App Store GST invoices: who to invoice and how to match Apple payouts
Identify the recipient, explain gross sales versus net Apple payouts, and connect financial reports, export invoices and bank evidence for Statement 3.
The name on an Apple bank transfer does not by itself tell you who to invoice or what value to use. Resolve the recipient and GST treatment from your agreement, then reconcile the invoice to Apple’s final reports and the payment received.
This guide is for Indian developers preparing App Store records for GST returns or an export-under-LUT refund. For a straightforward sale to a foreign business, use the direct foreign-client invoice example.
Who should appear on the invoice?
Apple’s Paid Apps Agreement, Schedule 2, appoints Apple entities as agents or commissionaires depending on the territory. A commissionaire acts in its own name on another person’s behalf. Those arrangements need a GST recipient analysis; there is no universal instruction to invoice the entity named in every payout. Use the agreement and exhibits accepted for the period concerned. Apple: Schedule 2 and its exhibits.
Give your CA the agreement and territory reports, and ask for a recorded decision covering:
| Decision | What the working paper should contain |
|---|---|
| What did you supply? | The actual app, subscription or other service, and relevant agreement clause |
| Who is the recipient? | Legal name, location and the reason that party is the recipient under the arrangement |
| Which sales qualify as exports? | The applicable place-of-supply analysis and any domestic or other excluded transactions |
| How is the supply valued? | The invoice-value basis and treatment of taxes, commission, refunds and adjustments |
To qualify as an export of services, the supplier must be in India, the recipient and place of supply outside India, payment received in convertible foreign exchange or RBI-permitted rupees, and the parties must not merely be establishments of the same person under the statutory test. A foreign bank remitter proves none of these conditions by itself. CBIC Circular 202/14/2023-GST, paragraph 3.1.
Which Apple reports should I download?
In App Store Connect, open Reports → Create Reports, select the fiscal month and download the relevant country/region financial reports. The detailed all-country report includes transaction and settlement dates. Retain the original downloaded files as well as your working spreadsheet. Apple: download financial reports.
Apple’s financial reports follow Apple’s fiscal calendar. Keep their exact start and end dates; a report labelled “June” need not cover the Indian calendar month of June. Use transaction detail to explain the period allocation in your GST records. Sales and Trends uses estimated amounts, so reconcile against final financial and payment records when available. Apple: financial reporting, Sales and Trends estimates.
Save the payment detail showing the amount sent, currency, issue date and Transaction ID / CCI. The CCI is a payment reference your bank can use to trace the transfer; it is not a FIRC or BRC. Obtain the corresponding bank realisation evidence separately. Apple: payments and proceeds, FIRC/BRC preparation guide.
Should the invoice equal gross sales or the net payout?
Neither figure is a safe automatic default. Apple’s proceeds are customer prices after applicable taxes and commission. Your GST invoice value follows the supply and valuation treatment established above. Bank charges can create another difference between Apple’s payment and your credit. Apple: proceeds and bank deductions.
Use a reconciliation like this. All amounts below are invented; USD is used throughout to avoid mixing currencies, and the commission is illustrative.
| Reconciliation line | USD | Supporting record |
|---|---|---|
| Customer charges | 2,400 | Relevant sales/financial detail |
| Less transaction taxes | (120) | Tax detail supporting the settlement |
| Less Apple commission | (342) | Applicable commission records |
| Proceeds sent by Apple | 1,938 | Final payment detail |
| Less bank/intermediary charge | (8) | Bank advice |
| Amount credited | 1,930 | Bank statement |
The reconciliation explains USD 470 of deductions. It does not establish that USD 2,400, USD 2,280 or USD 1,938 is the correct GST invoice value. Record the reviewed invoice amount separately and explain its relationship to these rows. Where currencies differ, add conversion details instead of subtracting amounts in different currencies.
Likewise, a documented commission deduction is not automatically an unpaid customer balance or automatically acceptable export realisation. Keep the agreement, deduction evidence and bank documents together so the treatment can be reviewed.
Prepare the invoice and preserve the dates
For supplies confirmed as exports under LUT, the invoice needs the required supplier and recipient particulars, serial number, date, service description/classification and value. Include the export-under-LUT endorsement, destination country and applicable delivery details. Check any e-invoicing obligation separately. CBIC: CGST Rule 46.
Keep these dates in separate columns:
- Supply date/period: when the service was supplied.
- Invoice date: the date of the issued document.
- Apple report period: the fiscal dates covered by the report.
- Payment issue and bank realisation dates: when Apple sent and the bank recorded the receipt.
A later payout does not justify changing an earlier invoice date. The export invoice guide covers invoice particulars and timing; the refund calculation guide explains why service-export turnover needs its own period computation.
How do these records reach Statement 3?
Carry confirmed export invoices into GSTR-1’s export reporting and reconcile their numbers, dates and values to Statement 3, including any filed amendments. GST’s refund FAQ requires the invoice details to agree and permits several invoices against one BRC/FIRC. GST portal: export refund FAQ, questions 1, 29 and 31.
For each invoice, retain the report rows supporting it, the allocation to the payout, the CCI, bank certificate reference and any deductions or unreceived balance. Do not allocate the entire combined payout to every invoice. The allocations must reconcile to the supported receipt.
Your completed handoff should let a reviewer trace agreement → invoice → report reconciliation → bank evidence → filed return → Statement 3. Use the Statement 3 worked example for the invoice-to-certificate mapping, or open the preparation checklist to identify missing records.