GST e-invoicing is mandatory for a registered business whose aggregate turnover exceeded ₹5 crore in any financial year from 2017-18 onwards, for B2B supplies, exports and other notified supplies. Each covered invoice, credit note and debit note is reported to an Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) to get an Invoice Reference Number (IRN) and signed QR code; if your AATO is ₹10 crore or more, this must be done within 30 days of the document date. CorporateWalla can assist with eligibility review, ERP/accounting configuration, IRP setup, invoice validation, IRN workflow, reconciliation and exception handling.
Important: E-invoicing is not the same as sending a PDF invoice by email. For a covered transaction, the prescribed invoice data must be reported through the applicable IRP and the resulting IRN/QR information used as required by GST rules.
The position as of October 2026. There has been no change to the ₹5 crore threshold since 1 August 2023.
| Rule | What applies | Since | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who must e-invoice | Aggregate turnover above ₹5 crore in any financial year from 2017-18 onwards | 1 August 2023 | Notification 13/2020-CT, as amended by 70/2020-CT and 10/2023-CT |
| Supplies covered | B2B supplies and exports (plus other notified supplies); B2C invoices are outside the IRN requirement | 1 October 2020 (exports added by 70/2020-CT) | Notification 13/2020-CT, as amended |
| Government departments and local authorities | Excluded from e-invoicing | 1 June 2021 | Notification 23/2021-CT |
| 30-day reporting limit | AATO ₹10 crore or more: invoices, credit notes and debit notes cannot be reported to the IRP more than 30 days after the document date | 1 April 2025 | GSTN advisory dated 5 November 2024 |
| Multi-factor authentication | Mandatory on the e-invoice and e-way bill portals for all taxpayers and users | 1 April 2025 (phased from 1 January 2025) | GSTN advisory dated 17 December 2024 |
| Invoice without IRN | Not treated as an invoice for a notified person | From the start of e-invoicing | Rule 48(5), CGST Rules |
Thresholds and advisories change. We check the current notifications and GSTN advisories on the day we take up your case.
Four clocks run on every covered document. Missing the first two cannot be undone on the portal, so they decide how your ERP should be set up.
| Time limit | Who it applies to | What happens if missed |
|---|---|---|
| Report to the IRP within 30 days of the document date | AATO ₹10 crore or more (from 1 April 2025) | The IRP rejects the document; it cannot be back-dated |
| Cancel an IRN within 24 hours of generation | Every e-invoice taxpayer | Cancellation closes; correct through a credit or debit note or GSTR-1 |
| Generate an e-way bill for a document dated within the previous 180 days | Where an e-way bill is needed (from 1 January 2025) | E-way bill cannot be generated for an older document |
| Report before issuing the invoice to the buyer | Every covered supply | Rule 48(5): the document is not treated as an invoice |
| Needs an IRN (if your PAN is covered) | Does not need an IRN |
|---|---|
| Tax invoices for B2B supplies | B2C invoices (a separate dynamic QR code rule applies to some large B2C suppliers) |
| Credit notes and debit notes on those supplies | Bills of supply and delivery challans |
| Exports, with or without payment of tax | Imports and bills of entry |
| Supplies to SEZ units and developers, with or without payment of tax | Supplies by exempt sectors: banks and NBFCs, insurers, GTAs, passenger transport, multiplex cinemas, SEZ units |
| Deemed exports | Supplies by government departments and local authorities |
The supply-type codes on the e-invoice portal are B2B, SEZWP, SEZWOP, EXPWP, EXPWOP and DEXP. If a transaction does not fit one of them, it is usually outside e-invoicing; confirm before deciding.
The test runs on the PAN's aggregate turnover across all GSTINs, year by year from 2017-18. It is not based on the current year alone.
| Business | Aggregate turnover history | E-invoicing? | 30-day limit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trader, one GSTIN | ₹4.2 crore every year from 2017-18 to 2025-26 | No (never above ₹5 crore) | No |
| Manufacturer, two GSTINs on one PAN | ₹3 crore + ₹2.6 crore = ₹5.6 crore in 2022-23; ₹4.8 crore since | Yes (2022-23 crossed ₹5 crore; it stays covered even though turnover fell) | No (AATO below ₹10 crore) |
| Services company | ₹12 crore in 2024-25 | Yes | Yes: each invoice, credit note and debit note must reach the IRP within 30 days of its date |
For a fuller self-check, read Am I covered by the e-invoicing turnover limit?, and for the IRP schema and common rejections see our GST e-invoicing guide.
Under the GST e-invoicing framework, specified taxpayers report covered invoices to an authorised Invoice Registration Portal. The portal validates the invoice data and generates an IRN and digitally signed invoice/QR information as applicable.
E-invoicing primarily applies to specified B2B and other notified categories of transactions. It is not simply an obligation for every GST-registered business.
The exact scope depends on the taxpayer, aggregate turnover, transaction type, exemptions and the notifications applicable on the date of supply.
E-invoicing applies where aggregate turnover exceeded ₹5 crore in any financial year from 2017-18 onwards (Notification 10/2023-Central Tax, effective 1 August 2023), based on aggregate turnover as determined under the GST framework.
The threshold is generally assessed with reference to aggregate turnover on a PAN basis, including the relevant preceding financial years as prescribed.
This does not mean every business with current-year turnover above ₹5 crore must immediately start e-invoicing. Eligibility depends on the notification, preceding-year turnover, transaction category and exemptions.
E-invoicing can apply to notified registered persons making covered supplies, including specified:
The exact reporting requirement should be checked against the current notification and transaction type.
Specified categories are exempt from e-invoicing under the applicable notifications.
