E-Invoicing Eligibility

Businesses/Taxpayers with a turnover of more than INR 500 crores in a financial year will have to implement the e-Invoicing process from 1 October 2020 mandatorily. Under this process, businesses have to submit documents like GST invoices, debit/credit notes, reverse change invoices, export invoices, etc. to a centralized Government portal called the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP). The IRP will validate the data in these invoices and generate an Invoice Reference Number and QR code for the same. It will digitally sign the invoice and send back an e Invoice to the taxpayers electronically.

In this article, we will help you understand the categories of taxpayers and how to check e invoice applicability eligibility, exemption from e invoicing, e invoice portal, e invoice exemption list, specific category excluded from compliance to e-invoicing as notified* in gem, and much more:

E-Invoice Applicability

The e invoicing applicability has to be implemented by every taxpayer who:

• Has a turnover of INR 500 crores or more (based on PAN) in the previous financial year.
• Issues B2B invoices.
• Supplies goods or services or both to a registered person(recipient or transporter of supplies cannot generate e-Invoices).

Note:

• Taxpayers undertaking Exports (with/without payment) and Deemed Exports are liable to generate e-Invoices.
• Supplies to SEZs (with/without payment) are covered under eInvoicing.
• SEZ Developers who have the specified turnover (while fulfilling the other conditions) are required to generate
  e invoicing exemption under GST.
• DTA units are required to issue e invoice applicability check under GST applicability if other guidelines are met.

Taxpayers Exempted From EInvoicing

The following categories of taxpayers are explicitly exempted from this process:

• Insurance Company
• Banking Company or a Financial Institution, including a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC)
• Goods Transport Agency (GTA) transporting goods by road in a goods carriage
• Transport service provider, providing passenger transportation service
• Registered person providing services of – admission to an exhibition of cinematograph films in multiplex screens
• Special Economic Zone (SEZ) units
• Free Trade & Warehousing Zones (FTWZ)

Note:

• B2C invoices issued by notified persons are not under the purview of einvoice applicability currently.
• It is not applicable for import Bills of Entry.
• Invoices issued by Input Service Distributors (ISD) are not covered under this.
• When notified persons receive supplies:
  • From an unregistered person (attracting reverse charge) or
  • Through the import of services, it is not applicable

 Eligibility Check

It is the taxpayer’s obligation to:

• Report the invoice details to the IRP,
• Obtain IRN and
• Issue the final invoice with QR code.

However, as a facilitation measure, the Government has enabled the invoice reporting on IRP for taxpayers who have had an annual turnover more than INR 500 crores in any financial year from 2017-18. This enablement has been made based on the turnover reported in the GSTR-3B of the taxpayer. Taxpayers can view the status of enablement of a GSTIN on the e-invoice portal. To check the status:

Step 1: Vist https://einvoice1.gst.gov.in/ Step 2: Under ‘Search’, select ‘e-Invoice Status of Taxpayer’.

Step 3: Enter ‘GSTIN’ and ‘Captcha’ and click on ‘Go’.

Step 4: View details

Note: In case any registered person is required to follow the guidelines, but is not enabled on this portal, he/she will have to register on the portal. To register:

Step 1: Vist https://einvoice1.gst.gov.in/

Step 2: Under Registration, select ‘e-Invoice Enablement’.

Step 3: Add the required details and proceed.

However, in case any registered person, who doesn’t have the requirement to report invoices is enabled on this portal, the same may be brought to the notice of the Government by writing an email to support.einv.api@gov.in.