What Is an Export Invoice? Format Under GST, Types and LUT

An export invoice is the bill an exporter issues to an overseas buyer for goods or services sold abroad, showing what was sold, its value, the currency and the payment terms. In India it is a GST tax invoice with extra export details under Rule 46 of the CGST Rules, and it is the document your bank, customs and the GST system all rely on to treat the sale as an export.

• Also called: export bill or export tax invoice
• Issued by: the Indian exporter, to the foreign buyer
• GST: zero-rated; no tax is charged to the buyer
• Must carry: an export declaration line, the buyer's foreign address, the country of destination and an INR value
• Routes: under LUT without IGST, or with IGST paid and refunded
• Used for: customs clearance (goods), GST compliance and bank realisation under FEMA

There is no single government-prescribed layout. The export invoice format under GST is simply a normal tax invoice that carries the fields set out below, which you can build in Word, Excel or a free tool such as Xflow Invoicing. What changes is the content, not the template: an Indian design studio billing a client in Toronto uses the same invoice it would use for a client in Pune, plus a declaration line, the client's foreign address, the currency and the rupee value.

Get those extra details right once, save them as a template, and every future export invoice becomes routine.

An export invoice matters because three different authorities use the same document to decide how your sale is treated: customs, the GST system and your bank.

For goods, customs uses the invoice together with the shipping bill to inspect, classify and value the shipment, so a mismatch in description or value can hold a container at the port. For GST, the declaration line and the foreign buyer's details prove the supply is an export, which is what lets you export under an LUT without paying tax, or claim back the IGST you paid. For your bank, the invoice is what each foreign payment is matched against, so that the export is marked as realised under FEMA and you receive a FIRC or eFIRA.

There is a fourth, more ordinary use: the buyer's accounts team pays against it. Clear payment terms, the right currency and complete bank details on the invoice remove the most common reason overseas payments arrive late.

A missing field rarely stops the buyer paying, but it often stops the refund or the bank's realisation record later, when it is harder to fix. Treat the invoice as the first document in your compliance trail, not just a request for money.

In GST terms there are three types of export invoice, set by how tax is handled: export under LUT or bond, export with payment of IGST, and supply to an SEZ unit or developer.

• Export under LUT or bond: no IGST charged; used by most service exporters, who file an LUT for the year
• Export with payment of IGST: IGST charged and then refunded; used when there is no LUT or you prefer the refund route
• Supply to an SEZ unit or developer: zero-rated, under LUT or with IGST, when the buyer is in a Special Economic Zone

Several other invoices travel with an export for different purposes. A proforma invoice is a quote sent before the order and has no tax effect. A commercial invoice for export is the customs-facing document for a goods shipment. Some importing countries also ask for a consular or legalised invoice, stamped by their consulate or a chamber of commerce, or a customs invoice in a set format for valuing goods.

Most Indian service exporters only ever need the first type: a tax invoice under LUT. Goods exporters typically issue the tax invoice and a commercial invoice, which can be the same document if it carries all the fields.

An export invoice must carry the normal Rule 46 tax-invoice fields, plus the buyer's foreign address, the delivery address, the country of destination and the export declaration line.

For an export invoice sample for services, picture Acme Analytics LLP billing Nimbus Corp, USA, USD 5,000 for software development under LUT. The invoice shows SAC 998314, place of supply 'Outside India', the LUT endorsement, the LUT ARN, USD 5,000 at the exchange rate with the INR value, and no shipping bill or port rows. For the code itself, see HSN code or SAC code.

Laid out top to bottom, the sample export invoice format is: 'TAX INVOICE' and the declaration line; your name, address, GSTIN, IEC if held and LUT ARN; invoice number, date and place of supply; the buyer's name, foreign address, delivery address and country; line items with SAC or HSN, quantity, price and foreign-currency amount; the currency block with the exchange rate, date and INR value; goods-only rows for Incoterms, origin, port, shipping bill and weights; and a footer with payment terms, bank details and signature. That is the same layout whether you search for an export invoice format in Excel, an LUT invoice format or an export of services invoice format.

