Purchase Order Format in Excel

The Mistake This Format Prevents

Almost every free purchase order template leaves CGST, SGST and IGST as three empty columns for you to fill in. The ones that do try to work it out compare the two GSTINs — the buyer's and the supplier's. For goods, that is the wrong comparison.

The place of supply for goods is where the movement ends — Section 10(1)(a) of the IGST Act. The delivery address decides it, not where the buyer happens to be registered.

Situation	Comparing GSTINs says	Correct answer
Maharashtra buyer orders from a Gujarat supplier, delivered to the buyer's Gujarat site	Inter-state → IGST	Intra-state → CGST + SGST. The goods never leave Gujarat.
Delhi buyer orders from a Delhi supplier, delivered to a Haryana warehouse	Intra-state → CGST + SGST	Inter-state → IGST. The movement ends in Haryana.
Karnataka buyer, Karnataka supplier, delivered in Karnataka	Intra-state → CGST + SGST	Same answer — this is the easy case.

This sheet asks for the ship-to state code separately and compares it against the supplier's GSTIN. Get the PO wrong and the supplier invoices the wrong tax head; you then either lose the credit or spend a month chasing a credit note and a fresh invoice.

Does a Purchase Order Attract GST?

No. A purchase order is an offer to buy. It creates no liability for either side:

• No time of supply arises from it.
• Nothing goes into GSTR-1.
• No input tax credit — credit follows the supplier's tax invoice, and only once it shows in your GSTR-2B.

The tax columns on a PO are there to agree the expected cost, not to charge anything. That is exactly why they need to be right: they are the number your budget and your supplier's quote are both built on.

Purchase Order, Quotation, Proforma, Invoice — Which Is Which

These four get used interchangeably and they are four different documents at four different points:

Document	Issued by	What it does
Quotation	Seller	Offers a price. Nothing agreed yet.
Purchase order	Buyer	Places the order on stated terms. Becomes a contract when accepted.
Proforma invoice	Seller	Previews the tax invoice for a deal already agreed — often needed to release payment internally.
Tax invoice	Seller	The real document. Tax is payable, credit is claimable.

Only the last one carries GST. The first three are commercial paper.

What a Purchase Order Should Contain

• PO number and date — unique, and quoted on the invoice, delivery challan and e-way bill afterwards. It is what ties the paperwork together when a consignment is stopped or a payment is queried.
• Buyer and supplier details with GSTINs. Check the supplier's GSTIN is active before you raise the order — a cancelled registration means no usable credit later.
• Ship-to address and state code — separately from the billing address.
• Line items with description, HSN or SAC, quantity, unit, rate, discount.
• Expected GST rate and amount per line.
• Delivery date, payment terms, delivery terms.
• Authorised signature.

Not sure of the rate for an item? Look up the HSN code and its GST rate before the order goes out, rather than arguing about it after the invoice arrives.