Quotation Format GST: Free Templates in Excel, Word & PDF 2026
Professional quotation formats with GST tax breakup, validity period, and terms. Convert quotes to invoices in one click. Free templates for all business types in India.
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Key takeaways
- A quotation creates no GST liability or ITC; only the tax invoice issued after supply does.
- Show the pre-GST price, rate and CGST/SGST or IGST amount per line; never hide tax in an inclusive figure or write 'plus taxes'.
- Always state a validity date: 7-15 days for trading, 30 for services, 60-90 for construction.
- Convert accepted quotes to invoices rather than re-typing them, and reference the quotation number on the invoice.
Why Your Quotation Format Directly Affects Your Win Rate
A quotation is often the first formal document your potential customer sees from you. Before they sign a contract or issue a purchase order, they have your quote. The quality and professionalism of that quote shapes their decision as much as the price itself.
In India's B2B market, a poorly formatted quotation — one that does not show the GST breakdown, lacks a validity date, or has no terms — signals operational immaturity to the buyer's procurement or finance team. Experienced buyers have seen hundreds of quotes. They know within seconds whether the seller is organized.
A proper quotation format also protects you from disputes. When a buyer approves a quote and later disputes the price or scope, the signed quotation is your legal baseline. Without clear terms — validity period, scope of work, payment schedule, and GST treatment — you have no ground to stand on.
This guide covers exactly what a professional GST-compliant quotation looks like, what fields to include, how to handle tax breakup in the quote, and how to convert an accepted quote directly into a tax invoice. We also cover the free quotation generator from myBillPlease that handles all of this automatically.
Fields to Include in a Professional Business Quotation
These fields make a quotation complete, professional, and legally defensible
- Quotation number — unique identifier for tracking (e.g., QT-2026-0089)
- Quotation date — date of issue
- Validity date — 'This quotation is valid until [date]' — typically 7 to 30 days
- Your company name, GSTIN, address, and contact details
- Prospect's name, GSTIN (if known), and address
- Subject line — brief description of what the quote covers (e.g., 'Supply of Office Furniture')
- Itemized list — each product or service on a separate row
- HSN / SAC code for each line item
- Quantity and unit for each item
- Unit price exclusive of GST
- GST rate for each item (0%, 5%, 18%, or 40%)
- CGST + SGST (intra-state) or IGST (inter-state) amount per line
- Line total including GST
- Summary section — subtotal, total tax (broken by rate), and grand total
- Payment terms — e.g., 50% advance on PO, balance on delivery; net 30 days
- Delivery terms — timeline, delivery address, freight charges (inclusive or extra)
- Scope clarifications — what is included and what is not (reduces scope disputes)
- Authorized signatory — name, designation, signature, company seal if applicable
How to Show GST Tax Breakup in a Quotation
Showing GST correctly in a quotation is important for two reasons: it gives the buyer a clear picture of their total cost, and it sets the correct expectation for the tax invoice that follows. A quotation with vague tax treatment ("GST extra" or "plus taxes") is unprofessional and leads to disputes when the invoice arrives.
Always show the pre-GST price and the GST amount separately. Do not quote the inclusive price and hide the tax. For example, if a product costs Rs 10,000 and GST is 18%, show: Unit Price: Rs 10,000 | CGST 9%: Rs 900 | SGST 9%: Rs 900 | Total: Rs 11,800. This is transparent and what the buyer's GST-registered accounts team expects.
Handling multiple GST rates in one quotation: If your quote covers items with different GST rates — common in wholesale, manufacturing, or bundled service+product deals — show the tax calculation for each line separately. In the summary, group tax by rate: CGST + SGST at 5%, CGST + SGST at 18%, etc. Never lump different-rate taxes into one line.
Intra-state vs inter-state: Your quotation should determine whether CGST+SGST or IGST applies based on where you will deliver and where the buyer is registered. If you are in Maharashtra and the buyer is in Delhi, show IGST. If both are in Maharashtra, show CGST+SGST. Get the buyer's state code from their GSTIN (characters 1-2 of GSTIN indicate the state).
Validity and rate changes
If GST rates change between the quotation date and the date of supply, the rate applicable on the date of supply governs. Always include a clause in your quotation: "GST charged will be as per the rate applicable on the date of invoice." This protects you if rate changes happen during a long project.
Use the myBillPlease quotation generator to auto-handle intra vs inter-state GST logic based on your buyer's address.
Quotation Validity Period and Terms of Business
The validity period is one of the most important and most overlooked fields in a business quotation. Without a validity date, your quotation is technically an open offer — a buyer could come back 6 months later and demand you honor the quoted price. That is both impractical and legally risky if your costs have changed.
Standard validity periods by industry:
Trading and distribution businesses typically quote for 7-15 days — prices for commodities and imported goods can change quickly. Service businesses (IT, consulting, marketing) usually quote for 30 days. Manufacturing businesses with stable raw material costs quote for 15-30 days. Construction and infrastructure quotes have validity of 60-90 days given the project timeline complexity.
What happens after validity expires: If a buyer wants to accept a quotation after the validity date, you have three options: reissue the quotation at current prices, honor the old price as a goodwill gesture, or negotiate a revised price. Always communicate this in writing before proceeding. Do not issue a tax invoice at the old price if costs have changed significantly — it affects your margins and may not reflect actual market rates.
Terms and conditions that should always appear:
1. Payment terms: Be specific. "50% advance with purchase order; balance 30 days from invoice date" is better than "payment by advance."
