E-invoicing under GST has evolved from a large-enterprise obligation to a near-universal compliance requirement. As of April 2026, any business whose aggregate annual turnover exceeded Rs 5 crore in any financial year from FY 2017-18 onwards must generate e-invoices. And the rules are getting stricter.
Current Threshold and Applicability
The e-invoicing threshold stands at Rs 5 crore AATO (since August 2023). The threshold has progressively reduced from Rs 500 crore in 2020, but has not been lowered further in Budget 2026.
Key point: if your turnover crossed Rs 5 crore even once since FY 2017-18, e-invoicing applies permanently — even if current turnover is below the threshold.
How It Works
- Create your invoice in the prescribed JSON schema in your billing software
- Upload to an Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) — NIC is the primary among 6 authorized portals
- IRP validates data and generates a unique 64-character IRN (Invoice Reference Number)
- IRP digitally signs the invoice and generates a QR code with key transaction details
- A copy auto-populates your GSTR-1 return — reducing manual filing effort
New Rules from 2025-26
- 30-day reporting deadline: Businesses with Rs 10 crore+ AATO must upload e-invoices within 30 days of the invoice date. Late uploads are rejected by the portal
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA): Mandatory for all taxpayers logging into IRP and e-way bill portals from April 2025
- Case-insensitive invoice numbers: From June 2025, IRP auto-converts invoice numbers to uppercase before generating IRN
- Fresh document series: Mandatory new series for invoices, debit notes, and credit notes from April 1, 2026
Penalties for Non-Compliance
The consequences are serious:
- Non-issuance: Rs 10,000 per invoice or 100% of tax due — whichever is higher
- Invalid invoice: Without a valid IRN and QR code, the invoice is treated as not issued. The buyer cannot claim ITC
- Goods in transit: Under Section 129, goods transported without a valid e-invoice may be detained and confiscated
B2C E-Invoicing — Coming Soon
Currently, e-invoicing applies only to B2B transactions. The GST Council has announced plans for B2C e-invoicing with a phased rollout targeted for 2026-27. Businesses with turnover above Rs 500 crore must already display dynamic QR codes on B2C invoices — a precursor to full B2C e-invoicing.
E-invoicing is no longer optional for mid-sized businesses. Update your billing software, train your accounts team on the 30-day reporting window, and ensure MFA is set up on all GST portal accounts.
Comments (5)
The auto-population of GSTR-1 from e-invoices is the real efficiency gain. Less manual work, fewer errors.
B2C e-invoicing will be a nightmare for retail businesses. Hope they roll it out carefully.
Rs 10,000 per invoice penalty adds up fast. A manufacturer doing 500 invoices a month — that is Rs 50 lakh exposure.
30-day reporting deadline is tight for businesses with manual invoicing. They need to automate or face rejection.
The "permanently applicable" rule is what surprises most clients. One year above Rs 5 crore and you are locked in forever.