Workflow guide
Credit notes and debit notes for GST: how Tiram handles adjustments
Quick answer
A GST credit note reduces the value of a supply you've already invoiced — a return, a discount, a billing correction — while a debit note increases it, such as a price correction that means a customer or vendor owes more. Tiram issues credit notes directly against any invoice, and any note linked to an invoice is picked up automatically in your GSTR-1 CDNR/CDNUR filing. It's included on every Tiram plan, including Silver.
Try the connected workflow
Adjust invoices the GST-compliant way — no editing finalized bills
Credit notes and GSTR-1 CDNR reporting, included on every plan. 30-day free trial, no card needed.
30-day free trial · No card needed
Workflow step
What's the difference between a GST credit note and a debit note?
Both are GST-compliant adjustment documents that reference an original invoice — they exist so a correction to a sale doesn't require editing (or worse, deleting) a finalized invoice, which GST law doesn't allow. A credit note reduces the invoice value: a customer returns goods, a billing error overcharged them, or a post-sale discount applies. A debit note increases it: a price was corrected upward, or an additional charge needs to be billed. Both carry their own GST treatment and must be reported to the GST department in the period they're issued, not silently netted into a future invoice.
Workflow step
Issuing a credit note against an invoice in Tiram
Open Credit notes → New credit note. Pick the Customer, an Issue date, and optionally search and link it Against invoice — linking pulls in that invoice's line items as pickable rows, so the note's line items, tax rates, and place-of-supply follow the original sale automatically. Add a Reason (this is visible on the audit log — useful when a CA asks why a note was raised), review the line totals, and click Issue credit note. A credit note gets its own sequential number and a status: Open, Applied (matched against a future payment or balance), or Cancelled.
Workflow step
Debit notes: purchase-side vendor corrections
Tiram's dedicated debit-note workflow lives on the purchasing side, under Purchases → Debit notes — used for vendor returns and billing corrections: a delivery that's short, damaged, or over-invoiced by a vendor. It's linked to the original GRN receipt or vendor bill, pulls the returned stock back out of inventory, and records the reason, the same way a credit note does for a customer-facing correction.
Workflow step
How credit and debit notes flow into GSTR-1
Any credit or debit note linked to an invoice for a GSTIN-registered (B2B) customer is picked up automatically in the CDNR section of your GSTR-1 export, with the original invoice number and date, place of supply, and the tax breakdown carried across. A note against a large inter-state B2C sale is reported instead under CDNUR. A note with no linked invoice — a free-form adjustment — isn't GST-reportable and is correctly excluded from both sections; smaller intra-state B2C corrections net directly into your B2CS figures instead. See [gstr-1-export](/resources/gst-billing/gstr-1-export) for the full filing walkthrough.
Workflow step
Which Tiram plan includes credit and debit notes?
Credit notes and debit notes are included on every Tiram plan — Silver, Gold, and Platinum — on both the cloud app and the offline Windows/Mac desktop app. Access is controlled only by a teammate's role permissions, never by subscription tier.
Quick answers
- What is a GST credit note?
- A GST credit note is a document that reduces the value of an invoice already issued — for a return, a billing correction, or a post-sale discount — without editing or deleting the original invoice.
- What is a GST debit note?
- A GST debit note increases the value of a supply already billed, typically for a price correction or an additional charge, and is reported to the GST department the same way a credit note is.
- Do credit notes and debit notes appear in GSTR-1?
- Yes. Any note linked to an invoice for a registered customer appears in the CDNR section of the GSTR-1 export automatically; notes against large inter-state B2C sales appear in CDNUR instead.
- Is issuing a credit note free on every Tiram plan?
- Yes. Credit notes and debit notes are included on Silver, Gold, and Platinum alike — there's no upgrade required.
FAQs
- How do I issue a credit note in Tiram?
- Open Credit notes → New credit note, choose the customer, optionally link it against the original invoice, add a reason, and click Issue credit note.
- Can I link a credit note to the original invoice?
- Yes — searching and selecting Against invoice pulls in that invoice's line items automatically, so tax rates and place of supply stay consistent with the original sale.
- Where do I raise a debit note for a vendor correction?
- Under Purchases → Debit notes — it's linked to the original GRN receipt or vendor bill and pulls the returned stock back out of inventory.
- Does a credit note with no linked invoice still count for GST?
- No. A free-form note with no linked invoice isn't GST-reportable and is excluded from both the CDNR and CDNUR sections of the GSTR-1 export.
- Which plan do I need for credit notes and debit notes?
- None — they're included on every Tiram plan, Silver included, gated only by role permissions.
- Can I see why a credit note was issued later?
- Yes. The Reason you enter when issuing a credit note is recorded on the audit log against that note.
Related reading
Adjust invoices the GST-compliant way — no editing finalized bills
Credit notes and GSTR-1 CDNR reporting, included on every plan. 30-day free trial, no card needed.
Start free