Which SAC code applies to photographers?

998383 covers photography and videography services. Related codes you may need are 998386 for photographic and videographic processing 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.

Invoice format for photographers

Photography is billed under SAC 998383 at 18% GST. Separate the shoot fee, the post-production and the image licence, and put travel and assistant costs on their own lines.

SAC codes you are likely to need

SAC	Covers
998383	Photography and videography services
998386	Photographic and videographic processing services

Typical rate: 18%

Lines this trade needs that a generic template misses

Shoot days and the day rate
Number of edited images or minutes of finished video delivered
Licence: usage, territory and duration
Travel, accommodation and assistant costs, itemised
Rush delivery surcharge, where it applies

What goes wrong on these invoices

Quoting a single package price and then absorbing travel. Travel to a wedding three states away is a real cost, and a package price makes it invisible until it has already eaten the margin.

Never charging for a licence extension. A client who used a campaign image for one season and then keeps running it has bought something further, and only an invoice that named the original term makes that collectable.

Delivering before invoicing. In this trade the files are the leverage, and handing them over first removes it.

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
Product shoot: one day, 40 edited images, 12-month digital licence	998383	35,000.00
1 day at 35,000.00

Taxable value	35,000.00
CGST 9%	3,150.00
SGST 9%	3,150.00
Total	41,300.00

Rupees Forty One Thousand Three 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 photographers?: 998383 covers photography and videography services. Related codes you may need are 998386 for photographic and videographic processing 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.