Rule 46A explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
A kirana store sells a customer packaged biscuits at 5%, loose rice that is exempt, and soap at 18% — in one basket, at one till, on one bill.
Strictly, that requires a tax invoice for the taxable items and a bill of supply for the exempt one. Rule 46A permits one document.
Rule 46A: notwithstanding anything contained in Rule 46 or Rule 49 or Rule 54, where a registered person is supplying taxable as well as exempted goods or services or both to an unregistered person, a single "invoice-cum-bill of supply" may be issued for all such supplies.
The two conditions
Both taxable and exempt supplies in the same transaction. Where the basket is entirely taxable, an ordinary tax invoice is required. Where it is entirely exempt, a bill of supply.
The recipient is unregistered. This is the limiting condition, and it is absolute. A supply to a registered person requires separate documents — a tax invoice for the taxable items and a bill of supply for the exempt ones — because the recipient needs a compliant tax invoice for s.16(2)(a) and the exempt line must not appear on it in a way that suggests tax was charged.
Why the rule exists
Retail. A supermarket, a chemist, a kirana store or a restaurant selling both taxable and exempt items would otherwise print two documents per transaction, and the customer would receive two pieces of paper for one purchase.
Since the recipient is unregistered and takes no credit, the separation serves no purpose for them. The supplier still has to report the taxable and exempt values separately in GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B — the rule relaxes the document, not the reporting.
What the document must contain
Rule 46A does not prescribe a separate list. The document must satisfy the requirements of Rule 46 for the taxable portion and Rule 49 for the exempt portion.
In practice:
- supplier's name, address and GSTIN;
- a consecutive serial number, sixteen characters or fewer, unique for the financial year;
- date of issue;
- recipient's details where the value is ₹50,000 or more — name, address, address of delivery, State name and code;
- HSN, description, quantity and value for each item;
- for taxable items, the rate and amount of tax;
- for exempt items, the value without tax;
- total taxable value, total exempt value and total tax, separately identified;
- signature or digital signature.
The separation of taxable and exempt totals on the face of the document is what makes it work as both an invoice and a bill of supply.
What it does not do
It does not permit one series for both. The serial number rules in Rule 46(b) still apply, and a distinct series for invoice-cum-bills of supply is the cleaner practice.
It does not change reporting. Taxable outward supplies go to the relevant GSTR-1 tables and GSTR-3B Table 3.1(a); exempt supplies to Table 3.1(c). GSTR-9 Table 5D captures exempted outward supplies.
It does not affect ITC apportionment. The exempt turnover enters E in the Rule 42 computation exactly as it would have done on a separate bill of supply. Rule 42 worked →
It does not extend to registered recipients, in any circumstance.
It does not apply where e-invoicing is required, because e-invoicing applies to B2B and export supplies — and Rule 46A is by definition a B2C document.
Key takeaways
- Rule 46A allows a single invoice-cum-bill of supply where taxable and exempt supplies are made together to an unregistered person.
- Both conditions must hold — mixed basket and unregistered recipient.
- The document must satisfy Rule 46 for the taxable items and Rule 49 for the exempt ones.
- Taxable and exempt values must be separately shown.
- The relaxation is on the document, not on reporting or ITC apportionment.
- A registered recipient always requires separate documents.
Read next
- Rule 46: Every Particular a Tax Invoice Must Carry
- Bill of Supply for Exempt and Composition Dealers
- Rule 42 Worked: The Monthly Formula and Annual True-Up
- GST for Retailers: A Simplified Guide
Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on the CGST Rules as amended to 31 March 2026 (ICAI Bare Law, 12th edition) and the ICAI Handbook on Invoicing under GST (2025).