How the conversion works
The amount is split into rupees and paise without any floating-point rounding. The rupee part is then grouped from the right using the Indian system and each group is written in words.
Indian grouping
- Crore = 1,00,00,000 (ten million)
- Lakh = 1,00,000 (one hundred thousand)
- Thousand = 1,000
- Hundreds, tens and ones for the last three digits
Words = (crore part) Crore + (lakh part) Lakh + (thousand part) Thousand + (last three digits) + “and (paise) Paise”, followed by “Only”. Parts that are zero are skipped.
Example (illustrative)
A Surat textile wholesaler raises an invoice for ₹12,34,567.80. Split into 12 lakh, 34 thousand and 567, it reads: “Rupees Twelve Lakh Thirty Four Thousand Five Hundred Sixty Seven and Eighty Paise Only”. In the international system the same amount is “One Million Two Hundred Thirty Four Thousand Five Hundred Sixty Seven and Eighty Paise”.
Common mistakes
- Writing the words for the taxable value instead of the invoice total after GST and round-off.
- Mixing systems, such as “Twelve Lakh Thirty Four Thousand” in one place and “1.23 million” in another on the same document.
- Forgetting the paise part, so the words do not match the figure.
The free GST tax invoice template adds the amount in words to the invoice total for you.