Everything You Need to Know About E-Invoices Under GST

Recently, the GST council declared mandatory e-invoicing for businesses exceeding 5 crore turnover annually. This announcement left the industry baffled because earlier it was mandatory only for large-scale enterprises. Unlike MSMEs and small businesses, they can bear additional compliance costs of e-invoicing but it is pricey for SMEs. If you are also worried about the same then you should read this article to understand the nitty-gritty details of e-invoice under GST.

Contents hide

1 What Is E-Invoice Under GST?

2 Need For an E-Invoicing System

3 Benefits Of E-Invoice

4 List Of Mandatory Fields For E-Invoice

5 Sample Of E-Invoice

6 Regulatory Updates On E-Invoice

7 Summing Up

8 Frequently Asked Questions On E-Invoicing

What Is E-Invoice Under GST?

E-invoice (aka Electronic Invoice) is a system of invoices where it is authenticated electronically by the designated portal for B2B transactions. Once it is authenticated, a unique Invoice Reference Number (IRN) is generated. Also, each invoice is digitally signed and attached with a unique QR code. This whole process is called e-invoicing under GST.

Need For an E-Invoicing System

Following are the needs of e-invoicing

A standardized e-invoice process makes the sharing of invoices easy
Government agencies can track your transactions
Eliminates manual data entry while filing GST returns
Avoids data discrepancy

Benefits Of E-Invoice

The following are the benefits of e-invoicing:

Track your e-invoices in real-time
Enables interoperability across business
Assists in data reconciliation and improves accuracy in manual data entry
Makes the tax return process since e-invoices will be auto-populated on tax return forms and e-way-bills
As all the transactions will be available online, so there’s no more need for frequent audits
The chances of making fake invoices are minimal
Efficiency tax administration enhances
B2B details will be fetched automatically in the GSTR-1 return when invoices are uploaded.
Reduces the need of reporting the same invoices multiple times

List Of Mandatory Fields For E-Invoice

Field name	Description
Document Type Code	Each and every document has a code that has to be specified when asked for
Supplier Legal Name	Name of the supplier (as per PAN card)
Supplier GSTIN	GSTIN of the supplier
Supplier Address	Full address of the supplier
Supplier Place	Mention the city/village/town of the supplier
Supplier State Code	Specify the state code where the supplier is located
Supplier Pincode	Pin code of supplier
Document Number	A unique invoice number provided by the business
Document Date	The date on which the invoice is generated
Recipient Legal Name	Mention the full name of the recipient (as per PAN card)
Recipient’s GSTIN	Provide GSTIN of recipient
Recipient’s Address	Provide the full address of the customer/buyer
Recipient’s State Code	Specify state code (laid out by governing authority)
Place of Supply State Code	Specify the state where the items are to be delivered
Pincode	The location of the recipient has to be selected.
Recipient Place	City/village/town of recipient
Invoice Reference Number or IRN	A unique reference number of 64 characters is generated by the GST portal. Suppliers keep this field empty when uploading invoices on the GST portal.
Shipping To GSTIN	GSTIN of the entity where the items are to be delivered
Shipping To State, Pincode, and State Code	Specify the state and its code along with the pin code where the product is being delivered
Dispatch From Name, Address, Place, and Pincode	Name and full address of dispatching entity
Is Service	Whether the invoice is for service
Supply Type Code	Mention the type of supply and its corresponding code
Item Description	Description of items mentioned in the invoice
HSN Code	It is a coding standard decided by governing authorities for a particular product or service.
Item Price	The price of a product before deducting the discount, excluding GST
Assessable Value	Price of goods/service after subtracting discount, excluding GST
GST Rate	The tax rate on specific goods/services mentioned in the invoice
IGST Value, CGST Value, and SGST Value Separately	Declaring taxes on goods/services separately
Total Invoice Value	The total value of the invoice includes GST.

Sample Of E-Invoice

All businesses must use the e-invoice format shared by GSTIN. Before uploading the same to the portal, it is necessary to fill in all the mandatory fields and also fill in non-mandatory fields wherever applicable. The following image is the sample format of the e-invoice:

Regulatory Updates On E-Invoice

In order to allow businesses to get used to with new system of electronic invoicing, the GST council of India introduced e-invoicing in a phased manner. The following are the applicability of e-invoice:

The cut-off date for mandatory implementation of e-invoice	Business turnover (Annual)
1st October 2020	Exceeding 500 crore
1st January 2021	Exceeding 100 crore
1st April 2021	Exceeding 50 crore
1st April 2022	Exceeding 20 crore
1st October 2022	Exceeding 10 crore
1st January 2023	Exceeding 5 crore

Summing Up

So this was all about e-invoicing under GST. If you want to further simplify the e-invoicing process, download Munim – a cloud-based accounting software, made in India, made for India. Along with e-invoice generation, you can maintain inventory, sales records, and expenses. In a word, Munim is a one-stop accounting solution for all businesses.

Frequently Asked Questions On E-Invoicing

What was the system for issuing invoices before e-invoicing?

Before e-invoicing, an entity could issue invoices from any third-party software and upload them manually in the GSTR-1 return. Once it was done successfully, the same information would reflect in the GSTR-2A form (which was viewed only form). The transporters were responsible for generating e-way bills from invoices.

Who is responsible for uploading e-invoices?

According to e-invoice rules, the seller is responsible for uploading it to the IRP system and getting the QR code and IRN (Invoice Reference Number) in the physical copy of the invoice issued to the recipient.

Which documents are to be uploaded to the IRP system?

The following documents are to be uploaded to the IRP system:
Invoice by Supplier
Credit Note by Supplier
Debit Note by Supplier
Any other document as required by the governing body

What are available options for generating e-invoices?

There are multiple ways to generate an e-invoice which are as follows:
Web
API
SMS
Mobile
offline tool
GSP

Can we cancel an e-invoice?

Yes, you can cancel an e-invoice within 24 hours by logging onto IRP.

How to cancel e-invoices in bulk?

Following are the steps to cancel e-invoices in bulk:
Go to the e-invoice portal. Click on ‘Bulk Generation Tool’
Download an offline utility named ‘e-invoice Cancel by IRN – JSON Preparation’
Enter the required details such as IRN, Reason for Cancellation, and Remarks and click on ‘Validate’ to check if there are any errors if.
Click on ‘Prepare JSON once the file is validated.
Login to the e-invoice portal and open the e-invoice section. Click on ‘Bulk IRN Cancel’ and upload the JSON file.

Is e-invoice mandatory for e-way bills?

Yes, an e-invoice is required to generate an e-way bill, however, an e-invoice is also required to validate the e-way bill at the time of transportation.

What supplies come under e-invoice currently?

E-invoice applies to:
Supplies made to registered persons (B2B)
Supplies to SEZ (w/o tax payment)
Exports (w/o tax payment)
Deemed exports

About the author

Mehul Jagwani

Mehul is a seasoned content writer with a passion for simplifying complex accounting and GST topics. With a keen interest in entrepreneurship and business management, he specializes in creating informative and engaging content for themunim.com. His goal is to help businesses understand and implement accounting and GST software solutions effectively. When he's not crafting content, Mehul enjoys exploring new places and spending time with his Golden Retriever.