not need this line. | |
| Signature or digital signature | Signed by the supplier or an authorised signatory, or digitally signed if issued electronically. |
Guidance only. GST rules and rates change by notification — confirm the requirements for your business on the CBIC portal or with your CA.
Who issues a bill of supply
Composition dealers are the largest group. Under the composition scheme a trader or manufacturer pays 1% of turnover, a restaurant 5%, and eligible service providers 6% — paid from their own pocket, out of scheme turnover, never charged on the customer's bill. Because no tax is collected, no tax can be shown, and the customer gets no input credit.
The second group is anyone making exempt, nil-rated or non-GST supplies. A regular taxpayer selling fresh unbranded produce or an exempt service issues a bill of supply for that sale, and normal tax invoices for everything else. The two document types coexist happily in the same business.
The invoice-cum-bill of supply
If you supply both taxable and exempt goods to the same unregistered customer in one transaction, you do not need two separate documents. The rules allow a single combined document — an invoice-cum-bill of supply — carrying the taxable lines with their tax and the exempt lines without.
This is what most kirana and general stores actually need, because a single trolley routinely mixes nil-rated staples with 5% and 18% items. The practical requirement is that the exempt lines are clearly separated from the taxable ones so the rate-wise summary still adds up.
Common errors
The costly mistake is a composition dealer printing a tax amount. Collecting GST when you are not entitled to is treated as tax wrongly collected, has to be paid to the government, and attracts penalty on top. Any pre-printed stationery with CGST and SGST columns should be retired the day you opt into the scheme.
The quieter mistakes are a missing composition declaration, HSN codes left blank because "there is no tax anyway", and running bills of supply and tax invoices in one shared number series. Keep the series separate and clearly prefixed. RetailDek's free invoice generator can produce a clean, tax-free bill of supply as easily as a tax invoice.
Skip the template — generate it
Filling a blank Excel sheet every time is where numbering gaps and missing fields creep in. Our free tool builds this document with the fields already in the right places, and you can download it as a PDF — no sign-up, nothing leaves your browser.
Create a bill of supply freeBill of Supply Format — FAQs
No. A composition dealer pays tax on turnover from their own margin and is barred from collecting it from customers. The bill must carry no tax column and must state that you are a composition taxable person not eligible to collect tax on supplies.
Make it the output, not the chore
Save your items and parties once, and every document comes out numbered, GST-correct and ready to print — with the stock and reports updating behind it.
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