GST invoices on marketplaces — what buyers actually need

A GST invoice is the artefact your accounts team actually has to file. The difference between an invoice that takes 60 seconds to clear and one that takes an afternoon is almost never the rate or the math — it's the metadata.

The four fields that matter

1. Ship-to state. A sale to Karnataka from a Karnataka-registered seller splits as CGST 9% + SGST 9%. The same sale to Tamil Nadu is IGST 18%. Most invoices default to one and never reflect the actual ship-to. Splendx invoices always reflect the actual ship-to on the order.

2. HSN code. Required for goods above ₹50,000 and expected below. If the SKU doesn't have an HSN on the invoice, the buyer's GSTR-1 reconciliation breaks.

3. Place of supply. Same data point as #1, expressed as the state name. Some ERP systems reconcile on this instead of the state code.

4. Invoice reference + IRN. The IRN (Invoice Reference Number, generated by the GSTN IRP) is what marks an invoice as 'reported'. Without it, the buyer's input credit claim can be denied.

What we changed

Splendx invoices are now generated server-side at order time, include the IGST/CGST/SGST split based on the actual ship-to state, carry the HSN code from the product catalog, and embed the IRN when the buyer's account is registered for it. The breakdown is in the order detail page and downloadable from /api/invoices/[orderId].

If your accounts team still has to manually split the tax line on a Splendx invoice, that's a bug — file a ticket from the order page and we'll fix it.