Generating GST-Compliant PDF Invoices for Amazon Vendor Central (India)

Quick Answer: A GST-compliant PDF invoice for Amazon Vendor Central in India must include your GSTIN, the buyer's GSTIN (Amazon's), HSN/SAC codes for each line item, itemised CGST/SGST or IGST amounts, invoice date, and a unique sequential invoice number. For vendors with turnover above ₹5 crore, an IRN (Invoice Reference Number) from the GST e-invoice portal is also mandatory.

Selling to Amazon India through Vendor Central means you are effectively a B2B supplier. Amazon Retail India Private Limited (or its fulfilment entities) is your buyer, and every invoice you raise must comply with the GST Act, 2017. Getting this right is not optional — incorrect invoices lead to payment holds, reconciliation failures in your GSTR-2A, and potential scrutiny during GST audits.

This guide covers everything you need to generate a valid, Amazon-accepted GST invoice.

Mandatory Fields on Every GST Invoice

The GST Rules specify the following fields for a tax invoice between registered parties:

Supplier Information

• Legal name of the supplier (as registered with GST)
• GSTIN of the supplier
• Registered address including state and PIN code
• State code (e.g., 29 for Karnataka)

Buyer Information

• Legal name of the recipient (Amazon Retail India Private Limited or the applicable entity)
• GSTIN of Amazon — this is crucial for Amazon's input tax credit claim
• Delivery address (the fulfilment centre address on the PO)

Invoice Details

• Invoice number — unique, sequential, and reset only at the start of a financial year
• Invoice date — must match or precede the supply date
• PO reference number — Amazon's purchase order number, typically in the format 4XXXXXXXXX

Line Item Details

For each product line:

• Item description
• HSN code (4-digit minimum; 6-digit for turnover above ₹5 crore; 8-digit for exports)
• Quantity and unit
• Unit price (taxable value)
• Discount, if any (shown as a deduction)
• Applicable GST rate
• CGST amount + SGST amount (for intra-state) OR IGST amount (for inter-state)

Totals

• Total taxable value
• Total GST (broken down by rate slab if mixed)
• Grand total (in figures and words)
• Rounded off amount, if applicable

Understanding Inter-State vs Intra-State Supply

This is where many Indian vendors make mistakes. The rule is simple:

• If your state of supply (where Amazon's fulfilment centre is located) is the same state as your GSTIN's registered state → CGST + SGST applies
• If the fulfilment centre is in a different state from your registered state → IGST applies

Amazon operates fulfilment centres across India. If you are a Maharashtra-based vendor and your PO is being delivered to an Amazon FC in Maharashtra, you charge CGST 9% + SGST 9% (for an 18% item). If the FC is in Telangana, you charge IGST 18%.

Since Amazon ships nationally, you will often encounter both scenarios. Your invoicing system must handle this dynamically based on the delivery FC address on each PO.

E-Invoicing Requirements

From 1 August 2023, e-invoicing under GST is mandatory for businesses with aggregate turnover exceeding ₹5 crore in any preceding financial year. For Vendor Central sellers at this scale:

1. Generate the invoice data in the prescribed JSON format
2. Upload to the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) — either directly or via a GST Suvidha Provider (GSP)
3. The IRP returns an IRN (a 64-character hash) and a QR code
4. Both must be printed on the physical/PDF invoice before it is sent to Amazon

Failure to include an IRN when required means the invoice is not considered a valid tax document, and Amazon's accounts payable team may reject it.

PDF Formatting Standards

Amazon's category teams have generally accepted invoices in standard A4 format with the following conventions:

• Readable font size (minimum 10pt for body text)
• Company letterhead or logo (optional but professional)
• Each line item on a separate row in a table
• GST summary table at the bottom showing rate-wise breakdowns
• Digital signature or authorised signatory name and designation

Avoid using scanned images of handwritten invoices — these fail OCR-based validation systems that Amazon's AP team uses.

Automating GST-Compliant PDF Generation

Manually building these invoices in Word or Excel is error-prone, especially for inter-state tax logic and HSN code assignment. InvoiceOps automates the entire PDF generation process:

• Pulls PO data directly from Vendor Central
• Applies HSN codes from your product master CSV
• Detects FC state from the delivery address and applies the correct CGST/SGST vs IGST split
• Generates a properly formatted A4 PDF
• Optionally integrates with your IRP for IRN generation (for e-invoice eligible vendors)

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Stop building invoices manually and risking GST compliance errors. InvoiceOps generates fully GST-compliant PDF invoices for every Vendor Central PO, automatically. Get started today.