Footwear bill format and the ₹2,500 per pair rule
Shoes are taxed on the price of the pair, not the total of the bill. Get the per-pair value on the line and the rest follows.
Check the 5% or 18% split freeFootwear works on the same value-based logic as apparel. From 22 September 2025, footwear priced up to ₹2,500 per pair is taxed at 5%, and anything above that at 18%. One family buying school shoes, sports shoes and a pair of formals can trigger both rates on a single bill.
The rest of a footwear bill is about traceability: article code, size and colour on every line so an exchange can be matched, and box-level barcodes so the stock report reflects the shelf. This page covers the rate rule, the variant handling, and the exchange paperwork that follows.
What this format must carry
Every field below, with whether it is mandatory and what it is for.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Shop name, address, GSTIN | Header details, usually with the exchange window printed alongside. | |
| Bill number and date | Consecutive counter series. The date opens the exchange and warranty window. | |
| Customer name and phone | Optional for small sales, but exchanges are far easier when you have it. | |
| Article code and brand | The specific article, not just "shoes". This is what an exchange or a warranty claim is matched against. | |
| Size and colour | Each size is its own stock line. Without it on the bill, an exchange means opening every box on the rack. | |
| HSN code | Footwear generally sits in chapter 64, with the code depending on the upper and sole material. | |
| Rate per pair | The value that decides the rate. A pair at ₹2,400 is a 5% line; the same pair at ₹2,600 is an 18% line. | |
| Quantity in pairs | Bill in pairs. Two pairs at ₹1,500 each stay at 5% even though the line totals ₹3,000. | |
| Discount on the invoice | On-invoice discounts reduce the per-pair value and can therefore change the rate. Later discounts need a credit note. | |
| Rate-wise GST summary | Separate 5% and 18% blocks so the customer can see why two pairs on one bill were taxed differently. | |
| Exchange policy | Days allowed, box and tag intact, no exchange on worn or soiled pairs. |
Guidance only. GST rules and rates change by notification — confirm the requirements for your business on the CBIC portal or with your CA.
The per-pair test in practice
The threshold looks at the sale value of each pair. Three pairs at ₹900 each stay at 5% no matter what the bill totals. One pair at ₹3,200 is taxed at 18% even if it is the only item on the bill. It is a per-line test, applied on the value actually charged rather than on the MRP printed on the box.
That makes on-invoice discounting a rate decision. A pair listed at ₹2,700 and discounted to ₹2,400 on the bill is a 5% line, because the value charged is what counts. A discount settled later through a credit note reduces the money but not the rate that was correctly applied.
Article, size and colour
Footwear retail is a variant business. One article exists in eight sizes and three colours, and every one of them is separate stock. If the bill records only the article, your size-wise report is guesswork and the customer coming back for a half-size larger is a manual hunt through the store room.
Box-level barcodes handle this cleanly — the article, size, colour and price come off a single scan and the exchange later matches the exact pair sold. RetailDek's free barcode generator prints labels you can stick on boxes when the season's stock arrives.
Exchanges and returns
A same-value size exchange needs no tax adjustment — raise a fresh bill referencing the original. If money goes back to the customer, or the replacement pair is cheaper, issue a credit note against the original invoice and report it within the deadline so the tax actually reduces.
Watch the rate when a customer exchanges across the threshold. Swapping a ₹2,400 pair for a ₹2,900 pair moves the line from 5% to 18%, so the fresh bill must be raised at the correct rate for what is actually leaving the store.
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.
Check the 5% or 18% split freeFootwear Shop Bill Format — FAQs
From 22 September 2025, footwear priced up to ₹2,500 per pair is taxed at 5% and footwear above ₹2,500 per pair at 18%. The test applies to each pair individually, not to the total value of the bill.
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.
Coming soon