Prepare a GST payment voucher where section 31(3)(g) applies to a registered person liable under the specified reverse-charge provisions. The voucher is issued at the time of payment to the supplier and contains Rule 52 particulars. It is not required merely because any business payment is made. First establish that the actual supply and recipient fall within the applicable reverse-charge entry and conditions.
Verify reverse charge before creating the voucher
Identify the goods or service, supplier category, recipient category, transaction date and relevant notification. Check exemptions, options and conditions that affect the particular entry. An unregistered supplier alone does not make every purchase subject to reverse charge under today's framework.
Keep a short liability note with the vendor record or transaction. “RCM vendor” is often too broad because the same party may provide supplies with different treatment. The voucher should follow the reviewed transaction, not a permanent master flag that automatically treats every payment to that supplier identically.
Distinguish the payment voucher from a self-invoice
Section 31(3)(f) addresses recipient-issued invoices for specified supplies from an unregistered supplier, with the statutory explanation and prescribed timing to be reviewed. Section 31(3)(g) addresses payment vouchers. These documents have different triggers and can both be relevant to one transaction.
Where an ordinarily registered supplier issues its own reverse-charge invoice, the recipient should not assume that it must also self-invoice merely because it issues a payment voucher. Conversely, a vendor bill from an unregistered supplier may not replace the recipient's statutory invoice where that requirement applies. Preserve the role of each document clearly.
Capture the Rule 52 information
Record the supplier's name and address, and GSTIN if registered; voucher number and date; recipient's name, address and GSTIN; description; amount paid; tax rate and payable tax; inter-State place-of-supply particulars; and prescribed authentication. Maintain the consecutive number within sixteen characters and unique for the financial year.
Add the original vendor document, recipient-issued invoice where required, contract and bank reference as internal links. Do not replace the voucher number with a bank transaction identifier. A payment can settle several documents, and one invoice can be paid in instalments, so the relationship should support both situations.
Illustrative reverse-charge payment
Assume a reviewed domestic service purchase has taxable value of ₹30,000, is genuinely subject to reverse charge and carries a confirmed assumed aggregate rate of 18%. The illustrative GST liability is ₹5,400. If the agreement requires ₹30,000 payment to the supplier, that payment is separate from the recipient's ₹5,400 tax liability to government.
Do not automatically pay the supplier ₹35,400 as though it were an ordinary forward-charge invoice. For an ordinary intra-State case in a State under these assumptions, the tax components are ₹2,700 CGST and ₹2,700 SGST. The actual place-of-supply and tax-head analysis still needs confirmation for the transaction.
Preserve payment and time-of-supply dates
Record when payment is entered in the books and when the bank account is debited, alongside the supplier or recipient invoice dates and receipt of supply. Reverse-charge time-of-supply rules require their own review. The payment-voucher date does not replace every other relevant date.
A payment delayed for several months can create a liability issue before the bank transfer occurs, depending on the applicable provision and facts. Do not wait for the treasury team to pay before the accounts team checks tax timing. Use a register of unpaid reverse-charge transactions as well as completed payment vouchers.
Allocate instalments without duplicating tax
Where ₹30,000 is settled in two ₹15,000 payments, link each payment to the original liability working and record the remaining balance. Review the applicable voucher and reporting treatment without treating each instalment as a new ₹30,000 supply. The total of payment allocations should not exceed the vendor balance without an explained advance or other entry.
Similarly, a single ₹45,000 payment may cover two invoices. Preserve the allocation and their respective tax treatments. If one invoice is not under reverse charge, the payment's combined bank amount should not cause both supplies to inherit the same tax status.
Reconcile liability, payment and credit separately
Maintain separate columns for supplier settlement, reverse-charge tax payable, tax paid and ITC reviewed or claimed. Credit eligibility depends on the statutory conditions and restrictions; a payment voucher alone does not guarantee it. Verify the applicable cash-payment and credit procedures for the actual liability rather than netting entries informally.
Compare the voucher register with purchase records, bank payments, tax ledgers and returns. Investigate a voucher without a liability note, a liability without a payment record and any credit claim unsupported by the required documents. These are different exceptions and should have distinct resolutions.
Make the voucher understandable later
Use a description that identifies the supply period or contract, and preserve the specific reverse-charge basis. If a supplier's registration status changes, retain the transaction-date evidence rather than overwriting history from the current master.
A reliable GST payment voucher connects a real reverse-charge transaction to an actual supplier payment. The supporting file establishes liability, correct documents, timing and tax amounts separately. That structure prevents ordinary purchases from being swept into reverse charge and keeps genuine reverse-charge payments traceable through settlement and reporting.