Bill Format for Shops in 2026: Samples You Can Copy (GST and Non-GST)

Search "bill format" and you get pages of pretty templates: blue headers, green borders, a logo box in the corner. Pick one, fill it in, and you may still have the wrong bill. The design was never the problem. The problem is the heading at the top, the fields underneath it and the arithmetic at the bottom, and a template gallery does not tell you which of those your shop is allowed to use.

This guide does. It starts with the one decision that matters most (is your bill a tax invoice, a bill of supply or a plain bill?), lists what each one must show under the GST rules, and then gives four filled-in samples you can copy: a simple shop bill, a GST tax invoice for a kirana shop, a bill of supply for a composition dealer and a bill book page. Every total has been checked.

First decide which bill you are allowed to issue

The heading on your bill is not decoration. It tells the buyer, and the tax department, whether GST was charged and whether the buyer can claim it back. Getting it wrong is the most common bill format mistake small shops make.

The last row deserves a plain warning. Section 32 of the CGST Act says a person who is not registered shall not collect tax. A bill titled "Tax Invoice", or one that adds "GST 5%" to the total, is collecting tax you are not allowed to collect, and you would have to pay it over to the government anyway. If you are below the GST registration limit and not registered, your bill is simply a bill.

Takeaway: pick the heading first. The rest of the format follows from it.

What every bill must show

Tax invoice (Rule 46)

Rule 46 lists the particulars of a GST tax invoice. In short:

• Your name, address and GSTIN
• A consecutive serial number, up to 16 characters, unique for the financial year (letters, numbers, hyphen and slash allowed)
• Date of issue
• Buyer's name and address, and GSTIN if they are registered
• For an unregistered buyer, the buyer's address and place of supply with state name where the bill is ₹50,000 or more
• HSN code for goods (SAC for services), description, quantity and unit
• Total value and taxable value after discount
• Rate and amount of CGST and SGST, or IGST
• Place of supply with state name for inter-state sales
• Whether tax is payable on reverse charge
• Signature or digital signature (an electronic bill does not need a physical signature)

Our full GST invoice format guide goes through each clause with the mistakes to avoid.

Bill of supply (Rule 49)

A bill of supply is shorter because there is no tax on it. Rule 49 asks for your name, address and GSTIN; a serial number on the same 16-character rule; the date; the buyer's name, address and GSTIN if registered; HSN code; description; value of goods after discount; and a signature.

A composition dealer must also print, at the top of the bill of supply, the words "composition taxable person, not eligible to collect tax on supplies". More on that in our GST composition scheme guide.

Plain shop bill (not registered)

There is no prescribed format for an unregistered shop, but a bill that will be trusted, and that helps you later with your own accounts, shows: shop name, address and phone; a bill number and date; the customer's name if known; items with quantity, rate and amount; any discount; the total in figures; and how it was paid (cash, UPI or credit).

The ₹200 rule for small sales

Section 31(3)(b) lets a registered shop skip the individual tax invoice when a sale is under ₹200, the buyer is not registered and the buyer does not ask for a bill. You then issue one consolidated tax invoice at the close of each day covering all such sales. The same relief applies to bills of supply under Rule 49. Most counters still hand out a bill for every sale because customers expect one, but the option is there for very small tickets.

Sample 1: Simple shop bill format (non-GST)

For a kirana or general store that is not registered under GST.

SHARMA GENERAL STORE 12, Station Road, Nashik · Phone: (shop number)

BILL · No. SGS/26-27/0418 · Date: 25-10-2026 Customer: Walk-in

Paid by: UPI · Thank you, visit again

No GSTIN, no HSN column, no tax line. That is correct for an unregistered shop, not a shortcut.

Sample 2: GST bill format for a kirana shop (tax invoice)

A registered shop in Maharashtra selling to a customer in Maharashtra, so the tax splits into CGST and SGST. Rates are the ones in force since 22 September 2025: most everyday groceries at 5%, most other goods at 18%.

SHARMA GENERAL STORE 12, Station Road, Nashik, Maharashtra · GSTIN: 27ABCDE1234F1Z5

TAX INVOICE · No. SGS/26-27/0419 · Date: 25-10-2026 Bill to: Ravi Canteen, Nashik · Place of supply: Maharashtra (27) · Reverse charge: No

Rupees two thousand three hundred twelve only · Paid by: UPI · For Sharma General Store (signature)

Check it yourself: the three 5% items have a taxable value of ₹2,000, so 2.5% CGST and 2.5% SGST are ₹50 each. The detergent is ₹180 at 18%, so 9% + 9% is ₹16.20 each. ₹50 + ₹16.20 = ₹66.20 per side, ₹132.40 in all, and ₹2,180 + ₹132.40 = ₹2,312.40, rounded to ₹2,312. If the buyer were in another state, the same ₹132.40 would appear as a single IGST column instead. Our guide on how to calculate GST shows the formulas behind each line.

Notice what is not here: a 12% column. If your old bill book or spreadsheet still has 12% or 28% printed for everyday items, check each item's current rate. Most moved to 5% or 18% in the 2025 reform.

