Knowledge base
GST, billing and stock, explained
31 plain-English guides for Indian distributors and wholesalers. No jargon, worked examples with real numbers, and a straight answer in the first two sentences of every article.
Start with the basics
What is GST?
One tax on the supply of goods and services, charged at every stage but paid only on the value added.
What is billing, and what is an invoice?
The document that says what was sold, for how much, and what is now owed.
What is e-invoicing?
Not invoicing by email. Reporting each invoice to a government portal and getting it back signed.
What is input tax credit?
The tax you paid on purchases, set against the tax you collected on sales.
GST basics
What GST is, which tax applies to a sale, what the rates are and how credit flows.
Start with “What is GST?”- What is GST?One tax on the supply of goods and services, charged at every stage but paid only on the value added.
- CGST, SGST and IGST: which one do I charge?Inside your state the tax splits in two. Across a state border it stays whole.
- GST rates in India after GST 2.0Four main slabs since 22 September 2025, plus the special rates that survived.
- What is a GSTIN, and how do I check one?Fifteen characters that encode the state, the PAN and a check digit you can verify yourself.
- HSN and SAC codes explainedThe code that decides your tax rate, and how many digits you have to print.
- What is input tax credit?The tax you paid on purchases, set against the tax you collected on sales.
- Reverse charge: when the buyer pays the taxA short list of supplies where the liability flips from seller to buyer.
- Place of supply, and why it decides your taxNot where you are and not where you ship from — where the supply is treated as happening.
- The GST composition schemeA flat rate on turnover for small businesses, in exchange for giving up input credit.
Billing & invoices
What has to be on a bill, which document to issue, and how to number them.
Start with “What is billing, and what is an invoice?”- What is billing, and what is an invoice?The document that says what was sold, for how much, and what is now owed.
- GST invoice format: what must be on the billThe fields Rule 46 requires, with a worked example of each.
- Invoice numbering rules under GSTSixteen characters, one unbroken series per financial year, never reused.
- Tax invoice, bill of supply, proforma or challan?Five documents that look alike and mean completely different things.
- Credit notes and debit notes under GSTHow to undo or top up an invoice you have already issued, without deleting it.
- Discounts on a GST invoice: before or after tax?A discount agreed at the time of sale reduces the tax. One given later usually does not.
E-invoicing & e-way bills
Reporting invoices to the portal, the IRN and QR code, and moving goods legally.
Start with “What is e-invoicing?”- What is e-invoicing?Not invoicing by email. Reporting each invoice to a government portal and getting it back signed.
- Is e-invoicing mandatory for my business?It depends on your aggregate turnover, who you are selling to, and what you sell.
- IRN and the signed QR codeThe reference number the portal issues, and the QR that proves the invoice is real.
- What is an e-way bill?A transit permit for goods worth more than ₹50,000 on the move.
- E-invoice vs e-way bill: what is the difference?One is about the document. The other is about the lorry.
Returns & input tax credit
The returns you file, the statements you reconcile, and how not to lose credit.
Start with “GST returns explained: GSTR-1, 3B, 2B and 9”- GST returns explained: GSTR-1, 3B, 2B and 9What each return is for, who files it and roughly when.
- GSTR-2B reconciliation, step by stepMatching what your suppliers reported against what you actually recorded.
- What is the Invoice Management System (IMS)?Accept, reject or keep pending each invoice your supplier reports about you.
Stock & inventory
Counting it, valuing it, knowing when to reorder and spotting what is not moving.
Start with “What is inventory management?”- What is inventory management?Knowing what you hold, what it cost, and what to do before it runs out or goes stale.
- Reorder point and safety stockThe two numbers that decide whether you run out before the next delivery arrives.
- FIFO or weighted average: valuing your stockTwo ways to decide what the goods you just sold actually cost you.
- Batch tracking and FEFOWhy dated goods need first-expired-first-out, not first-in-first-out.
- Stock turnover and dead stockHow fast your money goes round, and how much of it has stopped moving.
Pharma distribution
Margins, batch and expiry discipline, and what a wholesale drug bill must carry.
Start with “PTR and PTS: pharma pricing explained”- PTR and PTS: pharma pricing explainedWorking back from the MRP to what the retailer and the stockist actually pay.
- Margins in the pharma supply chainWho takes what, from the manufacturer down to the chemist.
- What a pharma wholesale invoice must carryBatch, expiry, drug licence numbers — on top of everything GST already asks for.