Supply correction information NZ: what replaced credit and debit notes
From 1 April 2023 New Zealand no longer relies on rigid GST credit note and debit note formats. Inland Revenue (IRD) now uses supply correction information: the records that fix an earlier invoice style document or a wrong GST amount already returned.
This guide explains when sellers must issue supply correction information, what details to keep, how price increases and decreases hit both sides of a GST return, and when a discount does not need a separate correction document. Rules below are working papers checked against IRD guidance and GST guide IR375 for the 2026/27 year.
What supply correction information is
On IRD’s supply correction information page, a seller must provide supply correction information to correct an error in the original taxable supply information, or in a filed return. It does not matter if the buyer has already paid.
The rename sits beside the wider 1 April 2023 invoicing update. Old credit notes and debit notes map to supply correction information, just as tax invoices map to taxable supply information. IRD says practices that already met the old rules will generally meet the new ones. You can still title a PDF “Credit note” or “Debit note” if the required correction details are there. The underlying Act is the Goods and Services Tax Act 1985, with the practical walkthrough in GST guide IR375.
For the companion rules on what the original document must show, read taxable supply information NZ. To build a clean sales document before you ever need a correction, use the GST invoice generator. Day to day 15% maths still sits on the GST calculator.
Old terms and new terms
| Old term | New term (from 1 April 2023) |
|---|---|
| Tax invoice | Taxable supply information |
| Credit note / debit note | Supply correction information |
| Buyer created tax invoice | Buyer created taxable supply information |
IRD’s overview of the rename is on taxable supply information for GST. Train accounts payable to accept compliant correction documents even when the heading no longer says “Credit note”.
When supply correction information is required
IRD and IR375 say you must provide supply correction information when the taxable supply information included an incorrect amount of GST, or when you included an incorrect amount in your GST return for a taxable supply you made.
Examples IRD lists include:
- the buyer adds more items or cancels an order
- all or some of the goods are returned
- some of the goods were not delivered
- incorrect description of the goods or services
- incorrect seller or buyer details
- incorrect date
- GST calculated at the wrong rate
- an incorrect GST amount charged
Ecommerce sellers dealing with customer returns should also read GST on returns and refunds. Writing off unpaid invoices is a different topic: see GST on bad debts.
What supply correction information must include
Buyers and sellers must retain supply correction information with all of the following:
- seller’s name (or trade name) and GST number
- date the correction was provided
- details identifying the original taxable supply information (for example an invoice number)
- the correction itself, including any correction to the tax charged
IRD says there must be enough detail for both parties to identify what is being corrected. Provide supply correction information for a particular supply once. If the buyer loses their copy, you can send another. You do not need to mark it “copy only”.
Discount and rebate exception
You are not required to provide supply correction information if the correction results from a discount or rebate and those terms were already agreed in writing or set out in the taxable supply information. That covers many prompt payment discounts that were disclosed up front. If the price change is a one off renegotiation that was not already in the paperwork, treat it as a normal price change and issue supply correction information.
Price reductions and price increases
IRD’s special supplies pages and IR375 explain how agreed price changes interact with GST returns after taxable supply information (or payment) already exists.
Reduction of the agreed price
If you reduce the price after providing taxable supply information or receiving payment, include the reduction in the return period it was made in. That is usually the return covering when you provided the supply correction information. If you already issued taxable supply information, you must also provide supply correction information. The buyer includes the reduction in the return period covering the time of reduction, usually when they receive the correction.
Increase of the agreed price
If you increase the price after providing taxable supply information or receiving payment, include the increase in the return for the period it was made. That is usually the return for the period you provided the supply correction information. Provide supply correction information for the increase. The buyer includes it in the return covering when the increase was made, usually the period they received the correction.