Sample 3: Bill of supply format for a composition dealer

The same shop, but registered under the composition scheme. It cannot charge GST on the bill. It pays 1% of its turnover (0.5% CGST + 0.5% SGST) from its own pocket each quarter instead.

SHARMA GENERAL STORE 12, Station Road, Nashik, Maharashtra · GSTIN: 27ABCDE1234F1Z5 Composition taxable person, not eligible to collect tax on supplies

BILL OF SUPPLY · No. SGS/26-27/0420 · Date: 25-10-2026 Customer: Walk-in

Paid by: Cash · For Sharma General Store (signature)

The customer pays ₹900, full stop. The shop's tax on this sale is ₹9 (1% of ₹900), which it records in its own books and pays with CMP-08. Printing "GST 1%" on the bill would be wrong: that tax is the dealer's cost, not the customer's.

Sample 4: Bill book format (printed pad)

Many shops still keep a printed bill book next to the phone, for days when the power is out or the queue is long. A bill book page that meets the rules looks like this:

+----------------------------------------------------------+
|  SHARMA GENERAL STORE            ORIGINAL FOR RECIPIENT  |
|  12, Station Road, Nashik        GSTIN: 27ABCDE1234F1Z5  |
|                     TAX INVOICE                          |
|  No. SGS/26-27/B0751 (printed)   Date: ____/____/______  |
|  Buyer: ______________________   GSTIN: ______________   |
|  Place of supply: ____________   Reverse charge: Yes/No  |
|----------------------------------------------------------|
| # | Item       | HSN  | Qty | Rate | Taxable | GST% | Tax |
|---|------------|------|-----|------|---------|------|-----|
|   |            |      |     |      |         |      |     |
|----------------------------------------------------------|
|  Taxable ____  CGST ____  SGST ____  IGST ____           |
|  Total (in figures) ______  (in words) ________________  |
|                                     For Sharma Gen. Store |
|                                     Signature            |
+----------------------------------------------------------+

What makes a bill book compliant:

• Pre-printed serial numbers. The printer numbers every leaf in sequence, so no number is skipped or used twice.
• Three copies for goods. Rule 48 asks for the original (marked "Original for recipient"), the duplicate ("Duplicate for transporter") and the triplicate ("Triplicate for supplier"). For services, two copies are enough.
• A new series each financial year, or a year code in the number (such as 26-27) so numbers stay unique for the year.
• Cancelled leaves stay in the book. Strike them through and write "Cancelled". Tearing them out leaves a gap in your number series that you cannot explain later.
• The heading must be right. A composition dealer's bill book says "Bill of Supply" and carries the composition line; an unregistered shop's book says "Bill" or "Cash Memo".

A bill book also needs entering into your accounts later, and that is where most of its cost is hidden: someone has to add up every leaf at month end.

Word, Excel, Canva template or a billing app?

Template sites are useful for seeing what a bill looks like. Using them every day is another matter.

Be honest about what you need. If you issue five bills a month from an office, a Word or Excel template is fine. If you bill at a counter all day, typing GST by hand is where mistakes and wasted minutes come from.

In fairness to templates: BillZap does not give you a Word or Excel file. It makes the bill inside the app and shares it as a PDF. What it does well is the part templates leave to you. It is free, needs no sign-up and works offline on Android. It numbers bills automatically, adds HSN codes, works out CGST and SGST or IGST, puts a UPI QR on the bill, and switches the heading by itself: Tax Invoice when GST is charged, Bill of Supply for a registered shop billing without tax, and Bill for a shop that is not registered. It runs in Hindi and many other Indian languages. It makes bills only, not quotations, estimates or receipts. Our step-by-step guide shows how to make a GST bill on mobile, and our kirana store billing app guide covers what else to look for in an app.

Common bill format mistakes

• "Tax Invoice" on an unregistered shop's bill. The single most common error, and the one that matters most. Use "Bill" or "Cash Memo".
• GST charged by a composition dealer. The bill must be a bill of supply with no tax on it.
• Restarting numbers every month, or using two pads with the same numbers. Numbers must be unique for the whole financial year.
• Bill numbers longer than 16 characters. "SHARMAGENERALSTORE-2026-0001" is too long. "SGS/26-27/0001" is fine.
• One "GST 18%" line on an intra-state bill. Show CGST and SGST separately, with rate and amount.
• Discount taken off after tax. GST is charged on the price after discount, so take the discount first.
• Old 12% or 28% rates still printed on everyday items after the September 2025 rate change.
• No HSN code on a tax invoice or bill of supply.
• Cancelled bills torn out of the bill book, leaving gaps in the series.

FAQ

The bottom line

A bill format is a checklist, not a design. Choose the right heading for your registration, include the fields Rule 46 or Rule 49 asks for, number every bill in one clean series and check the arithmetic, especially the CGST and SGST split. Copy the samples above into whatever you use today, whether that is a printed bill book, an Excel sheet or a billing app on your phone.