Which SAC code applies to digital marketing agencies?

998361 covers advertising services. Related codes you may need are 998365 for sale of internet advertising space, and 998366 for sale of other advertising space or time. Classification is your accountant's call, not a template's.

What GST rate applies?

18%. Rates are revised by notification from time to time, so confirm the rate in force on the date of supply against the CBIC rate finder rather than relying on any figure printed on a website.

Do I need a GST registration to invoice?

Not necessarily. Below the registration threshold you can issue a bill of supply rather than a tax invoice, and you do not charge GST. Once registered, a tax invoice with all the Rule 46 particulars becomes mandatory. The threshold differs for goods and services and for special category states.

Can I use this format as-is?

The structure and the fields, yes. The codes, rates and treatment need checking against your own facts. This page tells you what the invoice needs to carry; it cannot tell you what your specific supply is classified as.

Invoice format for digital marketing agencies

Marketing services are billed under SAC 998361, and media buying under 998365, both at 18% GST. Ad spend recovered from the client is not your revenue and belongs on its own line.

SAC codes you are likely to need

SAC	Covers
998361	Advertising services
998365	Sale of internet advertising space
998366	Sale of other advertising space or time

Typical rate: 18%

Lines this trade needs that a generic template misses

Retainer fee for the period
Ad spend passed through, with the platform named
Management fee as a percentage of spend, if that is your model
Content or creative deliverables produced in the period

What goes wrong on these invoices

Showing gross billings as revenue. If you pass through 5,00,000 of ad spend and earn 75,000 in fees, your turnover is 75,000 plus whatever the pass-through treatment requires. Treating the whole 5,75,000 as revenue inflates your turnover, can push you across registration and audit thresholds you had not planned for, and misstates your margins to anyone reading the accounts.

Not naming the platform on the pass-through line. Clients reconcile against their own ad account statements, and an unnamed line is a query every single month.

Billing performance bonuses in the same line as the retainer, which makes the fee look variable when it is not.

Whether pass-through ad spend can be excluded from your value depends on meeting the pure agent conditions. Most agency arrangements do not.

The particulars every tax invoice needs

Beyond the trade-specific lines above, Rule 46 of the CGST Rules requires your name, address and GSTIN; a consecutive serial number unique within the financial year and no longer than sixteen characters; the date; your customer's name, address and GSTIN where registered; the place of supply; a description of the supply; the SAC code; quantity and unit; taxable value; the rate and amount of tax split into CGST and SGST or IGST; whether tax is payable on reverse charge; and a signature.

The invoice generator lays all of that out and works out the tax split for you. The numbering tool checks your serial format against the sixteen-character limit.

Worked example

Tax invoice

Description	SAC	Amount
Monthly retainer: paid search and paid social management, August 2026	998361	75,000.00
1 month at 75,000.00

Taxable value	75,000.00
CGST 9%	6,750.00
SGST 9%	6,750.00
Total	88,500.00

Rupees Eighty Eight Thousand Five Hundred Only

Shown as an intra-state supply at 18% for illustration. Your rate and split depend on your classification and place of supply.

Build this invoice for real

Common questions

Which SAC code applies to digital marketing agencies?: 998361 covers advertising services. Related codes you may need are 998365 for sale of internet advertising space, and 998366 for sale of other advertising space or time. Classification is your accountant's call, not a template's.
What GST rate applies?: 18%. Rates are revised by notification from time to time, so confirm the rate in force on the date of supply against the CBIC rate finder rather than relying on any figure printed on a website.
Do I need a GST registration to invoice?: Not necessarily. Below the registration threshold you can issue a bill of supply rather than a tax invoice, and you do not charge GST. Once registered, a tax invoice with all the Rule 46 particulars becomes mandatory. The threshold differs for goods and services and for special category states.
Can I use this format as-is?: The structure and the fields, yes. The codes, rates and treatment need checking against your own facts. This page tells you what the invoice needs to carry; it cannot tell you what your specific supply is classified as.