IRD worked example (Kevin and Maria)
IR375’s cleaning goods example: Kevin sells goods to Maria for $1,000. Maria pays $900 because some goods were damaged. In his next GST return period Kevin issues supply correction information for $100. Both use the invoice basis. Kevin includes $1,000 in sales in the return for the sale, then claims $100 in purchases and expenses in the return covering the reduction. Maria claims $1,000 in purchases when she received the goods, then includes $100 in sales in the return covering the reduction. If taxable supply information and supply correction information land in the same return period, they can instead show the net $900.
Deposits and progress claims that later change scope often create the same pattern. See GST on deposits and progress payments.
Which GST return period to use
IRD is clear: include the supply correction information in the GST return for the period it was provided. On fixing mistakes in my return, IRD repeats that if you provide or receive supply correction information that changes GST for a period, you account for the change in the period it was provided or received.
That is different from amending an old return for an unrelated calculation error. For those cases, use how to correct GST return errors and IRD’s next return or myIR amendment pathways where they apply.
Time limit (usually 4 years)
You cannot use supply correction information to fix a mistake in a return after a certain time period. IR375 states that for most GST returns that period is 4 years. After that window, talk to IRD or your tax agent about what options remain. Do not assume a stale credit note style document will reopen an old period forever.
Combining correction and new supply details
A single document may contain supply correction information for an earlier supply and taxable supply information for a different new supply. That is useful when you reissue a replacement order and credit the cancelled lines on the same PDF. Keep the identifiers clear so both sides can see which lines correct the old supply and which lines invoice the new one.
Buyer created arrangements
If the buyer issues buyer created taxable supply information, corrections still need to be documented. The party responsible for the document under the agreement should issue supply correction information that meets the same minimum fields. Agreement rules sit on IRD’s buyer created page and in our taxable supply information guide.
Practical checklist
- Match every correction to an invoice number or other clear identifier.
- Show seller name, GST number, correction date, and the GST amount change.
- Put the adjustment in the return for the period the correction was provided or received.
- Skip a separate correction document only when a written discount or rebate was already agreed or printed on the original taxable supply information.
- Keep copies for both sides for at least 7 tax years under IRD record keeping rules.
- Stop using SCI to reopen periods outside the usual 4 year window.
Registration and filing basics live in the GST Basics Guide category and the ultimate guide to GST in New Zealand. Wrong GST maths on the original invoice is still one of the traps in 10 common GST mistakes in NZ.
Common mistakes
- Adjusting the return but never giving the buyer identifiable supply correction information
- Putting the correction in the original sale period instead of the period the correction was provided
- Issuing a vague credit email with no link back to the original invoice
- Treating every discount as needing SCI when the discount terms were already agreed in writing
- Using SCI to try to rewrite a return outside the usual 4 year limit
If the real problem is a late filed return or late payment, estimate exposure with the late GST penalty calculator.
FAQs
What replaced GST credit notes and debit notes in New Zealand?
From 1 April 2023, supply correction information replaced the old debit note and credit note rules. You can still use a document labelled credit note or debit note if it holds the required correction details.
When must I issue supply correction information?
When earlier taxable supply information had the wrong GST amount, or you included the wrong output tax in a GST return for that supply. Common triggers include returns, cancellations, wrong descriptions, wrong dates, and wrong GST rates.
Do I need supply correction information for a prompt payment discount?
Usually no, if the discount or rebate terms were already agreed in writing or set out in the original taxable supply information.
Which GST return does a correction go in?
Include it in the GST return for the period the supply correction information was provided. Buyers usually adjust in the period they receive it.
Is there a time limit on using supply correction information?
Yes. For most GST returns you cannot use it to fix a mistake after 4 years.
Sources and verification
Last full check: 26 August 2026. Matched to IRD supply correction information, IRD special supplies (price increase and reduction), IRD fixing mistakes in my return, IRD taxable supply information overview, GST guide IR375, and the Goods and Services Tax Act 1985. GSTCalc.nz is a free New Zealand publisher of tax calculators and guides. Ads may fund the site. We are not Inland Revenue and this is not tax advice. Figures are working papers. Publisher details: About us and Contact. Privacy: Privacy policy.