Credit Note & Debit Note Generator

About the Credit Note & Debit Note Generator

When an invoice turns out to be too high — goods come back, a discount is agreed after the sale, the goods or services fall short, or the price or tax was overcharged — the supplier issues a credit note. When it was too low, a debit note. Under GST these are the documents of section 34 of the CGST Act, and they must point to the invoice they correct.

Pick the reason, enter the original invoice number and date, and work out each line the way that fits: quantity × price for a return, a percentage of the invoiced value for a discount, invoiced → correct value for a rate revision, or a plain amount. The tool adds CGST + SGST or IGST at the rates you choose, prints every particular rule 53(1A) asks for, and warns when a credit note comes after the section 34(2) time limit. For discounts that should not touch GST, it also makes a financial credit note. Everything stays in your browser.

Common uses

• Crediting customers for returned or damaged goods.
• Passing on a volume or year-end discount after the sale.
• Correcting an invoice that charged the wrong rate or the wrong price.
• Raising a debit note (supplementary invoice) when the price goes up or extra charges arise.

When to issue a credit note or a debit note (section 34)

Section 34(1) of the CGST Act, 2017 lets the supplier issue a credit note when the taxable value or tax on an invoice is more than what is payable, when the recipient returns goods, or when goods or services supplied are deficient. Section 34(3) requires a debit note when the taxable value or tax was less than what was payable; under the Act a debit note includes a supplementary invoice. One note can cover several invoices of a financial year.

The Finance Act, 2026 adds post-sale discounts under section 15(3)(b) to section 34(1) and rewrites section 15(3)(b); on CBIC’s portal these changes were shown as not yet in force.

What a GST credit or debit note must show (rule 53(1A))

Rule 53(1A) of the CGST Rules, 2017 lists:

• the supplier’s name, address and GSTIN
• the nature of the document — the heading Credit Note or Debit Note
• a consecutive serial number of up to 16 characters (letters, digits, “-” and “/”), unique for the financial year
• the date of issue
• the recipient’s name, address and GSTIN or UIN if registered — or, if unregistered, name and address, the address of delivery and the State with its code
• the serial number(s) and date(s) of the original invoice(s)
• the taxable value, the rate of tax and the amount of tax credited or debited
• the supplier’s signature or digital signature

The tool prints each of these and warns when one is missing. Rule texts checked on CBIC’s tax information portal.

The time limit, and the recipient’s credit

Under section 34(2), a credit note is declared in the return for the month it is issued, but not later than 30 November following the end of the financial year of the supply, or the date you file the annual return for that year if that comes first. For an invoice of 10 Jun 2025 (FY 2025-26) the limit is 30 Nov 2026. The tool compares the note’s date with the limit for each invoice you enter; add your annual-return date if you filed before 30 November.

The proviso to section 34(2) allows the supplier’s output tax to be reduced only if a registered recipient has reversed the input tax credit for the note (for other recipients, only if the tax was not passed on). For debit notes there is no such limit for the supplier; the recipient can take credit on a debit note until 30 November after the end of the financial year it belongs to, or the annual-return date if earlier (section 16(4)).

Discounts after the sale: GST credit note or financial credit note?

Section 15(3)(b) keeps a discount given after the supply out of the taxable value only if it was agreed at or before the time of supply and linked to the invoices, and the recipient reverses the related credit. Otherwise the supplier can still give the discount through a financial (commercial) credit note, which reduces the amount payable but not the GST: CBIC Circular 92/11/2019-GST, restated in Circular 251/08/2025-GST, says the supplier cannot reduce its tax and the recipient does not reverse its credit in that case. Choose Financial note — no GST change and the note says so.

Limitations

• The tool lays out the note; it does not decide whether a reduction qualifies under section 15 or 34, which rate applies or how to report it. Check with the official rules or your accountant.
• It does not file anything: declare the note in your GST return (and, if you must issue e-invoices, report it on the Invoice Registration Portal — this tool does not connect to it).
• Lines are worked out the way you choose; for a return the price per unit should be the invoiced price after any line discount.
• The downloadable PDF draws Latin-script text (with ₹, €, £). For other scripts, use Print / Save as PDF. The first PDF download needs a connection to fetch the PDF engine and fonts.

Privacy

Everything happens in your browser. The note, the parties’ details, your logo and signature are not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot; the draft stays in this browser’s local storage until you press Clear saved data on this device.