What Should an Export Invoice to a Foreign Client Contain?

An export invoice format is the set of details an Indian exporter puts on the bill sent to a foreign client. For a GST-registered exporter, the format is the tax invoice in CGST Rule 46, with extra export details. FEMA does not prescribe a layout, but it uses the invoice date and value to track payment.

• GST basis: A registered person supplying taxable services must issue a tax invoice showing the description, value, tax charged and other prescribed particulars (CGST Act, section 31(2)). Those particulars are listed in CGST Rule 46.
• Export proviso: For exports, the invoice carries an export endorsement and, in place of clause (e), shows the recipient's name and address, the address of delivery and the name of the country of destination (Rule 46, proviso).
• Export test: A service counts as an export only if the supplier is in India, the recipient and place of supply are outside India, and payment comes in convertible foreign exchange or in rupees where RBI permits (IGST Act, section 2(6)).
• FEMA use: From 1 October 2026, export value for services must be realised within nine months from the date of invoice, and the EDF is due within 30 days from the end of the month in which the invoice was raised (FEMA Regulations 3(2) and 5(1)).

The GST rules decide what the invoice must say, and the FEMA rules decide what happens after the invoice date. For the tax side of export billing, see GST on export of services, and for a ready layout see the freelancer invoice template for international clients.

The Rule 46 export invoice format applies to every GST-registered person who exports goods or services, because Rule 46 describes the tax invoice issued by the registered person. Exporters who are not registered still raise an invoice in practice, and FEMA still counts realisation from the invoice date for services.

You prepare an export invoice by settling the tax route first, then filling in each Rule 46 field with the export details. After issue, you report it in GSTR-1 and file the EDF with your AD bank. The steps below follow CGST Rule 46 and the FEMA regulations.

1. Decide whether you will export under an LUT without paying IGST or pay IGST. If you choose an LUT, file it in Form GST RFD-11 before the export (Rule 96A(1)).
2. Give the invoice a consecutive serial number of up to sixteen characters, using letters, numbers, hyphens or slashes, unique for the financial year (Rule 46(b)).
3. Date the invoice. For services, issue it within thirty days from the date of supply (Rule 47).
4. Add your own name, address and GSTIN as the supplier (Rule 46(a)).
5. Add the client's name and address, the address of delivery and the name of the country of destination, as the export proviso to Rule 46 requires.
6. Describe the goods or services, add the HSN code, and for goods add the quantity and unit (Rule 46(g) to (i)).
7. Show the total value and the taxable value after any discount, in the currency agreed with the client (Rule 46(j) and (k)).
8. Print the export endorsement that matches your tax route, and if you pay IGST, show the rate and amount of integrated tax (Rule 46(l), (m) and proviso).
9. Sign the invoice or digitally sign it. A signature is not required for an electronic invoice issued under the Information Technology Act, 2000 (Rule 46, proviso).
10. Mark the copies. For services, mark them ORIGINAL FOR RECIPIENT and DUPLICATE FOR SUPPLIER (Rule 48(2)).
11. Report the invoice serial numbers for the tax period in Form GSTR-1 (Rule 48(3)).
12. Submit the EDF to your AD bank within 30 days from the end of the invoice month. One EDF can cover all services exported in that month (Regulation 3(2)(a)). See the EDF form guide.

An Indian export invoice must include the supplier, numbering, recipient, supply, value, tax and signature fields in Rule 46, with the export details in place of clause (e). The table maps each field to its rule.

A wrong or missing export invoice can lead to a GST penalty and can disturb your FEMA and LUT timelines. The invoice date drives the realisation clock and the Rule 96A window, so a missing or late invoice makes both harder to track.

• GST penalty: A taxable person who supplies without an invoice, or issues an incorrect or false invoice, is liable to a penalty of ₹10,000 or the tax evaded, whichever is higher (CGST Act, section 122(1)(i)).
• General penalty: Breaches of the Act or rules with no separate penalty can attract a penalty of up to ₹25,000 (CGST Act, section 125).
• Invalid e-invoice: For a person notified for e-invoicing, an invoice issued without an IRN is not treated as an invoice (Rule 48(5)).
• LUT tax: If payment for services under an LUT is not received within one year or the FEMA period, whichever is later, from the invoice date, the exporter pays the tax with interest within the next fifteen days (Rule 96A(1)(b)).
• Unrealised exports: If proceeds stay unrealised for more than one year after the due date, further exports must be against full advance or an irrevocable letter of credit (Regulation 13).

To correct the value of an invoice already issued under GST, a credit or debit note is used, and it must quote the serial number and date of the original tax invoice (Rule 53(1A)). If the client will pay less than the invoice, ask your AD bank for a reduction; for invoices up to ₹10 lakh this can be allowed on your declaration (Regulation 6). See reduction in export invoice value.

The export invoice timeline starts before supply with the LUT and runs until the export value is realised. Most later deadlines are counted from the invoice date or the end of the invoice month, so the date you put on the invoice matters.

• Missing endorsement: Leaving out the LUT or IGST export wording, or using the wording for the wrong tax route.
• No country: Omitting the name of the country of destination, which the export proviso to Rule 46 requires in place of state details.
• Broken numbering: Restarting or duplicating serial numbers within a financial year, or using characters other than letters, numbers, hyphens and slashes.
• Late invoice: Raising the invoice months after the work, which breaks the 30-day rule for services and shifts the EDF and realisation dates.
• LUT not filed: Issuing the first export invoice of a financial year before the new LUT is filed, even though Rule 96A requires it before export.
• Mismatched payer: Getting paid by a person other than the client named on the invoice without telling the AD bank, which then has to treat it as a third party receipt.

Every rule, deadline and form on this page is linked to its official source, checked on the dates below.

1. Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017: Rule 46 (Tax invoice), Clauses (a) to (s); proviso on HSN digits; export proviso as substituted by Notification 17/2017-CT and 20/2024-CT; electronic invoice signature proviso (checked 9 Oct 2026)
2. Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017: Rule 47 (Time limit for issuing tax invoice), Main rule: thirty days from the date of supply of service (checked 9 Oct 2026)
3. Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017: Rule 48 (Manner of issuing invoice), Sub-rules (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) (checked 9 Oct 2026)
4. Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017: Rule 34 (Rate of exchange of currency), Sub-rules (1) and (2) (checked 9 Oct 2026)
5. Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017: Rule 53 (Revised tax invoice and credit or debit notes), Sub-rule (1A) (checked 9 Oct 2026)
6. Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017: Rule 96A (Export of goods or services under bond or Letter of Undertaking), Sub-rule (1)(b) as substituted by Notification 12/2024-CT (checked 9 Oct 2026)
7. Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017: Section 31 (Tax invoice), Sub-sections (2), (3)(d) and (5) (checked 9 Oct 2026)
8. Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017: Section 122 (Penalty for certain offences), Sub-section (1), clause (i) and penalty amount (checked 9 Oct 2026)
9. Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017: Section 125 (General penalty) (checked 9 Oct 2026)
10. Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017: Section 2 (Definitions), Clause (6), export of services (checked 9 Oct 2026)
11. Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, Notification No. FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB (amended up to 22 September 2026), Regulations 3(1), 3(2), 4(2), 5(1), 6, 8, 10(1), 13 and 19 (checked 9 Oct 2026)
12. RBI A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 10, International Trade Settlement in Indian Rupees (INR), 11 July 2022, Paras 2 (invoicing) and 3 (Special Rupee Vostro accounts) (checked 9 Oct 2026)