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CAMS indicative invoice: what it is and what to do with it

Short answer. The indicative invoice is the draft GST invoice CAMS prepares for you, one per AMC, from the commission that AMC is paying you this month. You request it under GST Invoice Download in GST Invoice Management on camsonline.com. CAMS emails it to your registered address as a ZIP, with an Excel report whose name starts with GST_REPORT. You then sign each invoice and upload the signed set with the Excel sheet.

Why it is called indicative

CAMS prepares it from the AMC's payment for that month. It shows the taxable value, the GST split and the AMC's GSTIN as CAMS holds them. It is a draft for that one payment. Your total GST position across all your income is between you and your CA, which is why CAMS uses the word indicative.

Where to get it

Sign in on camsonline.com under Distributors and RIA. Open Service Requests, then Distributor Mailback Services, then GST Invoice Management, then GST Invoice Download. Pick the AMCs. Pick the payment month and year. Set Output Format to Separate PDF for each AMC (ZIP). Submit. CAMS emails the ZIP and the GST_REPORT Excel to the email address registered with CAMS.

The one setting to watch

Output Format has two choices. Single PDF gives you one long file with every AMC on its own page. Separate PDF for each AMC gives you a ZIP with one file per AMC. The upload screen needs one signed PDF per AMC, so choose the ZIP.

Two Excel files look alike

The GST_REPORT file in the email is fully filled in: AMC, CAMS invoice number, payment month, your GSTIN, and the amount columns. The Excel Template button on the upload screen gives a file with the same headings but blank amount columns. That one is for distributors raising their own invoice figures. For the indicative invoice route, use the emailed GST_REPORT file.

What to do next

  1. Download the ZIP and the GST_REPORT Excel from the CAMS email.
  2. Sign each invoice. On MFD Office, you upload the ZIP and the Excel, and it gives you back a signed invoice for every AMC plus the completed Excel sheet, ready for the upload screen.
  3. Check before you upload. MFD Office checks the set against CAMS's own figures before you download it, so a mismatch is caught here, not on the CAMS screen.
  4. Upload on GST Invoice Upload: Your Own Invoice Format, Manual Document Upload, Multi-AMC Batch Upload (via Excel). Upload the ZIP and the Excel. Review, then submit. CAMS emails a receipt, and Invoice Status shows Approved once it is checked.
Do this before the 15th. The upload window runs from the 7th to the 15th of the payment month. A valid set uploaded inside the window releases the GST by the end of that month.

Turn the CAMS email into the signed set

Upload the ZIP and the GST_REPORT Excel from your CAMS email and see one of your own invoices signed. No signup, no card.

Try with your file, free

Common questions

Is the indicative invoice my final invoice?

It becomes your invoice once it carries your signature and has been uploaded and approved on CAMS.

Why did I get one long PDF instead of a ZIP?

Output Format was left on Single PDF. Request the download again with Separate PDF for each AMC (ZIP).

Can I change the figures on it?

The figures come from the AMC's payment. Changing them makes the upload fail validation. If you believe a figure is wrong, raise it with CAMS before uploading.

Which month do I pick?

The payment month, which is the month the commission is paid to you, not the month the brokerage was earned.

Where does the indicative invoice arrive?

By email, at the address registered with CAMS, after you submit the request on the GST Invoice Download screen. It does not appear on the screen itself.

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