Exercise 23

Import Ledgers with GST Tax Rates

Published 30 Oct 2026

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This exercise teaches you how to import Ledger masters with their GST details and tax rates from Excel into Tally Prime. It creates a Sales ledger and a Purchase ledger with HSN code, GST applicability and rate, together with the CGST, SGST and IGST duty ledgers.

Step 1 — Prepare the Excel sheet

Create an Excel sheet with one row per ledger. Column A (Sr No) is the key field of the exercise. Leave the GST cells blank for the duty ledgers (CGST, SGST, IGST), because they have a duty type, tax type and rate instead of HSN and nature of transaction.

Step 2 — Write the XML tags in a separate file

Open Notepad (or any plain-text editor) and write the following XML tags:

<!--
  Columns referenced by this XML:
  A = Sr No (key field)                   B = Ledger Name
  C = Alias                               D = Ledger Group
  E = Integrated Tax Rate                 F = HSN Code
  G = Is Applicable                       H = ApplicableFromDate
  I = Nature of Transaction               J = Taxability
  K = Type of Duty                        L = Tax Type
  M = Tax Rate                            N = Narration
  O = Type of Supply
-->
<!-- CELLREFERENCE="A1" makes Sr No the key: rows sharing it are treated as one ledger. -->
<XMLTAGS CELLREFERENCE="A1" xmlns:UDF="TallyUDF">
    <MASTER TYPE="LEDGER">
        <NAME.LIST>
            <!-- Ledger name -->
            <NAME COLUMNREFERENCE="B"/>
            <!-- Ledger alias -->
            <NAME COLUMNREFERENCE="C"/>
        </NAME.LIST>
        <!-- Group under which the ledger is created (Sales Accounts / Purchase Accounts) -->
        <PARENT COLUMNREFERENCE="D"/>
        <!-- Ledger narration -->
        <NARRATION COLUMNREFERENCE="N"/>
        <!-- Fixed flags: sales/purchase ledgers do not use bill-wise tracking, cost centres, stock or VAT -->
        <ISBILLWISEON>No</ISBILLWISEON>
        <ISCOSTCENTRESON>No</ISCOSTCENTRESON>
        <AFFECTSSTOCK>No</AFFECTSSTOCK>
        <USEFORVAT>No</USEFORVAT>
        <!-- GST applicability: Column G (Is Applicable) -->
        <GSTAPPLICABLE FORMULA="=If(Lower(Trim(G#))=&quot;applicable&quot;,&quot;~[~ Applicable&quot;,&quot;~[~ Not Applicable&quot;)"/>
        <!-- Type of supply (Goods / Services): Column O -->
        <GSTTYPEOFSUPPLY COLUMNREFERENCE="O"/>

        <!-- GST details block: skipped when H, F, I, J and E are all blank, so ledgers without GST data get no empty block -->
        <GSTDETAILS.LIST SKIP="=And(len(trim(H#))=0,len(trim(F#))=0,len(trim(I#))=0,len(trim(J#))=0,len(trim(E#))=0)">
            <!-- Date from which these GST details apply -->
            <APPLICABLEFROM COLUMNREFERENCE="H"/>
            <TAXABILITY>Taxable</TAXABILITY>
            <SRCOFGSTDETAILS>Specify Details Here</SRCOFGSTDETAILS>
            <!-- Nature of transaction, e.g. Sales Taxable / Purchase Taxable: Column I -->
            <GSTNATUREOFTRANSACTION COLUMNREFERENCE="I"/>
            <ISREVERSECHARGEAPPLICABLE>No</ISREVERSECHARGEAPPLICABLE>
            <ISNONGSTGOODS>No</ISNONGSTGOODS>
            <STATEWISEDETAILS.LIST>
                <!-- Rates apply to any state -->
                <STATENAME FORMULA="=&quot;~[~ Any&quot;"/>

                <!-- Enter the GST rate in E, e.g. 18. The CGST and SGST rates are half of this value -->
                <RATEDETAILS.LIST>
                    <GSTRATEDUTYHEAD>Central Tax</GSTRATEDUTYHEAD>
                    <GSTRATEVALUATIONTYPE>Based on Value</GSTRATEVALUATIONTYPE>
                    <GSTRATE FORMULA="=Round(E#/2,2)"/>
                </RATEDETAILS.LIST>
                <RATEDETAILS.LIST>
                    <GSTRATEDUTYHEAD>State Tax</GSTRATEDUTYHEAD>
                    <GSTRATEVALUATIONTYPE>Based on Value</GSTRATEVALUATIONTYPE>
                    <GSTRATE FORMULA="=Round(E#/2,2)"/>
                </RATEDETAILS.LIST>
                <RATEDETAILS.LIST>
                    <GSTRATEDUTYHEAD>Integrated Tax</GSTRATEDUTYHEAD>
                    <GSTRATEVALUATIONTYPE>Based on Value</GSTRATEVALUATIONTYPE>
                    <GSTRATE COLUMNREFERENCE="E"/>
                </RATEDETAILS.LIST>
            </STATEWISEDETAILS.LIST>
        </GSTDETAILS.LIST>

        <!-- HSN/SAC details for the ledger -->
        <HSNDETAILS.LIST>
            <APPLICABLEFROM COLUMNREFERENCE="H"/>
            <!-- HSN/SAC code: Column F -->
            <HSNCODE COLUMNREFERENCE="F"/>
            <SRCOFHSNDETAILS>Specify Details Here</SRCOFHSNDETAILS>
            <!-- Duty head and rate calculation method (Columns L, M) -->
            <GSTDUTYHEAD COLUMNREFERENCE="L"/>
            <RATEOFTAXCALCULATION COLUMNREFERENCE="M"/>
            <TAXTYPE>GST</TAXTYPE>
        </HSNDETAILS.LIST>
    </MASTER>
</XMLTAGS>

Step 3 — Save the file

Save it as ledger-with-gst-tax-rates-xml-tags.xml. In the Save as type box, choose All Files — otherwise Notepad appends .txt and you'll end up with ledger-with-gst-tax-rates-xml-tags.xml.txt instead.

Step 4 — Import into Tally

1. Start Tally Prime and open the company you want to import into.
2. Minimize Tally (leave it running).
3. Start udiMagic and select Excel to Tally.
4. Select option Import data into Tally.
5. Browse to select both the Excel sheet and the XML tags file — you're prompted for the XML file on the same screen as the Excel sheet.
6. Follow the wizard to complete the import.

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