Issue goods invoices in triplicate and services invoices in duplicate under Rule 48; e-invoices replace paper copies. Incoterms 2020 is still the current edition, and Schedule B codes seen on some templates are US export codes, not Indian ones; Indian exporters use the 8-digit ITC-HS code.

No. Exports are zero-rated, so you never add GST to the buyer's bill. You either export under a Letter of Undertaking without paying IGST, or pay IGST and claim it back, and you print the matching declaration line from Rule 46.

The choice is about cash flow. Under an LUT you never part with the tax, so the money stays in the business. On the IGST route you pay the tax first and wait for the refund, which ties up working capital for weeks or months. Many exporters print the shorter form 'Supply meant for export under LUT without payment of IGST'; it is widely accepted, but the full Rule 46 wording is the safest choice on an audit.

File the LUT at the start of each financial year so it is in place before your first invoice. For the trade-off in detail, see LUT vs IGST refund, and confirm filing details with your CA.

Yes. You can invoice in USD, EUR, GBP or another currency the buyer agrees, or in INR, but the invoice must also show the rupee value for GST, using the exchange rate set by Rule 34 of the CGST Rules.

Rule 34 treats goods and services differently. For services, it uses the rate under generally accepted accounting principles on the date of supply, and in practice most exporters use the FBIL reference rate for that date. For goods, it uses the customs exchange rate notified by CBIC for the date of supply.

Here is a worked example for a service, using an illustrative rate. You invoice USD 5,000 on a day when the reference rate is ₹86.00 per USD, so the invoice and your GSTR-1 show an INR value of ₹4,30,000.

The rupee value on the invoice is fixed on the invoice date, even though the money arrives later at whatever rate applies then. If the client pays three weeks later when the rate has moved, the gap is an ordinary foreign exchange gain or loss in your books, not a mistake on the invoice. Use a published reference rate and the invoice date, never your bank's card rate, and print both the rate and the rupee value so the figure in GSTR-1 can be traced back.

Create an export invoice by starting from a GST tax invoice, adding the buyer's foreign details and the export declaration line, converting the value to INR, and issuing it on time.

1. File your LUT on the GST portal (Form RFD-11) at the start of the financial year, if you want to export without paying IGST.
2. Start from a tax invoice in a template or tool, with your GSTIN and a unique invoice number.
3. Add the buyer's name, foreign address, delivery address and country of destination.
4. Describe the supply with the SAC or HSN code, quantity and price, plus Incoterms, origin and shipping details for goods.
5. Add the foreign-currency amount, the exchange rate and the INR value.
6. Print the declaration line for LUT or IGST, and 'Outside India' as place of supply.
7. Sign and issue on time: for services, within 30 days of supply (Rule 47); for goods, before or at removal. Generate an IRN first if e-invoicing applies to you.

Before you send it, run a last check: invoice number and date, your GSTIN and IEC if held, the buyer's foreign and delivery address, SAC or HSN, the currency, rate and INR value, 'Outside India', the correct declaration line with the LUT ARN, and a signature. Then report the invoice in GSTR-1 and, for services, in that month's Export Declaration Form to your bank.

Keep the same invoice number across GSTR-1, the EDF and your FIRC for GST refund records, so the paperwork reconciles on its own.

An export invoice is your GST tax invoice for a foreign sale; a commercial invoice is the trade document that travels with a goods shipment for customs and the buyer. For services they are usually the same document, and for goods one invoice often does both jobs if it carries all the fields.

In practice the difference shows up in who reads it. A customs officer reading a commercial invoice cares about the description, quantity, weight, origin and value of what is in the container. The GST system reading your export invoice cares about the declaration line, the place of supply and the rupee value. A textile exporter shipping to Germany therefore usually issues one invoice that satisfies both: the full GST fields plus the goods details customs needs.

A proforma invoice is only a preview and has no tax effect; never report it in GSTR-1.

Usually not. Service exporters use a SAC code instead of HSN, have no shipping bill, and do not need an IEC unless they claim Foreign Trade Policy benefits, though many banks still ask for one.

