Credit follows the invoice, not the purchase
Input tax credit on capital equipment is available to a GST-registered business, but it is the tax invoice that carries it. An invoice missing your GSTIN, carrying the wrong place of supply, or lacking an HSN code against the line is not a document your accountant can claim against.
This is why the paperwork matters more than the discount. A supplier five per cent cheaper whose invoice cannot be claimed is eighteen per cent more expensive.
What has to be right
Your GSTIN, exactly as registered. The place of supply, which determines whether the tax splits into CGST and SGST or is charged as IGST. The HSN code against each line. The rate applied, and the tax shown by head rather than as a single figure.
Get those right and the credit flows through your return in the ordinary way. Get one wrong and the correction is a credit note and a reissue, which takes longer than asking for it correctly the first time.
Who cannot claim
A business registered under the composition scheme pays tax at a flat rate on turnover and takes no input credit. An unregistered buyer has no credit ledger for the tax to enter. In both cases the price shown, inclusive of GST, is simply the price — and there is no paperwork advantage to chase.
This is worth establishing before comparing suppliers, because it changes which number you should be comparing.
Written by the Keystonne specification desk. Figures describe the catalogue as published and are not a substitute for professional tax or engineering advice.