The exemption list has included categories such as:
Important: Exemption status is category-specific and can change. It should be checked against the current notification.
An Invoice Reference Number (IRN) is generated for an e-invoice reported to the IRP.
The QR code contains information that allows verification of the reported invoice. It is not simply the same thing as a normal payment QR code.
Taxpayers should not manually create an IRN or substitute a self-generated QR code where the prescribed GST e-invoice mechanism applies.
E-invoicing and e-way bills are separate compliance mechanisms, although the systems can interact.
Where the relevant configuration and API workflow is used, e-way-bill information may be generated along with IRN reporting.
Not every e-invoice automatically creates an e-way bill. E-way-bill applicability is determined separately under the GST rules.
Since 1 January 2025, an e-way bill can only be generated for a document dated within the previous 180 days, and an e-way bill can be extended to at most 360 days from its original generation. Report the e-invoice promptly and the e-way bill workflow stays inside both limits.
For taxpayers covered by the notified ₹10 crore and above aggregate-turnover category, the government introduced a restriction from 1 April 2025 requiring covered documents to be reported to the IRP within 30 days from the document date.
The restriction applies to the specified document types and taxpayer category under the applicable GSTN advisory. It does not apply to every e-invoice taxpayer.
The system can reject reporting after the permitted window. Therefore, covered taxpayers should configure ERP/API workflows so that invoices, credit notes and debit notes are reported promptly.
Example: an invoice dated 1 April 2025 cannot be reported after 30 April 2025. A credit note dated 10 September 2026 must reach the IRP by 10 October 2026. Missing the window cannot be fixed by back-dating the document; the corrective route has to be worked out on the facts.
Where covered by the e-invoice framework, credit notes and debit notes may also require IRP reporting.
The reporting requirement, document date and applicable time restrictions should be checked under the current GSTN/IRP rules.
An IRN can be cancelled on the IRP only within 24 hours of its generation, and only in full; partial cancellation is not allowed. A cancelled document number cannot be reported again, so the replacement invoice needs a fresh number.
An e-invoice cannot be edited after the IRN is generated. Within 24 hours the route is cancel and re-issue; after 24 hours the IRN stands and the correction is made through a credit note, a debit note or the GSTR-1 amendment.
Cancellation of an IRN is different from deleting an invoice from accounting software.
After IRN cancellation, the accounting/GST return treatment must also be reconciled appropriately.
Review aggregate turnover, transaction types and notified exemptions.
Assist with mapping invoice fields required for e-invoicing in software such as Tally, Zoho Books or QuickBooks.
Support integration or portal/API workflow depending on the client's system.
Review common issues such as:
Assist with IRN generation and exception handling.
Reconcile IRNs with accounting records and GSTR-1 data. Where the mismatch also affects purchases and ITC, our GST reconciliation service covers GSTR-2B and the books.
Review failed or incorrectly reported invoices and identify the appropriate corrective route.
GST e-invoice support is scope-based. Professional fees can depend on:
Software, GSP or ERP subscription charges, if any, are disclosed separately.
For a covered transaction, failure to comply with the e-invoicing requirement can create GST compliance and invoice-validity consequences under the applicable law.
The starting point is Rule 48(5) of the CGST Rules: an invoice issued by a notified person in any manner other than the e-invoice procedure shall not be treated as an invoice. In practice this puts the buyer's input tax credit at risk, which is why B2B customers check for the IRN and QR code. If a GST notice has already arrived, the reply needs to address each document.
The exact consequence depends on the facts, including whether the transaction was covered, why the IRN was not generated and whether a permitted corrective route remains available.
Not every missed e-invoice automatically attracts a fixed 100% penalty. Penalty exposure is fact-specific and should be assessed under the applicable provisions.
Pick the speed and depth that matches your need. Same quality, same CA team — only the timeline changes.
Timeline: 3–5 working days (indicative)
Timeline: 5–10 working days (indicative)
Timeline: Monthly, ongoing
Government fee — paid by you at actuals
Nil. Registration on the Invoice Registration Portal carries no government charge, and IRN generation is free. The entire cost is our professional fee above. Where you are on a custom ERP and need a GSP for API integration, the GSP's own subscription is billed by them directly and quoted separately.
Every price above is a professional fee, excluding GST and government charges. 50% upfront, 50% on delivery.
All fees and charges listed are indicative only and do not constitute a binding offer. Final amounts may vary depending on the volume of work and the complexity involved.
The tax invoice is created in the ERP/accounting software, with the invoice fields required for e-invoicing mapped.
The prescribed invoice data is prepared, including GSTIN, document number and date, HSN/SAC, tax rates, place of supply, supply type and recipient details.
The covered invoice is reported to an authorised Invoice Registration Portal through the portal or API workflow, depending on the client's system.
The portal validates the invoice data. Where validation fails, the error message is reviewed and corrected.
An Invoice Reference Number (IRN) is generated for the e-invoice reported to the IRP.
The digitally signed invoice/QR information is returned as applicable.
The invoice is issued to the recipient with the required particulars, using the resulting IRN/QR information as required by GST rules.
The e-invoice data feeds the GST reporting system.
IRNs are reconciled with accounting records and GSTR-1 data.
Tell us your requirement, a CA will call you in 30 minutes.
Aggregate turnover, transaction types and notified exemptions are reviewed before deciding whether and how e-invoicing applies.
Invoice fields required for e-invoicing are mapped, with integration or portal/API workflow support depending on the client's system.
Common data issues such as GSTIN, HSN/SAC, tax rates and place of supply are reviewed, with support on IRN generation and exception handling.
IRNs are reconciled with accounting records and GSTR-1 data, and failed or incorrectly reported invoices are reviewed to identify the appropriate corrective route.
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