HSN code on invoice: digits, GSTR-1 summary and grocery examples

How many HSN digits your invoice needs

If your aggregate turnover in the previous financial year was up to ₹5 crore, show a 4-digit HSN code on tax invoices. Above ₹5 crore, show 6 digits. This comes from Notification 78/2020-Central Tax, in force since 1 April 2021, and still applies as of October 2026.

HSN stands for Harmonised System of Nomenclature. It is the code for goods. For services you use SAC (Services Accounting Code), which follows the same digit rule.

You may always show more digits than required. Many shops keep the full 8-digit code in their item master. That costs nothing, and it is ready if your turnover grows.

The B2C relief for smaller shops

Notification 78/2020 has a proviso: a business with turnover up to ₹5 crore need not show HSN on invoices to unregistered buyers. For a kirana store where nearly every bill is B2C, this means the counter bill can skip the HSN column.

The relief is only for the printed invoice. You still report an HSN-wise summary of all sales, including B2C, in GSTR-1. In practice, it is simpler to keep the HSN on every item in your billing software and let it print or hide the column.

The HSN summary in GSTR-1 (Table 12)

Table 12 of GSTR-1 is the HSN-wise summary of outward supplies. For each HSN and rate, you report the unit, total quantity, taxable value and tax. The rules for this table changed several times. As of October 2026, these are the points to know.

Digits in Table 12

Report 4-digit HSN if your aggregate annual turnover is up to ₹5 crore, and 6-digit HSN if it is above.

Phase-III changes from the February 2025 return period

GSTN's advisory of 22 January 2025 brought these changes:

• No manual typing. You pick the HSN from a drop-down list. The description fills itself.
• Two tabs: B2B and B2C. Table 12 is split. Sales to registered buyers go in the B2B tab, sales to unregistered buyers in the B2C tab.
• Value checks. The portal checks the values and tax in Table 12 against the rest of the return. As of that advisory, these checks were in warning mode, so a mismatch shows a warning but does not block filing.

GSTN has said the checks may become stricter later. Keep Table 12 matched with your invoice tables every month, so a change does not catch you out. Our GSTR-1 guide for retailers covers the other tables.

Why the split matters for shops

A grocery wholesaler sells rice to shops (B2B) and to walk-in buyers (B2C). The rice sales must now be split between the two tabs. If your billing software tags each bill as B2B or B2C by the buyer's GSTIN, the split comes straight out of a report. If not, it becomes a month-end puzzle.

How to find the right HSN for an item

1. Look at the purchase bill. Your supplier's invoice usually shows the HSN. It is a good starting point, though suppliers do make mistakes.
2. Search the GST portal. The HSN search on the GST portal (gst.gov.in, under Search HSN/SAC) lets you search by name or code without logging in.
3. Check the rate schedule. CBIC's GST rate notifications list goods by HSN with their rates. The rate depends on the code, so a wrong code often means a wrong rate.
4. Read the description, not just the name. "Oil" can be edible oil, hair oil or engine oil. Each is in a different chapter with a different rate. Packing and labelling also change the rate for some foods.
5. Ask your CA for items that could fall under two codes, such as coconut oil sold in small packs.

HSN codes for common grocery items

These are well-known codes at the 4-digit level. The GST rates changed from 22 September 2025, after the 56th GST Council meeting, and conditions such as "pre-packaged and labelled" apply to some foods. The rates below are typical; check the current rate for your exact item before billing.

If your turnover is above ₹5 crore, you need the 6-digit code under each of these, for example the sub-heading for refined or crude oil. Take it from the HSN search on the GST portal.

Common HSN mistakes

• Fewer digits than required. A business above ₹5 crore showing 4 digits.
• One code for a whole category. Putting every "oil" or every "snack" under one code, though rates differ.
• Copying the supplier's code without checking. If the supplier is wrong, your rate and returns are wrong too.
• Rate and HSN out of step. When rates changed in September 2025, many shops updated the rate but not the item master, or the other way round. Review both together.
• Units that do not match. Table 12 needs a unit (UQC) for each HSN. Selling sugar in kg on one bill and in bags on another, without conversion, gives odd totals.
• Table 12 not matching the invoice tables. Credit notes and returns must also reduce the HSN summary.
• Typing codes at month-end. Fixing HSN once in the item master is far easier than correcting returns.

An example of a mix-up

A provision store in Thrissur billed its packed coconut oil, edible and hair-oil packs alike, under one item called "coconut oil". At the end of the quarter the HSN summary showed one code for both, and the accountant had to split months of sales by hand. Two items in the master, each with its own code and rate, would have avoided it. Whenever one shop name covers products that may differ in code or rate, keep them as separate items and ask your CA which code each one takes.

A small wrong-digit slip on an invoice is usually treated as a minor matter if the rate charged is correct. A wrong code that leads to a wrong rate is not. When in doubt, check with your CA.

Setting up HSN when you start billing

1. Export your item list to Excel and add an HSN column.
2. Fill codes from purchase bills, then check doubtful ones on the GST portal.
3. Check that each HSN carries the right GST rate.
4. Import the list back into your billing software.
5. Run an HSN-wise sales report after the first week and look for blanks or odd rates.

Our guide to billing setup for a new shop goes through the rest of the item master.

Doing this in Cartix Prime

Each item can carry its HSN and GST rate, and bills show GST by rate. A4 invoices print the HSN summary. You can import items from Excel, including columns exported from Tally, Busy, Marg or Vasy. GST reports are on every plan, and GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B ready for filing or for your CA are on the Gold plan. See GST billing software and kirana store billing software.