Agri, textiles and crafts

GST invoice format for a plant nursery

Most of what a plant nursery sells is exempt: live trees and other plants, bulbs, roots, cut flowers and ornamental foliage of chapter 6 are in Notification 10/2025, and so are seeds for sowing and earthen pots. The taxable part is the add-ons, such as pre-packaged organic manure and coir pith compost at 5% and plastic pots or tools at their own rates. A nursery bill should name species and variety, plant age or bag size, grafted or seedling, and show exempt and taxable totals separately.

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Sample plant nursery invoice

Description	HSN/SAC	Qty	Rate (₹)	Taxable (₹)	GST
Grafted mango sapling (Kesar), 1 year, polybag	0602	50 NOS	120.00	6,000.00	0%
Tissue-culture banana plant (G9), hardened	0602	500 NOS	18.00	9,000.00	0%
Rose cut flowers, bunch of 20	0603	10 NOS	200.00	2,000.00	0%
Earthen flower pot, 10 inch	6912	20 NOS	90.00	1,800.00	0%
Vermicompost, pre-packaged and labelled, 5 kg	3101	15 PAC	120.00	1,800.00	5%
Coir pith compost (cocopeat) block, pre-packaged and labelled, 5 kg	5305	10 PAC	160.00	1,600.00	5%
Taxable value				₹22,200.00
GST (CGST + SGST, or IGST if inter-state)				₹170.00
Invoice total				₹22,370.00

Sample prices are illustrative. Check the GST rate for your exact item or service before billing.

Extra fields a plant nursery invoice needs

Species, variety and propagation: Grafted Alphonso mango, tissue-culture banana and seedling teak are priced very differently. Recording species, variety and whether the plant is grafted, budded, tissue-culture or seedling helps the buyer verify what was delivered and supports replacement if it dies early.
Plant age, height or bag size: Nursery plants are sold by polybag size, pot size or height. Showing '6 x 8 inch bag, 1 year' or '3 feet height' on each line prevents arguments over what was promised at the time of order.
Quantity for plantation orders: Farm and plantation orders run into hundreds or thousands of saplings for a specified area. The quantity line should match the plantation plan so a government scheme or corporate buyer can reconcile the delivery.
Nursery registration or accreditation: Fruit plant nurseries in many states are registered with the horticulture department and some hold national accreditation. Printing the registration number assures buyers that planting material comes from a recognised source.
Exempt and taxable sub-totals: Plants, seeds and earthen pots are exempt; packed manure, plastic pots and garden tools are taxable. Two sub-totals make it simple to calculate tax and to file exempt and taxable turnover correctly.
Delivery and planting charges: Large orders include transport and sometimes planting labour. Showing these separately clarifies whether the service is part of the supply of plants or a separate taxable service.

Standard GST invoice fields

Rule 46 of the CGST Rules applies to every tax invoice, including this one:

Supplier name, address and GSTIN
Consecutive invoice number (max 16 characters, unique for the year)
Date of issue
Customer name, address and GSTIN (if registered)
Place of supply with state name
HSN/SAC code per item
Description, quantity and unit
Taxable value after discounts
GST rate and CGST + SGST or IGST amounts
Signature or digital signature

GST rules that matter for a plant nursery

Plants and flowers are exempt goods

Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate) exempts all goods of chapter 6: live trees and other plants, bulbs, roots and the like, cut flowers and ornamental foliage. Seeds and spores for sowing of heading 1209, earthen pots and clay lamps of 6912 00 40 and clay idols are also exempt. A nursery that sells only these items deals entirely in exempt goods and is not required to register, whatever its turnover. When it does register because of taxable sales, it issues a bill of supply or an invoice-cum-bill of supply in which these lines carry no tax.

Manure and compost depend on packing

Organic manure of heading 3101 and coir pith compost are exempt when not pre-packaged and labelled, and taxed at 5% under Schedule I of Notification 9/2025 when they are pre-packaged and labelled. Nurseries that sell vermicompost by the sack from a heap and also stock branded 1 kg and 5 kg packs must create separate items. The rate follows the packing, not the brand of the nursery itself.

Pots, tools and decorative items

Plastic pots, grow bags, garden sprays and decorative planters are taxable goods classified under their own headings. Mechanical sprayers of heading 8424 are at 5%. Manually operated garden tools of heading 8201, such as secateurs, pruners, hoes and rakes, are exempt. The nursery's item master should carry the heading and rate for each of these so the counter bill is correct without guesswork.

Landscaping and maintenance are services

When the nursery designs and lays a garden, plants an avenue for a housing society or maintains lawns on contract, it is supplying a service, not just selling plants. Such landscaping or horticultural maintenance services are generally taxable at the service rate, and the plants supplied as part of a works or maintenance contract may lose their exempt character. A nursery that takes such contracts should issue a separate service invoice and keep its plant sales on their own bill.

Input credit when most sales are exempt

Because plants are exempt, a nursery cannot claim input tax credit on inputs used to raise them, such as polybags, shade nets and drip lines. Credit is available only for inputs used for taxable sales. This is why many nurseries trading in small quantities of packed manure find that registration adds cost without much benefit and stay unregistered until the threshold forces them.

Common billing mistakes

Charging GST on saplings, grafts or cut flowers because the bill also has taxable items, when chapter 6 goods are exempt.
Billing packed vermicompost or cocopeat as exempt like loose manure, when the pre-packaged and labelled form is taxed at 5%.
Mixing landscaping labour into the plant sale so that a taxable service is hidden inside exempt goods.
Omitting variety and grafting details, which leaves the nursery exposed when a buyer claims the wrong variety was supplied.
Claiming input credit on polybags and shade nets used to raise exempt plants.

Plant nursery GST invoice: FAQ

Is there GST on plants from a nursery?

No. Live trees and plants, bulbs, roots, cut flowers and ornamental foliage of chapter 6 are exempt under Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate), whether sold to a farmer, a home gardener or a company. The exemption does not depend on whether the plant is grafted or a seedling.

Does a nursery need GST registration?

A nursery that sells only exempt goods such as plants, seeds and earthen pots need not register. If it sells taxable items such as packed manure, plastic pots or landscaping services and its aggregate turnover crosses the threshold, it must register.

What is the HSN code for saplings?

Saplings and other live plants fall under heading 0602. Bulbs and tubers are 0601, cut flowers 0603 and foliage 0604, all within chapter 6.

Is cocopeat taxable?

Coir pith compost is exempt when not pre-packaged and labelled and taxed at 5% when sold in pre-packaged and labelled form. Most branded cocopeat blocks are pre-packaged and labelled, so they are usually taxable.

How should a large plantation order be billed?

Issue one bill listing species, size and quantity with the exempt rate, and add transport or planting labour as separate lines. If the order is a plantation contract with planting and maintenance, consider a separate service invoice.

Sources: Gazette of India: Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate), exempt goods · Gazette of India: Notification 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate), goods rate schedules

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