Every order in a GST-registered Indian store needs a tax document, and every cancellation, return or refund after it needs a credit note. Mercayo issues these for you, automatically, numbered in one unbroken series per financial year, and freezes each one so later price or tax changes never alter what was issued. You and your shoppers can download them as PDFs at any time. This article explains what is issued and when; the numbering and timing settings are in Invoice Settings and your GST registration in Taxes. Downloading documents needs the right to see orders; issuing a missing invoice needs the right to process orders (the owner, admins and Order Manager).
What Is Issued
What Mercayo issues depends on your Registration Type in Settings › Taxes:
| Registration Type | Document | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Regular GST | A tax invoice, for every order that charged GST | INV/ by default |
| Composition scheme | A bill of supply, marked as from a composition taxable person not eligible to collect tax, for orders that charged no GST | BOS/ by default |
| Not registered for GST | Nothing. An unregistered store may not charge GST; the order page and emails are the shopper's receipt | None |
A regular store whose order charged no GST (for example an order placed before you registered) gets no document automatically; it is never taxed after the fact.
When It Is Issued
- Issue the GST Invoice in Settings › Invoices decides when: when the order is confirmed (the default: a COD order when placed, an online order when its payment arrives) or when it is shipped.
- Whatever you choose, an order that ships without an invoice gets one then, because GST law wants the invoice by the time the goods leave.
- An invoice never stops a sale. If issuing fails for any reason, the order goes ahead and its timeline shows The invoice could not be issued with the reason. Press ISSUE INVOICE on the order's GST Invoice card to try again once the cause in the timeline is fixed.
What the Invoice Shows
Each document carries, among other things:
- your legal name, registered address and GSTIN, with your store's name as the trade name;
- the document number and its date of issue (India date);
- the shopper's name and delivery address with its state name and code, and the place of supply;
- each line with its HSN code, description, quantity (NOS), value, discount, taxable value, and the tax as CGST and SGST (half the rate each, equal to the paisa) for a sale within your state, or IGST for a sale to another state (UTGST in place of SGST where the law requires it);
- delivery and the COD fee with their GST, at your GST on Delivery and Fees rate (18% by default), under the main goods' HSN code;
- totals in figures and in words (lakh and crore), "Prices include GST" when they do, and for a COD order what was paid online and what is due in cash;
- "Whether tax is payable on reverse charge: No", and "For your legal name" with a line for the authorised signatory.
When the shopper asked for a GST Invoice for Businesses at checkout (on by default in Settings › Checkout and COD), the invoice names their business and GSTIN so they can claim input tax credit, and the order page shows a Business Invoice card.
Numbering
- A number reads prefix, financial year, number:
INV/2627/00001is the first invoice of FY 2026-27. Credit notes useCN/and bills of supplyBOS/by default. - Numbers run without gaps and never repeat, even when many orders are confirmed at the same moment.
- A new series starts at midnight India time on 1 April.
- You can change the prefix (1 to 6 letters, digits,
-or/). Changing it mid-year keeps the count going, for exampleINV/2627/00041thenKOSHA/2627/00042. - Numbers never pass 16 characters, as GST rules require.
Credit Notes
A credit note is issued automatically, once for each event:
| Event | Reason on the Note |
|---|---|
| An invoiced order is cancelled (by you, the shopper or automatically) | Cancelled |
| A COD parcel comes back undelivered (returned to origin) | Returned undelivered |
| A refund is accepted (Razorpay confirmed it, or you recorded a cash, bank or store credit refund) | Refund |
Each note covers only what it takes back that earlier notes have not: chosen items and quantities, the delivery and fee charges, or, for a refund of a custom amount, that amount spread over what is left on the invoice. It names the original invoice's number and date, splits CGST and SGST the same way, and adds back to the invoice exactly. If a note cannot be issued, the refund or cancel still goes ahead and the timeline shows Credit note not issued with the reason. An order with no invoice gets no credit note.
Where to Find and Download Them
On the Order Page
The GST Invoice card shows the number, the type (Tax invoice or Bill of supply) and the date, with DOWNLOAD for the PDF. Under Credit Notes each note has its number, reason, date and DOWNLOAD. When there is none: "No GST invoice has been issued for this order." with ISSUE INVOICE for a confirmed, shipped, delivered or closed order. After issuing: "Invoice INV/2627/00042 is issued."
For Many Orders
On the Orders List, select the orders and press DOWNLOAD INVOICES: one PDF for one order, a ZIP of PDFs for several (up to 100 orders at a time). Orders without an invoice are left out; if none of the chosen orders has one: "None of the chosen orders has an invoice yet. Invoices are issued when an order is confirmed and the store has a GST registration."
Every invoice and credit note for a period, with the GSTR-1 files, is one export in Orders › Invoices: see Invoices and the GSTR-1 Export.
What Shoppers See
On their order page (from their account, the thank-you page or Track), shoppers see DOWNLOAD INVOICE for their invoice or bill of supply, and a button for each credit note. A shopper who looks up an order on Track must give the order number and the phone used at checkout; after several wrong phones the order number is locked against more tries.
The PDF
A4, usually one page; long orders run on with the table header repeated and "Page x of y". It uses the Noto Sans font, which has the ₹ sign. Names typed in Devanagari or other Indian scripts do not print correctly yet; Latin letters do.
Frozen Documents
An issued invoice or credit note can never be changed or deleted. Product names, prices, tax rates, your store details or registration can change later; the issued document keeps what it said. The labels around the figures follow Mercayo's wording.
Good to Know
- Only one invoice per order. A bill of supply and a tax invoice never both exist for one order.
- E-invoicing (IRN and QR code), needed above a turnover threshold, is not built.
- Refunds you make directly in the Razorpay dashboard raise no credit note; refund from the order instead.
- Invoice wording comes from Mercayo; your own store wording cannot change it, so the legal terms stay correct.
Questions
I registered for GST recently. Will my old orders get invoices?
No. Only orders that charged GST get tax invoices. Orders placed before you set Regular GST charged none and are not re-taxed.
Can I edit an invoice that has a mistake?
No: issued documents are frozen. If an order was wrong, cancel or refund it, which issues a credit note, and ask the shopper to order again. Ask your CA how to treat it in your returns.
Why does an order have no invoice?
Your store may be unregistered, the order may still be awaiting payment, your setting may issue invoices at shipping, or issuing failed (see the order's timeline). Press ISSUE INVOICE on a confirmed order.
Does a partial refund get a credit note?
Yes, when the refund is accepted, for exactly what it takes back.
Where does the invoice get my address from?
From the registered address and GSTIN in Settings › Taxes. Keep them up to date before your first sale.