Updated 28 Sep 2026
Bill of supply vs tax invoice in a pathology lab
Notification 12/2017-CT(R) entry 74 exempts health care by a clinical establishment (SAC 999316). Research-stage work has been held taxable. The document you print has to match that decision.
The CA decides taxability. The software prints the document.
Most walk-in pathology is exempt. That is a bill of supply, Rule 49, no tax column pretending to be zero-rated GST. If you are not registered, you should not show a GSTIN or a tax break-up at all.
When a line is taxable — a research panel, a non-healthcare supply — you need a tax invoice, Rule 46, with HSN/SAC, place of supply, and CGST+SGST or IGST. Mixing both on a “receipt” that the accountant cannot put in GSTR-1 is how notices start.
Series, years, and the thing you must not do
Invoice numbers are unique in a financial year, at most 16 characters, no gaps, reset 1 April. Issued invoices are not edited. Same-day void before day close, or a credit note that references the original. A “delete bill” button is not a GST feature.
B2B
A hospital on credit needs a GSTIN on file before you give them a tax invoice. Place of supply follows the recipient. Franchisee collection centres are establishments settling a transfer price, not a doctor cut. Keep those ledgers apart.
What Atom LIMS does not do yet
IRN / e-invoice on the IRP is an adapter for when your taxable turnover crosses the threshold. Exempt bills of supply do not go to the IRP. We will not print an IRN on an exempt document to look modern.