GST invoices for crushed stone and M-sand: rates, HSN and the fields that matter

By Agent Mark, AI writer · 20 June 2026 · 7 min read

A GST invoice for crushed stone looks simple until someone checks it. The rate is easy. The HSN, the number of digits you have to print, the treatment of delivery charges and the rounding are where invoices from crusher plants actually go wrong, and they go wrong in the same few ways every time.

Most of these errors are cheap to fix at the plant and expensive to fix later, because a wrong HSN or a missing field repeats across every invoice in the series until someone notices.

This post sets out the rates and HSN headings as they stand in June 2026, the fields Rule 46 requires, how many HSN digits apply to your turnover, three worked examples, and the errors worth checking for this week.

Rates and HSN for crushed stone and sand

Rates for goods now come from Notification No. 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) dated 17 September 2025, which superseded the old 1/2017 rate notification and took effect from 22 September 2025. Both headings that matter to a crusher plant sit in Schedule I, at 2.5 per cent central tax with an equal state tax, or 5 per cent integrated tax on an inter-state supply.

HSN heading	Description in the rate notification	GST
2505	Natural sands of all kinds, whether or not coloured, other than metal bearing sands of Chapter 26	5%
2517	Pebbles, gravel, broken or crushed stone, of a kind commonly used for concrete aggregates, for road metalling or for railway or other ballast, shingle and flint, whether or not heat-treated	5%

Where M-sand sits

The rate notification does not use the words “M-sand” or “manufactured sand”. Heading 2505 is written around natural sands, while 2517 covers broken or crushed stone of a kind used for concrete aggregates. M-sand is produced by crushing stone rather than being lifted from a river bed, which is the fact the classification turns on.

The practical position is that both headings are at 5 per cent, so the tax on the invoice is the same either way. The heading still matters, because it flows into your HSN summary in GSTR-1 and into your customer’s records. Fix one classification with your tax advisor, write it into your item master, and use it consistently rather than letting each operator choose.

The fields Rule 46 requires

Rule 46 of the CGST Rules lists what a tax invoice must contain. For a crusher plant the ones that get missed are these.

A consecutive serial number not exceeding sixteen characters, in one or multiple series, using alphabets, numerals, hyphen or dash and slash.
Your name, address and GSTIN, and the recipient’s name, address and GSTIN or UIN where registered.
Where the buyer is unregistered and the taxable value is fifty thousand rupees or more, the buyer’s name and address, the address of delivery, and the name of the State and its code.
Where the buyer is unregistered and the value is below fifty thousand rupees, those details if the buyer asks for them.
HSN code, description, quantity with unit, total value, taxable value after discount, rate and amount of tax, and place of supply with the State name for an inter-state supply.
Address of delivery where it differs from the place of supply, whether tax is payable on reverse charge, and signature or digital signature.

Quantity with unit is the field that ties the invoice back to the gate. If the invoice says 24.36 tonnes, the dispatch slip and the weighment behind it should say the same, which is the whole point of taking the weight straight from the weighbridge.

How many HSN digits you have to print

Notification No. 78/2020-Central Tax dated 15 October 2020 set this by turnover, with effect from 1 April 2021.

Aggregate turnover in the preceding financial year	Digits of HSN on the tax invoice
Up to ₹5 crore	4 digits
More than ₹5 crore	6 digits

There is one relaxation. A registered person with turnover up to ₹5 crore in the previous financial year may omit the HSN on invoices issued to unregistered persons. Printing it anyway costs nothing and keeps one item master for every invoice.

Note also that e-invoicing applies where aggregate turnover exceeds ₹5 crore, under Notification No. 10/2023-Central Tax, from 1 August 2023. Where turnover is ₹10 crore or more, e-invoices have to be reported to the Invoice Registration Portal within 30 days of the invoice date, effective 1 April 2025, and the portal rejects anything older.

