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E-Invoice FAQ-updated
E-Invoice FAQ-updated
E-Invoice FAQ-updated
1. What is E- Invoicing?
‘E-invoicing’ or ‘electronic invoicing’ is a system where in the tax payer will upload his
invoice details and register his supply transaction on the Government Invoice Registration
Portal (IRP)and get the Invoice Reference Number (IRN) generated by the IRP system.
The generation of the Invoice will be the responsibility of the taxpayer. While generating, it
needs to be reported to the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) of GST. The IRP will generate a
unique Invoice Reference Number (IRN) and adds the digital signature for the e-Invoice,
along with the OR code. The QR Code will contain vital parameters of the e-Invoice and
return the same to the taxpayer who generated the document in the first place. The IRP will
also send the signed e-Invoice to the seller on the registered email ID
3. What are the types of documents that are to be reported into the IRP?
i. Invoices by the supplier
ii. Credit Notes by the supplier
iii. Debit Notes by the supplier
iv. Any other document as required by law to be reported by the creator of the document
4. How do I create an electronic invoice?
The process to create e-invoice varies with the following four methods
i. Offline tool
ii. Using GST Suvidha Provider
iii. Through Direct Integration
iv. Via API integration with sister concern GSTIN
v. Using E-way Bill API credentials
In case of bulk generation of IRN using offline too, download the offline tool available on the
portal: https://einvoice1.gst.gov.in/. Enter the invoice details and validate the entries. Generate
the JSON file and upload it after logging into the portal.
For the rest of the methods, taxpayer must register API by logging into the e-invoice portal
and use the API credentials to connect and generate IRN and e-way bill.
5. Is e invoicing mandatory?
E-Invoicing applies to certain taxpayers whose aggregate turnover during the FY 2019-
20 is more than Rs 500 crore. For such class of taxpayers, generating e-invoice becomes
mandatory for every invoice, debit note and credit note issued by them. However, there are
some exceptions such as Special Economic Zones (SEZ) units, insurance, banking, financial
institutions, NBFCs, GTA, passenger transportation service and sale of movie tickets.
10. How will the system of e-Invoicing be integrated with GST Returns?
An e-Invoice will be uploaded into the relevant GST return only once it has been validated
and registered by the invoice registration system. After the validation has been done, it will be
visible to the recipient for viewing and editing (in the GSTR-1).
The main aim of the tax department is to enable the pre-population of GST returns, which will
reduce reconciliation-related problems. Once e-Invoicing has been implemented, the data in
the invoices can be pre-populated into the relevant tables of the tax returns without the need
for fresh data entry.
Certain features which are made mandatory under the GST law have also been marked as
mandatory fields in the e-invoice. Other features are marked as optional fields. Businesses
may choose not to enter the optional fields.
I.e-Invoice schema: This part will consist of the technical field name and the description of
each field. It will also specify if a field is mandatory or not, and has a few sample values
along with explanatory notes.
II.Masters: Masters will specify the set of inputs for certain fields, that are pre-defined by GSTN
itself. It includes fields like UQC, State Code, invoice type, supply type, etc.
III.e-Invoice template: The template is as per the GST rules and enables the reader to correlate
the terms used in other sheets. The mandatory fields are marked in green and optional
fields are marked in yellow.
16. Will the e-Invoice format be the same for all categories of taxpayers?
The standard of an e-invoice has been designed with certain mandatory fields which need to
be filled in by all taxpayers, and certain optional fields which will depend on the specific
needs of a business/enterprise.
17. Will there be a facility for invoice generation on the common GST portal?
No, invoices will continue to be generated on the individual ERP softwares that are currently
in use by businesses.
The invoice must conform to the e-Invoicing standard and include the mandatory parameters.
The direct generation of invoices on a common portal will not happen.
22. What are the modes available for getting e-Invoices registered?
Multiple modes will be made available for getting e-Invoices registered on the Invoice
Registration Portal (IRP). Some of the proposed modes are-
i. Web based,
ii. API based,
iii. Offline tool based and
iv. GSP based.
23. For how long will the data be available on the Government Portal?
On the IRP, the data will remain for only 24 hours. However, once an invoice has been
registered and validated, it will be uploaded into the relevant GST return where it will be
available for the entire financial year