Two types of registered sellers cannot charge GST to their customers: composition scheme taxpayers, who pay GST from their own pocket at a flat rate, and suppliers of GST-exempt goods or services. Both these sellers still need to issue a document for every supply. That document is a bill of supply, not a tax invoice.
Fill in your details below. Change the title to “Bill of Supply” in the notes field, and add the mandatory composition disclaimer if applicable.
Who issues a bill of supply
Composition scheme dealers: Small businesses with turnover up to ₹1.5 crore (₹75 lakh for special category states) can opt for the composition scheme. They pay GST at a flat rate (1% for manufacturers, 2.5% for restaurants, 0.5% for traders) on their total turnover. They cannot collect this GST from customers — they absorb it. Because they can’t charge GST to the buyer, they issue a bill of supply instead of a tax invoice.
Suppliers of exempt goods or services: If what you’re selling is GST-exempt — fresh agricultural produce, healthcare services, educational services, certain financial services — no GST applies to the supply at all. You still need to document the transaction, so you issue a bill of supply.
Non-resident taxable persons and input service distributors in certain situations also issue bills of supply.
Mandatory declaration on a composition dealer’s bill of supply
Every bill of supply issued by a composition scheme taxpayer must carry this line, verbatim or near-verbatim:
“Composition taxable person, not eligible to collect tax on supplies”
This isn’t optional formatting — it’s a legal requirement under GST rules. Without it, the document isn’t a valid bill of supply. The customer also cannot claim any ITC on it, since no GST was charged.
Bill of supply vs tax invoice: which to issue
The deciding factor is whether you’re charging GST.
If you’re a regular GST-registered taxpayer selling taxable goods or services, you issue a tax invoice. The buyer can claim ITC on it.
If you’re a composition dealer or your supply is exempt, you issue a bill of supply. No GST is charged, no ITC can be claimed by the buyer.
You can’t issue a tax invoice if you’re a composition dealer, even if the customer asks for one. Composition dealers are specifically prohibited from collecting GST from customers — issuing a tax invoice would imply you’re charging tax you’re not entitled to collect.
What goes on a bill of supply
The fields are similar to a tax invoice but without the tax columns:
- Your name, address, and GSTIN (composition dealers still have a GSTIN)
- Bill of supply number (sequential series, can be separate from any invoice series)
- Date
- Buyer’s name and address (GSTIN if they’re registered, though they can’t claim ITC anyway)
- Description of goods or services
- Quantity and unit of measurement
- Total value of the supply
- The mandatory composition disclaimer (if you’re a composition dealer)
- Your signature
No tax rate, no tax amount, no CGST/SGST/IGST breakdown — there’s nothing to show in those columns.
Composition scheme: the ITC trade-off
The reason customers don’t love buying from composition dealers is the ITC issue. A regular GST-registered buyer purchasing from a composition dealer gets no input tax credit, because no GST was charged on the supply. This effectively makes the composition dealer’s price less attractive to B2B buyers who are themselves GST-registered and rely on ITC to reduce their own tax bill.
This is why composition scheme is primarily viable for B2C businesses — retailers, small restaurants, local service providers whose customers are end consumers who don’t need or claim ITC.
Related: GST invoice template if you’re a regular GST-registered taxpayer, and the GST calculator to verify applicable tax amounts.