Shops and retail

GST invoice format for a stationery shop

A stationery bill is one of the most rate-mixed bills in retail after September 2025. Pencils, crayons, erasers, sharpeners and exercise books are now nil-rated, geometry and colour boxes are at 5%, while ball pens, registers, files, envelopes and glue remain at 18%. The invoice must therefore print the HSN and rate on every line, keep exempt items in their own sub-total, and separate school-list orders from office stationery sold to businesses that need input tax credit.

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Sample stationery shop invoice

Description	HSN/SAC	Qty	Rate (₹)	Taxable (₹)	GST
HB graphite pencils (box of 10)	9609	2 BOX	60.00	120.00	0%
Exercise notebook, single line, 172 pages	4820	6 PCS	45.00	270.00	0%
Non-dust eraser	4016	4 PCS	5.00	20.00	0%
Geometry box (mathematical instrument box)	7326	1 PCS	180.00	180.00	5%
Ball point pens, blue (pack of 10)	9608	2 PAC	100.00	200.00	18%
Office register, 200 pages, hard bound	4820	2 PCS	140.00	280.00	18%
Taxable value				₹1,070.00
GST (CGST + SGST, or IGST if inter-state)				₹95.40
Invoice total				₹1,165.40

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

Extra fields a stationery shop invoice needs

Exempt or taxable marker: After the September 2025 changes a school kit can contain nil-rated pencils and notebooks next to 18% pens. Marking each line as exempt or taxable explains the tax on the bill and keeps exempt turnover separate in GSTR-1.
School list or class reference: Shops supply complete book-and-stationery lists for schools. Printing the school name and class on the bill helps parents check the kit against the list and simplifies returns of items the school later drops.
Pack count per unit: Pens, pencils and markers are sold loose, in boxes of ten or in packs. Stating how many pieces a unit contains prevents quantity mistakes and keeps stock counts consistent with purchase invoices.
Ruling and page count: Exercise books and registers differ by ruling, page count and size. These details decide whether a book is an exempt exercise book or an 18% register, and confirm the exact item supplied.
Business buyer GSTIN: Offices buy files, registers, printer paper and pens in bulk. Their GSTIN on a tax invoice lets them claim input tax credit on the taxable items, which matters to corporate and institutional customers.
Brand and colour: Ink colour, nib size and brand matter for pens and markers. Recording them avoids disputes in bulk office orders where a wrong colour or nib size is a common reason for returns.

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 stationery shop

What became nil-rated in September 2025

Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate), which replaced the old exemption list from 22 September 2025, exempts pencils, crayons, pastels and chalks of headings 9608 and 9609, slates of 9610, erasers of 4016, pencil sharpeners of 8214, and exercise books, graph books, laboratory notebooks and notebooks of heading 4820. The West Bengal Commercial Taxes synopsis of the 56th GST Council meeting records that pencils, sharpeners and exercise books moved from 12% to nil and erasers from 5% to nil. A stationery shop that has not updated its item master since then is still charging tax on these items, and the excess has to be refunded through credit notes or paid to the government.

Notebook is exempt, register is 18%

Heading 4820 contains both exempt and taxable goods. Exercise books, graph books, laboratory notebooks and notebooks are exempt, but Notification 9/2025 keeps registers, account books, order books, receipt books, letter pads, diaries, binders, folders and file covers of the same heading at 18%. The difference is the nature of the article, not its price, so a 200-page long book sold to a student as a notebook and a hard-bound office register can carry different rates. Describe the item clearly on the invoice so that the classification is evident from the bill itself.

Geometry boxes and pens

Mathematical boxes, geometry boxes and colour boxes fall under a specific 5% entry in Notification 9/2025, having moved down from 12%. Ball point pens, felt-tipped pens, markers and fountain pens of heading 9608 remain at 18%, as do glues and adhesives of 3506 and envelopes of 4817. A pencil box that contains pens, pencils and an eraser and is sold for a single price is a mixed supply, which is taxed at the highest rate of any item in it. Shops that sell such combo kits should price and bill the components separately if they want each to carry its own rate.

Invoice or bill of supply for mixed sales

Where a single sale contains both exempt and taxable goods, Rule 46 allows one invoice-cum-bill of supply to be issued, showing the taxable items with tax and the exempt items without tax. A shop that sells only exempt goods, such as a pure notebook and pencil wholesaler, issues bills of supply under Rule 49, and a person making only exempt supplies is not liable to register under section 23. Most stationery shops sell some 18% items, so they need registration once their turnover crosses the threshold, and must print the correct document title.

Common billing mistakes

Still charging 12% on pencils, sharpeners and exercise books months after they became nil-rated from 22 September 2025. at the counter.
Applying the notebook exemption to office registers, diaries and file covers that remain at 18% under heading 4820. of the same chapter.
Selling a school combo kit for one price with pens inside and billing the whole kit at nil instead of the highest rate.
Mixing exempt and taxable lines with no sub-totals, so exempt turnover is reported as taxable or the reverse in returns.

Stationery shop GST invoice: FAQ

Is GST charged on pencils and notebooks now?

No. From 22 September 2025 pencils, crayons, erasers, sharpeners, slates and exercise books, graph books and notebooks are exempt under Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate). Pens, registers, diaries, files and glue are still taxable at 18%, and geometry or colour boxes at 5%.

Can one bill have both exempt and taxable stationery?

Yes. Rule 46 allows a single invoice-cum-bill of supply when a registered person supplies both taxable and exempt goods to an unregistered buyer. Show tax only on the taxable lines, keep exempt items at zero, and give a sub-total for each so that the return figures reconcile with your sales register.

What HSN code should I use for ball pens?

Ball point pens, gel pens, markers and fountain pens fall under heading 9608 and are taxed at 18%. Pencils and crayons share chapter 96 under headings 9608 and 9609 but are exempt, so code pens and pencils as separate items with their own HSN in your billing software.

Do schools buying stationery need a tax invoice?

A school registered under GST may want a tax invoice with its GSTIN for taxable items, though most schools are not registered. For unregistered schools, a normal retail invoice with the school's name and address is sufficient, and the address is mandatory when the value reaches fifty thousand rupees.

Sources: CBIC — Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate), exempted goods · CBIC — Notification 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate), goods rate schedules · Commercial Taxes Directorate, West Bengal — 56th GST Council rate synopsis · CBIC — CGST Act and Rules (sections 15, 23, 31, 34; Rules 46 and 49)

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