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Rule 49 of the CGST Rules, 2017

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GST›CGST Rules, 2017›Chapter VI, Tax Invoice, Credit and Debit Notes

At a glance

Bars, duties and time limits

Rule 49(a)–(h)The bill includes supplier identity and registration number, issue date, registered recipient identity and number, classification code, description, value after discount or abatement, and the supplier’s or representative’s signature, subject to the exceptions.
Rule 49(b)The consecutive serial number is unique for the financial year, uses permitted letters, numerals, hyphen or slash combinations, and does not exceed sixteen characters.

Procedure, powers and definitions

Rule 49, provisosRule 46 provisos apply with corresponding changes. A tax invoice or similar document under another Act for a non-taxable supply counts as a bill of supply. An electronic bill compliant with the Information Technology Act does not need the supplier’s signature.
Rule 49, final proviso; rule 54(5)The Government may notify a QR-code requirement on the Council’s recommendations with conditions and restrictions. Rule 54(5) extends its specified special-case provisions to bills of supply with corresponding changes.
Rule 49The law does not settle the specific adaptations to the rule 46 provisos or which other-Act documents are sufficiently similar to a tax invoice.

A supplier issuing a bill of supply must include the identities, serial number, supply details and value required by rule 49. The rule imports the provisos to rule 46 with corresponding changes, and rule 54 applies its specified special cases. A qualifying electronic bill does not require a signature. Another-Act invoice for a non-taxable supply can also qualify under the stated proviso.^[1]

Quick facts

Rule 49, CGST Rules, 2017

Bill of supply

Provision
Act	Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017
Chapter	VI, Tax Invoice, Credit and Debit Notes
Rule title	Bill of supply
Amendments
Last amendment	1 April 2020: Inserted (w.e.f. 01.04.2020 by Notification No. 71/2019-C.T., dated 13-12-2019) vide Notification No. 31/2019 - CT dated 28.06.2019.
Amendments	2 footnotes in the CBIC text (table)
Related provisions
Other rules	Rule 46, Rule 54
Sections	Section 2 of the CGST Act, 2017, Section 31 of the CGST Act, 2017
Structure 49Bill-of-supply scope and source version 49Ordinary bill-of-supply particulars 49Recipient particulars and registration qualifier 49HSN presence or adapted exemption 49Bill-of-supply signature 49One Rule 46 proviso adaptation 49Other-Act document statutory deeming 49Notified bill-of-supply QR requirement
Source
Law text	CBIC tax information portal, served on 17 September 2026^[1]
Questions reviewed	Prashant Prakash, 23 September 2026

Text

The text below is the rule as served by the CBIC tax information portal on 17 September 2026, with the portal's own amendment footnote markers (shown as small numerals before a bracket) and its footnotes.^[1] The Rules as published in the Gazette of India is the legal source.

Rule 49, verbatim (show)

Rule 49. Bill of supply.-

A bill of supply referred to in clause(c) of sub-section (3) of section 31 shall be issued by the supplier containing the following details, namely,-

(a) name, address and Goods and Services Tax Identification Number of the supplier;

(b) a consecutive serial number not exceeding sixteen characters, in one or multiple series, containing alphabets or numerals or special characters - hyphen or dash and slash symbolised as "-'' and "/" respectively, and any combination thereof, unique for a financial year;

(c) date of its issue;

(d) name, address and Goods and Services Tax Identification Number or Unique Identity Number, if registered, of the recipient;

(e) Harmonised System of Nomenclature Code for goods or services;

(f) description of goods or services or both;

(g) value of supply of goods or services or both taking into account discount or abatement, if any; and (h) signature or digital signature of the supplier or his authorised representative:

Provided that the provisos to rule 46 shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to the bill of supply issued under this rule:

Provided further that any tax invoice or any other similar document issued under any other Act for the time being in force in respect of any non-taxable supply shall be treated as a bill of supply for the purposes of the Act.

¹[Provided also that the signature or digital signature of the supplier or his authorised representative shall not be required in the case of issuance of an electronic bill of supply in accordance with the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000).]

²[Provided also that the Government may, by notification, on the recommendations of the Council, and subject to such conditions and restrictions as mentioned therein, specify that the bill of supply shall have Quick Response (QR) code.]

1. Inserted vide Notification No. 74/2018-CT dated 31.12.2018

2. Inserted (w.e.f. 01.04.2020 by Notification No. 71/2019-C.T., dated 13-12-2019) vide Notification No. 31/2019 - CT dated 28.06.2019.

Questions to answer on the file

Questions a reviewer answers from the engagement file, grouped by the part of the rule they come from. They describe what the rule asks; they do not decide it.

Bill-of-supply scope and source version 49

Questions to answer on the file5 questions

Is bill-of-supply scope and source version under examination?
Is the document a bill of supply referred to in section 31(3)(c)?
Was the bill of supply issued by the supplier of the supply?
Does the source version of Rule 49 apply at this document issue date?
Does the source version of the imported Rule 46 provisos apply at this document issue date?

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Ordinary bill-of-supply particulars 49

Questions to answer on the file14 questions

Is ordinary bill-of-supply particulars under examination?
Does it record supplier name?
Does it record supplier address?
Does it record supplier GSTIN?
Does it bear a serial number?
Is its serial consecutive within its series?
Does its serial use only the permitted characters?
Is the serial unique across the issuer series for its financial year?
Does it record the issue date?
Does it describe the goods or services or both?
Does it record the value of the supply?
Is the serial maintained in one or multiple series?
How many characters does its serial contain?
Does the value take into account the evidenced discount or abatement, if any?