The IEC is mandatory for exporting goods. For services, the Foreign Trade Policy requires it only if you want FTP benefits, but some banks ask for it before processing export receipts, so check with your bank before your first payment. Goods carry an 8-digit HSN, while services carry a 6-digit SAC; a software developer, for example, typically uses SAC 998314 for IT design and development. Shipping bills and ports exist only for goods, because nothing physical crosses the border when you deliver a service.

If your work is software, design, consulting or support delivered to a foreign client, you are on the services track. The conditions for zero-rating are a place of supply outside India, payment in convertible foreign exchange or in INR where RBI permits, and an LUT on file; these are covered in export of services under GST.

The quickest test: if what you sell could be emailed, you are a service exporter, and the goods rows on any template can be deleted.

Yes, if your aggregate annual turnover has exceeded ₹5 crore in any financial year since 2017-18. Then every export invoice needs an Invoice Reference Number (IRN) from the e-invoice portal; below that threshold, e-invoicing does not apply to you.

Three details catch businesses out. Once you cross ₹5 crore in any year, the requirement stays even if turnover later falls. Since 1 April 2025, businesses with turnover of ₹10 crore or more must report each invoice to the portal within 30 days of its date, or the portal rejects it. And exports use their own document types on the portal, with separate options for supplies with and without payment of IGST, so choosing the wrong one creates a mismatch with your GSTR-1.

For a services exporter at ₹12 crore turnover, that means generating the IRN before sending the invoice to the client, printing the QR code on it, and doing so within the 30-day window. A freelancer at ₹40 lakh does none of this and issues a normal tax invoice with the export fields. If you are close to the threshold, track turnover across all your GSTINs on one PAN, since the limit applies to the aggregate, not to each registration.

Edge cases, such as SEZ suppliers and the exempt categories, are in our e-invoice limit guide.

From 1 October 2026, RBI's new FEMA export regulations give you 9 months to bring export proceeds into India, and require service exporters to file a monthly Export Declaration Form (EDF) through their bank, replacing SOFTEX.

Your export invoice is now the anchor for all of this. The EDF lists your invoices for the month, the bank matches each foreign receipt to them, and an invoice with no matching receipt within 9 months starts to cause problems with your eBRC and, later, your GST refund. Earlier articles that quote 15 months are out of date: the new regulations first said 15, and RBI cut it back to 9 before they took effect.

A simple habit keeps you safe: at each month end, list that month's export invoices, file the EDF, and mark each invoice paid as receipts arrive. More on the rules in realisation and repatriation of export proceeds.

The invoice is only step one: the payment must arrive, be evidenced and match back to the same invoice number, or the refund and the bank's realisation record stall.

The realisation loop

Once the buyer pays, the inflow is a foreign inward remittance tagged with an RBI purpose code, for example P0802 for software consultancy and implementation. Your bank matches the receipt to your invoice, and the record flows to RBI's EDPMS so the export is marked as realised. If the payment reference does not mention the invoice, the match can fail and the export stays open.

FIRC and eFIRA as proof

The proof that the money arrived is the Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC) or its electronic advice, the eFIRA. Keep it with the invoice for GST and FEMA records; your CA will ask for both together when filing a refund. A FIRC or eFIRA should show the remitter's name, the amount in foreign currency, the INR credited and the purpose code; if any of these is missing or wrong, ask your bank to correct it before you file, not after a notice arrives.

Matching for the IGST refund

If you took the IGST route on goods, the refund is processed through ICEGATE and GSTN, but only if the invoice number in your GSTR-1 matches the shipping bill exactly. A mismatch is the most common reason refunds get stuck. Report the same details in GSTR-1 for export of services that appear on the invoice, down to the invoice number format, because the systems match characters, not meaning.

How Xflow helps

Xflow gives you free invoicing with payment options built in, plus a shareable payment link from each invoice, and multi-currency receiving accounts so clients pay in 25+ currencies. Money settles to your Indian bank account the next business day, and you get an eFIRA within 24 hours for every international transaction, so the proof is ready when the invoice is paid. If your bank is slow with a FIRC, a FIRC request letter can help. Xflow holds final RBI authorisation as a cross-border payment aggregator, for both inward and outward payments (as of February 2026).