Review an SEZ supply invoice by verifying the actual SEZ unit or developer, the supply's authorised-operations connection and the permitted zero-rated route. The IGST Act treats supplies to or by an SEZ unit or developer as inter-State, but the zero-rated conditions and refund route require additional checks. Do not apply ordinary same-State tax logic or assume that every delivery inside a zone qualifies merely because the customer requests an SEZ invoice.
Verify the purchasing recipient
Obtain the purchase order, GSTIN, legal name and SEZ status. GSTN's Search Taxpayer facility can display SEZ unit or developer information, including relevant approval-validity details where available. Compare that information with the customer's documents and clarify discrepancies before issue.
A group may have both a domestic registration and an SEZ registration. Confirm which one purchases the supply. The finance team's email domain or common company name does not distinguish them. Keep the correct recipient GSTIN in the order and approved master rather than replacing it after dispatch to satisfy a later payment request.
Establish the authorised-operations basis
The current zero-rated framework for supplies to an SEZ refers to authorised operations. Obtain the customer's relevant instruction and supporting records appropriate to the supply. Do not treat a general statement that the business is an SEZ exporter as proof that every purchase meets the conditions.
Describe the goods or services accurately and preserve the commercial purpose. A supplier should know what it supplies and which recipient receives it. Where the connection or supporting evidence is unclear, resolve the specific missing fact rather than adding a broad declaration that the invoice is “fully exempt.”
Determine the nature of supply and route separately
Under the IGST Act's SEZ provisions, same-State locations do not automatically produce CGST and SGST. Review the inter-State treatment first. Then determine the eligible bond/LUT or payment route under the operative section 16 framework and relevant notifications.
For a reviewed without-payment route, retain the applicable bond or LUT information and period coverage. For a payment route, confirm that current law permits the particular supply and supplier arrangement. An inter-State conclusion alone does not establish entitlement to a particular refund procedure or make both routes universally available without conditions.
Check endorsement wording in the current rule
Rule 46's current endorsement includes the SEZ unit or developer and authorised-operations language, together with the selected payment or without-payment route. Use the operative wording in a controlled template. Avoid a short “SEZ sale” footer that omits the condition and route.
For the SEZ branch of a reviewed without-payment template, the relevant wording is “SUPPLY TO SEZ UNIT OR SEZ DEVELOPER FOR AUTHORISED OPERATIONS UNDER BOND OR LETTER OF UNDERTAKING WITHOUT PAYMENT OF INTEGRATED TAX”. Check the complete current Rule 46 provision when configuring it. The payment-route wording must instead reflect the actual approved payment treatment; do not display conflicting endorsements together.
Illustrative same-State SEZ supply
Assume a Karnataka supplier makes a qualifying authorised-operations supply to a Karnataka SEZ unit with an approved value of ₹1,50,000 under a valid reviewed without-payment route. The shared State does not justify printing local tax merely by default. The invoice should reflect the applicable inter-State and zero-rated route, with the required endorsement and evidence.
For a separate hypothetical supply eligible for the payment route at a confirmed assumed 18% IGST rate, tax on ₹1,50,000 would be ₹27,000. These examples are alternative reviewed arrangements. They do not mean that adding an endorsement alone creates qualification, or that the supplier automatically receives a refund.
Preserve goods admission or service receipt evidence
SEZ records should show that the supply actually reached the approved recipient for the relevant purpose. Rule 89's refund framework addresses goods admission and service receipt evidence for authorised operations, including specified-officer endorsement requirements. Verify the current procedure for the route and claim involved.
For goods, link delivery, quantity and zone admission records to the invoice. For services, preserve scope, completion and receipt evidence. A transporter's delivery acknowledgment and the specific evidence needed for an SEZ refund may serve different purposes. Keep both where required instead of assuming one signature answers every condition.
Reconcile commercial and structured records
Compare supplier and recipient GSTINs, invoice number, date, description, value, place-of-supply treatment, endorsement and tax amount across the PDF, ledger and applicable reporting data. Check that a customer-master change has not converted an SEZ invoice into an ordinary domestic B2B record.
If the customer rejects the invoice or changes the purchasing registration, preserve the original and review the correction route with the actual supply evidence. Do not simply issue a replacement PDF to another group GSTIN while leaving the original accounting and reporting untouched.
Review adjustments with the same evidence
Returns, service reductions and later charges should link to the original supply and approved route. Identify whether the adjustment affects quantities admitted, authorised-operation evidence, tax or the refund working. Keep prior notes visible so the same amount is not adjusted twice.
A sound SEZ invoice file establishes the recipient, qualifying purpose, permitted route and actual receipt before relying on wording. The endorsement then makes that decision visible. That gives sales and accounts a clear basis for billing and preserves the records needed for any later reporting or refund review.