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Recipient particulars and registration qualifier 49

Questions to answer on the file7 questions

Is recipient particulars and registration qualifier under examination?
Is the recipient registered under section 25?
Does the bill record recipient name?
Does it record recipient address?
Does it record recipient GSTIN?
Does it record recipient UIN?
For an unregistered recipient, does the firm reading permit omission of recipient name and address under the trailing qualifier?

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HSN presence or adapted exemption 49

Questions to answer on the file3 questions

Is hsn presence or adapted exemption under examination?
Does the bill record the HSN code?
Does an actual applicable HSN notification, with the permissible Rule 49 adaptation, exempt this issuer from mentioning the HSN?

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Bill-of-supply signature 49

Questions to answer on the file4 questions

Is bill-of-supply signature under examination?
Does it bear supplier ordinary or digital signature?
Does it bear the authorised representative ordinary or digital signature?
Was this electronic bill issued in accordance with the Information Technology Act2000?

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One Rule 46 proviso adaptation 49

Questions to answer on the file1 question

Is one rule 46 proviso adaptation under examination?

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Other-Act document statutory deeming 49

Questions to answer on the file7 questions

Is other-act document statutory deeming under examination?
Is the instrument a tax invoice?
Is it another document sufficiently similar to a tax invoice for this proviso?
Was that document issued under the other Act?
Was that other Act in force for the document event?
Is this supply leviable under the CGST Act?
Is this supply leviable under the IGST Act?

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Notified bill-of-supply QR requirement 49

Questions to answer on the file8 questions

Is notified bill-of-supply qr requirement under examination?
Does an notification specify a QR-code requirement for bills of supply?
Was it issued by the Government?
Was it on Council recommendations?
Are the specified notification conditions satisfied for this bill?
Does the notification scope cover this bill?
Are its restrictions observed for the claimed requirement or permission?
Does this bill have the QR code the actual notification requires?

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Amendment history

The CBIC text carries 2 footnotes. The table gives each in the source's own terms. Effective dates are as the footnotes state them.^[1]

Amendments to Rule 49 as footnoted in the CBIC text
Note	Change
1	Inserted vide Notification No. 74/2018-CT dated 31.12.2018^[2]
2	Inserted (w.e.f. 01.04.2020 by Notification No. 71/2019-C.T., dated 13-12-2019) vide Notification No. 31/2019 - CT dated 28.06.2019.^[3]^[4]

Provisions connected to Rule 49
Provision	Connection	Words that tie them
Section 31 of the CGST Act, 2017	Section 31 of the CGST Act, 2017(3)(c) prescribed by this provision	31(3)(c) "a bill of supply containing such particulars and in such manner as may be prescribed"
Rule 46	this provision requires Rule 46 provisos	49 "the provisos to rule 46 shall, mutatis mutandis, apply"
Section 2 of the CGST Act, 2017	this provision requires Section 2 of the CGST Act, 2017(78)	49 "non-taxable supply"; 2(78) "not leviable to tax under this Act or under the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act"
Rule 54	this provision exception in Rule 54 (5)	54(5) "The provisions of sub-rule (2)or sub-rule (4) shall apply, mutatis mutandis"; 54(5) "to the documents issued under rule 49 or rule 50 or rule 51 or rule 52 or rule 53"

Circulars and notifications

Circulars and notifications in the CBIC repository that cite this rule, newest first, by number, date and subject. A listing here does not say what an instrument decides; read the instrument.

Notifications (7)

Number	Date	Subject
Notification No. 26/2022-Central Tax	26 December 2022	Seeks to make fifth amendment (2022) to CGST Rules
Notification No. 31/2019-Central Tax	28 June 2019	Seeks to carry out changes in the CGST Rules, 2017. amended by a later instrument
Notification No. 02/2019-Central Tax (Rate)	7 March 2019	To give composition scheme for supplier of services with a tax rate of 6% having annual turn over in preceding year upto Rs 50 lakhs. amended by a later instrument
Notification No. 02/2019-Union Territory Tax (Rate)	7 March 2019	To give composition scheme for supplier of services with a tax rate of 6% having annual turn over in preceding year upto Rs 50 lakhs amended by a later instrument
Notification No. 74/2018-Central Tax	31 December 2018	Fourteenth amendment to the CGST Rules, 2017. amended by a later instrument
Notification No. 45/2017-Central Tax	13 October 2017	Seeks to amend the CGST Rules, 2017
Notification No. 10/2017-Central Tax	28 June 2017	Seeks to amend CGST Rules notification no 3/2017-Central Tax dt 19.06.2017 amended by a later instrument

Unsettled questions

The words of Rule 49 do not answer these questions. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.

Which corresponding changes apply when each identified Rule 46 proviso is applied to a bill of supply under Rule 49? The rule supplies mutatis mutandis but not the changed scope, fields or steps; no firm reading adopted.
Widening applied centrally: the existing similar-documents question for section 33 now also covers which documents are similar to a tax invoice under the Rule 49 other-Act proviso, preserving both contexts.

See also

Section 31 of the CGST Act, 2017: tax invoice
Rule 46 of the CGST Rules, 2017: tax invoice
Rule 54 of the CGST Rules, 2017: tax invoice in special cases

References

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Rule 49. Bill of supply". Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, CBIC tax information portal, with amendment footnotes 1 to 2. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
Notification No. 74/2018-Central Tax, dated 31 December 2018: Fourteenth amendment to the CGST Rules, 2017. Cited in CBIC footnote 1.
Notification No. 71/2019-Central Tax, dated 13 December 2019: Seeks to give effect to the provisions of rule 46 of the CGST Rules, 2017. Cited in CBIC footnote 2.
Notification No. 31/2019-Central Tax, dated 28 June 2019: Seeks to carry out changes in the CGST Rules, 2017. Cited in CBIC footnote 2.

External links

CGST Rules, 2017, Rule 49 on the CBIC tax information portal