What is e-invoicing?

The supplier first creates the invoice in its billing or business system. The required data is then submitted in the prescribed structure to an authorised IRP. If validation succeeds, the portal returns an IRN, acknowledgement and signed QR code. Those registration details are carried into the invoice issued to the recipient.

This sequence separates document preparation from registration. A PDF created before IRP reporting is not, by appearance alone, proof that the invoice has a valid IRN. Finance should retain the source document, submission response and final customer invoice as one explainable record.

• Prepare and validate the invoice data.
• Report the prescribed data to an authorised IRP.
• Retain the IRN, acknowledgement and signed QR code.
• Issue the registered invoice and preserve its downstream status.

See the commercial process on India e-invoicing software.

CBIC Notification 10/2023 changed the turnover figure in the governing notification from ₹10 crore to ₹5 crore with effect from 1 August 2023. The GST-authorised IRP guidance describes the test using aggregate annual turnover across GSTINs under the same PAN and the applicable financial-year lookback.

The threshold is not the only applicability question. The taxpayer class, transaction and document type still matter. Businesses should confirm their current enablement and any exclusion directly against GST records and official guidance before treating a general explanation as a filing decision.

• Threshold effective 1 August 2023: ₹5 crore.
• Use aggregate annual turnover under the notified test.
• Confirm taxpayer class and document scope separately.

Review the underlying fields through GST invoicing.

The IRP production release states that, from 1 April 2025, taxpayers with AATO of ₹10 crore or more must report covered invoices, credit notes and debit notes within 30 days of the document date. Submissions beyond the permitted window are restricted from IRN generation.

This creates two distinct checks. The ₹5 crore threshold addresses broader e-invoicing applicability, while the ₹10 crore threshold currently identifies the group subject to the 30-day portal restriction. A compliant process records both the taxpayer’s applicability basis and each document’s reporting deadline.

• Effective date: 1 April 2025.
• AATO group: ₹10 crore or more.
• Documents named by the release: invoices, credit notes and debit notes.
• Control: invoice date to successful IRN generation within 30 days.

Clarify the identifier in what is an IRN.

The supplier’s invoice number identifies the document in its own sequence. The IRN is the registration identifier returned after IRP validation. The signed QR code carries key registered details in a machine-readable form. They work together but should not be treated as interchangeable labels.

A useful audit trail keeps the supplier invoice number, document date, taxable values, GST breakup, IRN, acknowledgement and final issued document connected. If a submission fails, the error and owner should remain visible instead of being replaced by an unexplained new file.

• Invoice number - supplier-controlled document sequence.
• IRN - registration identifier returned by the IRP.
• Signed QR code - machine-readable registered details on the invoice.

Separate movement documentation with what is an e-way bill.

A supplier prepares a B2B invoice with a taxable value of ₹100,000 and IGST of ₹18,000, producing a total of ₹118,000. The reporting record should preserve those values, the supplier invoice number and date, the IRP acknowledgement, the IRN and the signed QR code.

If the taxpayer falls within the ₹10 crore-and-above reporting group, the control also records the final permissible reporting date. The example explains record linkage, not whether 18% is the correct rate for every supply; classification and place-of-supply facts must be checked separately.

• Taxable value: ₹100,000
• IGST at 18%: ₹18,000
• Invoice total: ₹118,000
• Registration evidence: IRN, acknowledgement and signed QR code

Review item classification through what is an HSN code.