Importing electronic components to India: GST, customs and one invoice

Most BOMs in India are a mix. Some parts are on a shelf in the country. Some exist only as an import. If you buy the imported lines yourself, you become the person who matches a foreign invoice, a freight bill and a customs assessment, then explains the lot to your accounts team. If you buy those lines from Sonani Electronics, you are placing a domestic order. We source and deliver the parts. You receive a single GST invoice.

This note is for engineers who have to explain that arrangement to a founder or an accountant, and for manufacturers who are tired of a parts order arriving as three documents that do not add up. It is not tax advice. Your chartered accountant decides how your firm records the invoice. What we can describe is the shape of the purchase.

What you are actually buying

You are buying from an Indian supplier, Sonani Electronics in Surat. The parts may have been made outside India. That does not make you the importer on a normal order. We arrange the sourcing. Imported parts and India-sourced parts can sit on the same quotation, with each line labelled so you can see which is which.

The quotation is in INR. Shipping, customs, duty and clearance for the lines we import are included in the quotation you accept. GST is shown on that quotation. You do not get a surprise duty line, a foreign-currency adjustment, or a courier "customs fee" after you have paid. There are no hidden charges. If a line cannot be priced, because the part number is incomplete or the stock has gone, we say so before you approve the order.

Your accountant sees one vendor and one tax invoice for that purchase. The invoice carries the usual GST particulars: our details, your name and address, your GSTIN when you have given it, the lines, the tax, and the total. You pay in INR by the method on the quote, normally a bank transfer or UPI.

Why one GST invoice is easier than a pile of import papers

A direct import of a small BOM often arrives as a foreign commercial invoice, a freight bill, and a customs assessment. None of those is a GST invoice from an Indian supplier, and the descriptions rarely match the BOM line for line.

A single GST invoice is one domestic purchase:

• One vendor master in the books, instead of an overseas seller plus a courier plus a customs entry
• One payment in INR against one document
• One tax invoice for the purchase register, in the same shape as your other Indian supplier bills
• Descriptions and quantities that match the BOM you approved, rather than a carton-level description on a freight bill
• No need for your team to decide which of three documents is "the" bill for that part

We do not put a rupee figure on that paperwork difference. It depends on your registration, the part and the day, and your chartered accountant decides what credit you can use. The invoice removes the job of being the importer for that order. If you are not GST registered, you still get the tax invoice and you still do not file the customs entry. Say so when you ask for the quote.

What you do not have to do

On a standard order you do not file the bill of entry, appoint a broker, or pay an overseas seller in foreign currency. You share a normal purchase set:

• Legal name for the invoice, and the billing address
• GSTIN, if you have one
• Ship-to address, if it is different
• The BOM, with manufacturer part numbers and quantities
• Any line you will supply yourself, marked as consigned, so we do not import it

We may still ask a question if a part number is ambiguous or if an alternate needs your approval. That question is about the component, not about a customs form. How to write the BOM so the question does not happen is in BOM best practices. How to decide if a substitute is real is in alternatives for out-of-stock parts.

India-sourced lines and imported lines on one order

Not every line needs to come from abroad. The quotation should show the difference so the plan is honest.

Imported parts typically reach Surat in about 12-15 working days, India-sourced parts about 2-4 working days, depending on stock. A number that cannot be bought does not become available because it was typed on a BOM. We will say what we can find, including a checked alternate if you allow one.

You can take the faster lines first, or wait and receive one shipment. Either way you get a single GST invoice, with no hidden charges, not a foreign invoice plus a domestic top-up. After the parts reach Surat, dispatch is on shipping and returns.

A bare PCB or assembly on the same order is made through our manufacturing partners. We source and deliver the parts. See PCB vs PCBA vs SMT stencil so the quote is for the object you want.

What the price is, and what it is not

The quotation is the price for those lines and quantities, for the validity printed on it. Import costs are included and GST is shown. There are no hidden charges at delivery.

It is not a promise for next month. If the quote expires, we re-check. The terms of sale say the same. Compare a website price with a BOM quote only at the same quantity, part number and tax treatment. A figure that leaves out GST or duty is a different kind of number, not a lower one.

What your accounts team usually asks

Three questions come up often. The vendor is Sonani Electronics, one vendor for that order. There is no separate customs bill to book, because duty and clearance are inside the quotation and the GST invoice is the purchase document. If you are registered and the invoice carries your GSTIN, your accountant treats it like other domestic purchases. We do not decide the credit. We do issue a proper tax invoice.

Send the GSTIN as it appears on the certificate. If the ship-to state differs from the bill-to state, say so. The tax is then IGST rather than CGST and SGST, which is ordinary GST practice, not an extra fee.

How to start

Send the BOM on upload a BOM, or search a single number on parts. If you already know which lines must be imported, mark them. If you do not, send the list anyway and we will separate what we can source in India from what has to come in. You can also contact us with the company name and GSTIN in the first message so the draft invoice details are right from the start.

When the quote arrives, check three things before you pay: the manufacturer part number on each line, the quantity, and the total including GST. If a line is an alternate, it should say so, and you should have accepted it. Then the single GST invoice that follows should match that quote. That match is the whole point.

Common questions

Do I need an Import Export Code?

Not for a normal purchase from us. You are buying in India on a GST invoice. An IEC matters when your own firm is the importer. That is a different arrangement.

Does the invoice hide that a part was imported?

The invoice is a domestic GST invoice. The quotation can still show which lines were imported, so planning stays honest. Accounts books one vendor.

Can one invoice cover parts and a PCB?

Yes, when both are on the order you approved. We source and deliver the parts. The board is made through our manufacturing partners. You still get a single GST invoice and no hidden charges. If the board is needed before the slowest IC, say so and we will quote the split.

A courier once asked us to pay duty. Will that happen?

Not as a second demand on an order you already approved. Those calls happen when you are the importer. If a courier contacts you about a Sonani shipment, send us the message before you pay anyone.