Rule 47 and 47A 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.
The deadline for issuing an invoice is not merely a compliance date. For services it is the switch that decides whether the time of supply is the invoice date or the date the service was provided — and missing it moves the liability backwards.
Goods — s.31(1): before or at the time of removal where the supply involves movement, otherwise before or at delivery or making available. Services — s.31(2) read with Rule 47: within thirty days from the date of supply of service. Proviso to Rule 47: forty-five days for an insurer, banking company or financial institution including an NBFC. Further proviso: those persons, plus telecom operators and notified classes, supplying between distinct persons, may issue before or at the time of recording the supply in the books or before the expiry of the quarter. Rule 47A: self-invoice within thirty days of receiving a supply from an unregistered supplier.
Goods: at removal or delivery
Section 31(1): a registered person supplying taxable goods shall, before or at the time of —
(a) removal of goods for supply to the recipient, where the supply involves movement of goods; or (b) delivery of goods or making available to the recipient, in any other case,
issue a tax invoice.
There is no thirty-day window for goods. And because s.12(2)(a) makes the last date on which the invoice was required to be issued a limb of the time of supply, invoicing after removal does not defer the tax — it puts the liability in the month of removal.
Services: thirty days, or forty-five
Rule 47: the invoice shall be issued within thirty days from the date of the supply of service.
Proviso: where the supplier is an insurer, a banking company or a financial institution including a non-banking financial company, the period is forty-five days.
The consequence of missing it sits in s.13(2)(b): where the invoice is not issued within the prescribed period, the time of supply is the date of provision of service (or earlier payment) — an earlier date, with interest under s.50 running from the return due date of that earlier month. When the invoice is late →
The distinct-person quarterly option
The further proviso to Rule 47: an insurer, banking company, financial institution including an NBFC, or a telecom operator, or any other class of supplier of services as may be notified, making taxable supplies of services between distinct persons as specified in section 25, may issue the invoice —
- before or at the time of recording the supply in the books of account; or
- before the expiry of the quarter during which the supply was made.
This exists because these businesses make continuous internal supplies between State registrations that are quantified only when the books close. Requiring a thirty-day invoice on each would be impracticable.
Note the limits: it applies to services, to distinct persons, and to the named classes only. A manufacturer cross-charging between State registrations is not covered.
Rule 47A: the self-invoice
Inserted with effect from 01.11.2024:
"Rule 47A. Time limit for issuing tax invoice in cases where recipient is required to issue invoice. — Notwithstanding anything contained in rule 47, where an invoice referred to in rule 46 is required to be issued under clause (f) of sub-section (3) of section 31 by a registered person, who is liable to pay tax under sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) of section 9, he shall issue the said invoice within a period of thirty days from the date of receipt of the said supply of goods or services, or both, as the case may be."
Three points:
It is a non-obstante over Rule 47. The thirty days run from receipt of the supply, not from any other event.
It applies to supplies from unregistered suppliers. Section 31(3)(f) covers goods or services received from a supplier not registered on the date of receipt.
It interacts with the time of supply. Section 13(3)(c), also inserted from 01.11.2024, makes the date of the recipient's self-invoice a limb of the time of supply for reverse charge services. Delaying the self-invoice beyond thirty days breaches Rule 47A, and the first proviso to s.13(3) pulls the time of supply back to the date of entry in the recipient's books. The 60-day rule →
The other timelines in the chapter
| Document | Deadline | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Continuous supply of goods | before or at each statement or each payment | s.31(4) |
| Continuous supply of services, due date ascertainable | on or before the due date of payment | s.31(5)(a) |
| Continuous supply of services, due date not ascertainable | before or at receipt of payment | s.31(5)(b) |
| Continuous supply of services, event-linked | on or before completion of the event | s.31(5)(c) |
| Goods sent on approval | at the time supply is known, or six months from removal, whichever is earlier | s.31(7) |
| Cessation of a continuous supply | at the time of cessation, to the extent supplied | s.31(6) |
| Revised invoice | within one month of the registration certificate | s.31(3)(a) |
| Receipt voucher | on receipt of the advance | s.31(3)(d) |
| Payment voucher | at the time of making payment | s.31(3)(g) |
Key takeaways
- Goods: invoice before or at removal, or before or at delivery.
- Services: thirty days; forty-five for insurers, banks, financial institutions and NBFCs.
- Those classes plus telecom operators may invoice distinct-person service supplies by quarter end.
- Rule 47A: self-invoice within thirty days of receiving a supply from an unregistered supplier.
- Missing the services deadline moves the time of supply back to the date of provision.
- Continuous supplies, approval sales and revised invoices each have their own deadline in s.31.
Read next
- When the Invoice Is Late: What the Time of Supply Becomes
- The 60-Day Rule: Time of Supply Under Reverse Charge
- Continuous Supply of Services and Section 31(5)
- Receipt, Payment and Refund Vouchers
Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on the CGST Act and Rules as amended to 31 March 2026 (ICAI Bare Law, 12th edition) and the ICAI Handbook on Invoicing under GST (2025).