What is GST eInvoice?

GST eInvoice has been introduced in India to usher in the digital era from conventional paper-based systems. eInvoicing can help businesses achieve tremendous cost savings, efficiency and speed up business operations. eInvoicing will help reduce compliance burden for most businesses by eliminating the requirement for duplication or transfer of the same information from one system to another. With eInvoicing, the invoice information provided to GSTN for generating Invoice Reference Number (IRN) would be used to auto-populate various other systems GST returns, input tax credit reconciliation, eWay bill and GST refunds. Hence, GST eInvoicing will significantly improve the ease of doing business and reduce the compliance burden.

Key Concepts of eInvoicing

The following are some of the key concepts with respect to GST eInvoicing:

Generating eInvoice
GST eInvoice is not an invoice generated on the Government Portal, as such a portal can become a choke point in trade. GST eInvoicing is a way process by which the taxpayer will generate a unique Invoice Reference Number (IRN) for each invoice and mention the same on the invoice issued.
Invoice Reference Number (IRN)
Invoice Reference Number is a unique number for each invoice provided by the GST Invoice Registration Portal on successful upload of an eInvoice. Invoice Reference Number must be mentioned on the invoice by the supplier to comply with eInvoicing regulations.
eInvoice Format
There is no specific format for eInvoice that has been provided by the GSTN. There will also be no changes to the invoice that is prepared and printed today. Under eInvoicing, certain data in the GST invoice will be transmitted to the GSTN Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) electronically and a Invoice Reference Number will be generated along with a QR code. The QR code needs to be printed on the invoice generated by the supplier. Hence, suppliers can continue to generate invoices from their billing softwares with a look and feel that suits their requirements and compliant with the GST invoicing rules. The only change will be generation of Invoice Reference Number from the GST Invoice Registration Portal and printing of eInvoice QR code on the invoice.
Invoice Registration Portal (IRP)
Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) or eInvoice Registrar is the platform issuing the Invoice Reference Number. NIC has been proposed as the first IRP. As the number of taxpayers under eInvoicing increases, more IRPs will be added to increase availability, speed and created a distributed architecture.

Generating GST eInvoice

The process of generation of a GST eInvoice can be divided into four phases:

Generation of Invoice
In the first phase, the seller will generate an invoice in his/her accounting or billing or ERP system. The invoice created must take into consideration the eInvoice standards that have been published by the GSTN and should contain certain mandatory parameters. The invoice prepared on the software should then be transmitted to the Invoice Registration Portal as a JSON format.
Uploading JSON to Invoice Registration Portal
The sellers accounting software through APIs or GSP/ASP or offline tool will be required to transmit the invoice in JSON format to the Invoice Registration Portal. The JSON can be uploaded directly from an accounting software through APIs.
Processing of Data by IRP
The IRP will check the JSON invoice received for correctness and ensure that the same invoice from the same supplier is not duplicated. On validation of the JSON invoice, the IRP will add its digital signature on the invoice, assign a IRN (Invoice Reference Number) and a QR code to the JSON file. This digitally signed JSON with IRN is sent back to the seller and will become a valid GST eInvoice for the seller and buyer.
Transmission to GSTN & eWay Bill Platform
IRPs will also share the signed eInvoice data with the GSTN system and eWay Bill portal to reduce compliance burden for the taxpayers.

Document Required for GST Invoicing Software

ID Proof

HSN Code

Aadhar Card