A $10 software bill is not ₹10. This page explains what Lekhya does when a bill or an invoice is in dollars, euros or any other currency, and how it reads the GST numbers on them.
1. Currency is kept
You enter amounts exactly as printed on the bill. Lekhya keeps them, and books the rupee value at the exchange rate for the bill's date.
2. GST is worked out on rupees
The law converts a foreign-currency supply at the RBI reference rate on the date of supply (Rule 34 of the CGST Rules), then taxes the rupee value.
3. You confirm
The rate, the GST treatment and whether you can claim the credit are suggested and shown. You change them before saving if your CA says otherwise.
When you choose a currency other than rupees, Lekhya fetches the published reference rate for the bill's date and shows where it came from. The same date always gives the same rate, so your books can be explained later.
Every GSTIN has 15 characters and ends with a check character calculated from the other fourteen, so a mistyped number can be caught on the spot. But not every GSTIN looks like "state code + PAN":
| Kind | Looks like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Regular business | 2-digit state, 10-character PAN, entity number, Z, check character | 33AODPV2099F1ZS |
| Foreign online service provider (OIDAR) | 99, year, 3-letter country, serial number, OS, check character. "99" is the Centre, not a state. | 9924USA29003OSI |
| UN body or embassy (UIN) | 4 digits, 3 letters, 5 digits, UN, check character | — |
| Non-resident taxable person | The same, ending in NR | — |
| E-commerce operator (TCS), tax deductor (TDS) | PAN-based with C or TAN-based with D in the 14th place | — |
Lekhya reads the kind from the number, checks the check character, and shows what it found ("Foreign online service provider (OIDAR) registered in India"). It takes the country from an OIDAR number, and takes no state or PAN from numbers that do not carry one.
Overseas companies that are not registered in India (a US company with an EIN, a UK company with a VAT number) have no GSTIN. Enter their country and put their local tax number in Tax ID on the party. There is no common check for these, so Lekhya keeps them as typed.
| What happened | Lekhya books | In your returns |
|---|---|---|
| You bought a service from abroad and the bill has no GST (cloud, software, consulting) | Cost at the rupee value. IGST on reverse charge as a liability and as input credit. The supplier is owed the value only. | GSTR-3B 3.1(d), credit in 4(A)(2). The tax is paid in cash. |
| You bought goods from abroad | Goods at the rupee value. Customs duty and IGST from the Bill of Entry owed to Customs, not to the supplier. | GSTR-3B 4(A)(1). It also appears in GSTR-2B. |
| A foreign seller charged GST on the bill | An ordinary purchase. If the bill does not carry your company's GSTIN, the credit cannot be claimed, so the GST is added to the cost. | Credit in 4(A)(5), or shown in 4(D) when it cannot be claimed. |
| You sold to a customer abroad (export of goods or services) | Zero-rated. Under a Letter of Undertaking no IGST is charged. Otherwise you pay IGST up front and claim a refund. Place of supply is 96, outside India. | GSTR-1 exports (6A). GSTR-3B 3.1(b). |
| You sold to an SEZ unit | The same two routes as an export. The unit's GSTIN is required. | GSTR-1 B2B as "SEZ supplies". GSTR-3B 3.1(b). |
When you scan a bill, Lekhya suggests one of these with the reason in a sentence. You see it, and can change it, before anything is posted.
A dollar bill is cleared at the value it was booked at. If the bank moved a different number of rupees, type that amount in Rupees that reached (or left) the bank when you record the receipt or payment. The difference is posted to Foreign Exchange Gain / Loss. It is available only for foreign-currency bills; on a rupee bill a shortfall must be recorded as TDS, a discount or a bank charge.