2. Cancellation clause: "Cancellation after PO acceptance attracts 25% of order value." This protects you for custom or manufactured orders.
3. Force majeure: "Delivery timelines subject to change due to circumstances beyond our control." Protects against supply chain disruptions.
4. Dispute resolution: "Disputes subject to [city] jurisdiction." Establishes the legal forum.
5. GST applicability: "All prices exclusive of GST. GST will be charged at the rate applicable on the date of invoice."
Converting an Accepted Quotation to a GST Invoice
When a buyer approves your quotation — by signing and returning it, or by issuing a purchase order referencing your quote number — the next step is to create a formal tax invoice. This is where disconnected tools create problems.
If you created your quotation in Word and now need to create an invoice in Excel, you are re-entering all the same data: customer details, line items, quantities, prices. This takes 10-15 minutes per invoice and introduces transcription errors. A mistyped quantity or price on the invoice that differs from the approved quotation is a compliance and trust issue.
The right approach is to convert quotes to invoices, not re-create them. In myBillPlease, when a quotation is accepted, you click "Convert to Invoice" from the quotation screen. The system copies all data — customer details, line items, HSN codes, quantities, prices, and GST rates — into a new invoice. The invoice date defaults to today, and you get a fresh invoice number. You can make minor adjustments (if the buyer changed quantity or added items) before saving.
The quotation number can be referenced in the invoice as a custom field: "Against Quotation: QT-2026-0089 dated 15-Mar-2026." This creates the paper trail that buyers' accounts teams and auditors expect to see.
After converting, the quotation status changes to "Accepted" in the system, and the invoice is linked back to the quotation for reference. If the buyer later raises a query about pricing, you can show the full history: original quote → buyer approval → invoice. Try this workflow with the free quotation tool — the quote-to-invoice conversion takes 30 seconds.
Quotation vs Proforma Invoice vs Tax Invoice
Three documents that look similar but serve different legal and commercial purposes
| Feature | Quotation | Proforma Invoice | Tax Invoice |
|---|---|---|---|
| When issued | Before order | Before order (more formal) | After supply |
| Legally binding | Yes, when accepted | Conditional | Yes, GST liability |
| Creates GST liability | No | No | Yes |
| Enables ITC for buyer | No | No | Yes |
| Used for | Price negotiation | Import/export, advance | Payment and compliance |
| Validity period | Always specified | Usually specified | No expiry |
| Referenced in GSTR | No | No | Yes — mandatory |
Frequently asked questions
- Is a quotation the same as a proforma invoice?
- A quotation and a proforma invoice serve similar purposes — both are pre-sale documents showing pricing before actual supply — but they differ in formality and usage. A quotation is typically issued during the negotiation phase and invites the buyer to accept or negotiate. A proforma invoice looks exactly like a real invoice and is used when the buyer needs a formal document for import/export purposes, for opening a letter of credit, or for internal purchase approval. Neither creates a GST liability — only a tax invoice does that after actual supply.
- Should GST be included in a quotation?
- Yes, always show GST separately in a business quotation. Show the base price exclusive of GST, the applicable GST rate, the CGST and SGST (or IGST) amounts, and the final total inclusive of GST. This prevents misunderstanding — a buyer who sees Rs 10,000 in your quote should know whether that is before or after GST. Including the tax breakup also lets the buyer's finance team verify their ITC eligibility before approving the order. Quoting 'plus GST' without showing the amount is acceptable but less professional than showing the exact tax value.
- What is a reasonable validity period for a business quotation?
- The appropriate validity period depends on your industry and how quickly your costs change. For trading businesses dealing in imported goods or commodities with volatile prices, 7-15 days is appropriate. For service businesses like IT, design, or consulting where costs are more stable, 30 days is standard. Manufacturing businesses typically quote for 15-30 days depending on raw material price volatility. Construction and project-based businesses often need 60-90 days. Always err on the shorter side — a short validity period creates urgency and protects you from cost increases. You can always extend the validity if the buyer needs more time.
- Can a buyer claim GST input tax credit based on a quotation?
- No. A quotation does not create any GST liability and cannot be used to claim input tax credit. ITC can only be claimed against a valid GST tax invoice that has been reflected in the supplier's GSTR-1 and appears in the buyer's GSTR-2B. The chain for ITC is: quotation (no ITC) → purchase order (no ITC) → tax invoice (ITC eligible after supplier files GSTR-1). If a buyer ever asks you to create a backdated or false invoice based on a quotation without actual supply, refuse — this is GST fraud and attracts penalties under Section 122 of the CGST Act.
- How do I reference the quotation number on the final tax invoice?
- Most billing software and online tools allow you to add a custom field to invoices such as 'Against Quotation' or 'Reference' where you enter the quotation number and date. For example: 'Against Quotation QT-2026-0089 dated 15-Mar-2026.' This custom field appears on the printed invoice and creates the traceability chain that auditors and buyer's accounts teams expect. In myBillPlease, when you convert a quotation to an invoice using the quote-to-invoice feature, this reference is auto-populated. You do not need to type it manually.
- Can I issue a quotation if I am not GST registered?
- Yes, unregistered businesses can and should issue formal quotations. The format is the same, except you do not include a GSTIN and you do not show GST breakup — because you cannot charge GST if you are not registered. Your quotation should state 'GST not applicable (unregistered dealer)' or simply quote the final price without any tax line. If you are near the registration threshold (Rs 40 lakh for goods, Rs 20 lakh for services) and expect to register before the order is fulfilled, factor this into your quotes to avoid underpricing once you start charging GST.
