GST E-Invoicing Rules in India: Thresholds, Exemptions, and IRN Generation
Akash Kore
· 6 min read
E-invoicing under GST is no longer just for large conglomerates. In India, businesses with an Aggregate Annual Turnover (AATO) exceeding ₹5 Crore in any preceding financial year since FY 2017-18 are legally mandated to generate electronic invoices via the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP).
Which transactions require an E-Invoice (IRN)?
E-invoicing is mandatory for all B2B (Business-to-Business) supplies of goods and services, supplies to SEZ developers and SEZ units, deemed exports, and exports with or without payment of tax.
It also applies to B2B Credit Notes and Debit Notes. However, B2C (Business-to-Consumer) transactions and reverse-charge supplies are currently exempt from the IRN requirement.
The consequences of issuing an invalid non-IRN invoice
If an applicable business issues an invoice without a valid IRN (Invoice Reference Number) and cryptographically signed QR code, the invoice is considered legally invalid under Rule 48(4) of the CGST Rules.
The buyer cannot claim Input Tax Credit (ITC) on an invalid invoice, and the seller faces penalties of ₹10,000 or 100% of the tax due (whichever is higher) per invoice.
Direct generation vs manual IRP portal uploads
Manual JSON generation and uploading to the government IRP portal is slow and error-prone. Connecting your document OS directly to registered GSPs (GST Suvidha Providers) allows invoices to be validated, signed with IRN and QR code, and transmitted to the recipient in real-time.