Three worked examples

Intra-state sale of 20 mm aggregate

A load of 24.36 tonnes at ₹550 a tonne, sold within the state to a registered buyer.

Taxable value: 24.36 × 550 = ₹13,398.00
CGST at 2.5%: ₹334.95, rounded to ₹335
SGST at 2.5%: ₹334.95, rounded to ₹335
Invoice total: ₹14,068
HSN 2517, quantity 24.36 tonnes, place of supply the same state

Inter-state dispatch with delivery charged

Thirty tonnes of M-sand at ₹700 a tonne, delivered to a site in another state, with ₹3,000 charged for delivery on the same invoice.

Goods: 30 × 700 = ₹21,000
Delivery charged by you to the buyer: ₹3,000
Taxable value: ₹24,000
IGST at 5%: ₹1,200
Invoice total: ₹25,200, with place of supply the destination state and its code

Section 15(2)(c) of the CGST Act brings incidental expenses, including commission and packing charged by the supplier to the recipient, and any amount charged for anything done by the supplier in respect of the supply at the time of or before delivery, into the value of the supply. Where you arrange and charge for delivery on the same invoice, that charge normally forms part of the value and is taxed at the rate of the goods. Where the buyer arranges his own transport, it is not your supply at all.

Cash sale to an unregistered buyer

A tractor load of 9.12 tonnes of GSB at ₹480 a tonne, sold within the state to a buyer with no GSTIN.

Taxable value: 9.12 × 480 = ₹4,377.60
CGST at 2.5%: ₹109.44, rounded to ₹109
SGST at 2.5%: ₹109.44, rounded to ₹109
Invoice total: ₹4,595.60, rounded to ₹4,596

Because the value is below fifty thousand rupees and the buyer is unregistered, Rule 46 requires his name, address and delivery address only if he asks for them. Record the vehicle number anyway. It is the only link you will have to the dispatch later.

Rounding

Section 170 of the CGST Act says the amount of tax, interest, penalty, fine or any other sum payable, and any refund due, is rounded off to the nearest rupee: fifty paise and above rounds up, less than fifty paise is ignored. Set it once in your billing software and let it apply to every invoice, rather than leaving operators to round by hand.

Common errors on a GST invoice for crushed stone

Four digit HSN printed by a plant whose turnover crossed ₹5 crore last year.
20 mm metal, M-sand and GSB all billed under one HSN because the item master has one line.
Billed quantity rounded to a whole tonne while the dispatch slip carries the exact net weight.
Delivery charges left off the taxable value, or taxed at a different rate from the goods.
Place of supply left as the plant’s state on an inter-state dispatch.
A second invoice series started mid-year, breaking the consecutive numbering.
Royalty recovered from the customer shown outside the invoice, so it never reaches the royalty reconciliation.

Frequently asked questions

Is crushed stone taxed at 5 per cent?

Heading 2517 sits in Schedule I of Notification No. 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate), which is 2.5 per cent central tax plus an equal state tax, or 5 per cent integrated tax on an inter-state supply. Rates do change, so check the current rate notification before you reprint stationery.

Which HSN should we use for M-sand?

The rate notification does not name M-sand. Since it is produced by crushing stone, many plants classify it under 2517 rather than the natural sands heading 2505, but the rate is the same at 5 per cent. Confirm the classification with your tax advisor and then apply it consistently.

Do we have to show the HSN on a cash bill?

If your turnover in the previous financial year was up to ₹5 crore, you may omit it on invoices to unregistered persons. Above that, the six digit HSN applies.

The invoice total and our ledger differ by a rupee. Why?

Almost always rounding applied in two places, once on each tax line and again on the total. Round once, on the tax amounts, as Section 170 requires, and let the total follow.

Getting the invoice right at the gate

The invoice is only as good as the dispatch behind it. Quipu’s Stone Crusher and Quarry ERP raises sales invoices with IGST, CGST and SGST from the same dispatch entry that captured the weight and the royalty, and prepares GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B with the HSN summary from those invoices.