E-com Desk: where do we tell the user that HSN codes are missing?

Sometimes a platform report has a sale with no HSN code, or a code that is too short. Today the app notices it, but lets the files be saved anyway. This page shows what happens now and three places where we could ask the user to fill the code.

All figures are made-up examples for "Sample Traders", August 2026. No customer data.

Red: stops the files from being saved Yellow: a note only, nothing stops Green: fixed Violet: the row the user is on ✕ a wrong result

The example month

Sample Traders adds 4 files for August 2026. Two products came without a proper HSN code:

Amazon: "Cotton kurti, red, M" (SKU KRT-RED-M). 12 sales, ₹8,940.00. The HSN column is empty.
Flipkart: "Silk dupatta" (SKU DPT-SLK). 3 sales, ₹2,310.00. The HSN column says "62", only 2 digits.

Every other sale has a proper code (6204 or 33074100).

Before: what happens today

The app sees both problems, but only as yellow notes. It also tells the user to "replace the report", which the user cannot do: Amazon's report for August will not change.

What goes wrong

✕ The GSTR-1 JSON is saved with an empty HSN code and "62". The GST portal refuses such codes.
✕ The Miracle file names the kurti's product "5% ()", with no code. Miracle gets vouchers without an HSN code.
✕ Changing the code by hand in the HSN summary fixes only the JSON. The Miracle file keeps the empty code.
✕ The yellow note says "Replace the report before exporting", but the app lets the user export without it.

The same fix in all three options

The options differ only in where the user learns about the problem and when it stops them. The fix itself is the same pop-up every time:

It lists each product without a proper code (not each sale): 2 rows here, not 15.
For each product, the user searches the GST HSN list (the search pop-up we already have) and chooses a code.
The code goes to every sale of that product, in both the GSTR-1 JSON and the Miracle file.
Until every product has a code, both files stay red and cannot be saved.

Three options

Option A · On the file, when it is added

Rule: the report's box on the Files page turns red, and the user cannot move forward until the codes are filled.

Step 1 of 3

The user learns about it on Files, at once

2 places

Shows red on: the report's box and Move forward

Stops early

GSTR-1 does not open until all are filled

Good

The user meets the problem at its source, at the earliest moment.
GSTR-1 and Export never show a wrong code.

Bad

Files is for collecting files. Here the user must stop and do GST work before seeing any figure.
The other GSTR-1 problems (Table 14, wrong rates) are shown on GSTR-1, so HSN would be the only one on Files.
The Miracle GSTR-1 file's own HSN rows are not products, so they would need another place anyway.

Option B · In the HSN summary on GSTR-1

Recommended

Rule: the HSN summary row turns red on GSTR-1, its section lists the products without a code at the top, and Export waits with "Open Table 12".

Step 2 of 3

The user learns about it on GSTR-1

4 places

Shows red on: the file's box, Table 12, its rows and Export

Stops saving

The user can still look at every figure first

Good

It works like every other export problem today: red where it comes from, and Export opens the section at fault (as Table 14's missing ledger does).
All HSN checks live in one place: missing codes, codes not in the GST list, and wrong rates.
The user is not stopped on Files and can check the totals first.

Bad

A user who never opens Table 12 sees it only on Export (but Export stops them, so nothing wrong is saved).
Table 12 lists codes, so the "No HSN code" part must list products: one more kind of row in that table.

Option C · At Export only

Rule: nothing is shown until Export, where both files are red with "Fill 2 HSN codes" and Enter opens the pop-up.

Step 3 of 3

The user learns about it at the very end

1 place

Shows red on: Export only

Stops saving

Same safety as B for the saved files

Good

Nothing gets in the way until the user is ready to save.
The simplest to build: one red row and one pop-up.

Bad

A surprise at the last step.
The HSN summary on GSTR-1 shows a row with an empty code as if it were fine ✕.
It breaks today's rule that each problem shows where it comes from.

Recommendation: Option B

Show missing or short HSN codes in the HSN summary on GSTR-1, and make them stop the export. This is how the desk already treats every other export problem, so users learn one pattern.

The report's box on Files says "2 products have no HSN code" in red, but does not stop Move forward.
On GSTR-1, row "12 – HSN summary" is red: "2 products have no HSN code".
In Table 12, a red "No HSN code" part on top lists each product. Enter or F2 opens the HSN search. The code goes to every sale of the product, in both files.
Export keeps both files red until all are filled. Enter opens Table 12.
The yellow note "Replace the report before exporting" goes away.

Later, if you want: remember each product's code for the party, so next month's report fills it by itself. This is a separate choice and is not in any option above.