Invoice format for interior designers
Interior design is billed under SAC 998391 at 18% GST, but the place of supply is where the property is located, not where your client lives.
SAC codes you are likely to need
| SAC | Covers |
|---|---|
| 998391 | Specialty design services including interior design |
| 998399 | Other professional and technical services |
Typical rate: 18%
Lines this trade needs that a generic template misses
- Project stage: concept, detailed design, tender, site supervision
- Percentage of the stage completed, where fees are drawn down against a total
- Site visits beyond the included count
- Procurement handled on the client behalf, shown separately from the design fee
What goes wrong on these invoices
Using the client address to decide the tax split. Section 12(3) of the IGST Act puts the place of supply for services directly related to immovable property at the property location. A Delhi client with a Goa villa means Goa is the place of supply, even though every conversation happened in Delhi.
Rolling furniture and material procurement into the design fee. Those are goods with their own HSN codes and often a different rate, and combining them can make the whole invoice a composite supply taxed at the higher rate.
Drawing the full stage fee before the stage is complete, which leaves you arguing about time of supply if the project stalls.
Property-linked services follow the property. If you work across states, the place of supply changes project by project.
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.
Common questions
- Which SAC code applies to interior designers?
- 998391 covers specialty design services including interior design. Related codes you may need are 998399 for other professional and technical services. 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.