This guide is in English for now. The tool itself works in your language.
Purchase › Purchase return and debit note
Purchase return: the debit note, the credit note and the GST
When you send goods back to a supplier, two notes are usually written: your debit note that goes with the goods, and the supplier's credit note that reduces their bill. Under GST it is the supplier's credit note that counts.
Two notes, one return
- Your debit note is a business document. It tells the supplier "we have debited your account" for the goods returned or for a shortage or price difference, and lists the items, quantity, rate and GST. Send it with the goods.
- The supplier's credit note is the GST document (section 34 of the CGST Act). The supplier issues it against their original tax invoice and reports it in their GSTR-1, which reduces their tax on the sale.
Under GST a "debit note" issued by a supplier means something else: it raises the value of their invoice. So always mention your original bill number on your note, and ask for the supplier's credit note against it.
A worked example
From bill SP/1182 (pipes worth ₹40,000 + 18% GST) Gupta Hardware returns pipes worth ₹5,000 because they were cracked.
| Item | Qty | Rate | Taxable value | CGST 9% | SGST 9% | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PVC pipe 4 inch (cracked) | 10 | 500.00 | 5,000.00 | 450.00 | 450.00 | 5,900.00 |
Gupta Hardware records a purchase return of ₹5,900 against SP/1182 and sends a debit note for that amount. Sharma Pipes issues a credit note for ₹5,900. What Gupta owes Sharma Pipes falls by ₹5,900, and Gupta's input tax credit falls by ₹900.
The GST side
- Time limit for the credit note: the supplier must report it by 30 November after the end of the financial year of the original sale, or the date of their annual return, whichever is earlier (section 34(2)).
- You reduce your credit: the credit note shows in your GSTR-2B, and the GST on it is taken off your input tax credit.
- Since 1 October 2025 the supplier can reduce their own tax on a credit note only when the buyer has reversed the matching input tax credit (proviso to section 34(2), Finance Act 2025). So a supplier may ask you to accept the credit note on the portal before they settle the return with you.
Entering it here
Use Purchase return: pick the supplier, write the original bill number in "Return against bill no.", add the items and GST exactly as on the original bill, and save. The return shows as a minus line in the purchase register, reduces what you owe the supplier, and the Debit note button on that line prints the note in English with your business details, the supplier's GSTIN and the original bill number.