E-invoicing under GST: a plain guide for shops and distributors

Does e-invoicing apply to you?

E-invoicing applies if your aggregate turnover crossed ₹5 crore in any financial year from 2017-18 onwards. As of October 2026, that limit has applied since 1 August 2023, under Notification 10/2023-Central Tax.

E-invoicing does not mean making your bill on a government website. You still bill in your own software. The software then sends the invoice details to an Invoice Registration Portal (IRP), which returns an Invoice Reference Number (IRN) and a digitally signed QR code. Only then is the B2B invoice valid.

How to check if your shop crosses the limit

Three points decide it.

• Aggregate turnover is PAN-wide. Add up the turnover of all GSTINs on the same PAN, across all states. A distributor with ₹3.2 crore in Kerala and ₹2.1 crore in Tamil Nadu under one PAN has ₹5.3 crore.
• Any year since 2017-18 counts. If you crossed ₹5 crore in 2022-23 and fell below later, e-invoicing still applies.
• It covers taxable, exempt, export and inter-state sales. It does not include the GST itself. Your CA can confirm the figure from your annual returns.

Most single-counter kirana shops are well below the limit. Wholesalers, distributors and large supermarkets often cross it. If you are close, plan the switch before the year you cross it ends.

Who is exempt from e-invoicing

CBIC has exempted these classes, whatever their turnover:

• Insurance companies, banking companies, financial institutions and NBFCs
• Goods transport agencies
• Passenger transport service providers
• Multiplex cinemas, for admission tickets
• SEZ units
• Government departments and local authorities

An exempt business with turnover above the limit must print a declaration on its invoices saying it is not required to issue e-invoices. This comes from clause (s) of Rule 46.

Which documents need an IRN

IRN and the signed QR code

When your software sends an invoice to the IRP, the IRP checks it and generates a 64-character IRN from your GSTIN, the document type, the financial year and the invoice number. It signs the invoice and returns:

• the IRN,
• an acknowledgement number and date,
• a signed QR code holding the key details: GSTINs of seller and buyer, invoice number and date, value, number of lines, main HSN and the IRN.

The IRP then passes the data to the GST system. It fills your GSTR-1 for B2B invoices and, where transport details are given, can create the e-way bill as well. Tax officers and buyers can scan the QR code to check that the invoice is genuine, even offline.

Because the IRN is built from the invoice number and year, the same invoice number cannot be registered twice in one financial year. This is one more reason to keep a clean numbering series, as explained in our GST invoice format guide.

The 30-day reporting limit

From 1 April 2025, a business with aggregate annual turnover (AATO) of ₹10 crore or more cannot report an invoice to the IRP if it is more than 30 days old on the date of reporting. GSTN announced this in its advisory of 5 November 2024. It applies to invoices, credit notes and debit notes.

Example from the advisory: an invoice dated 1 April 2025 cannot be reported after 30 April 2025. Without an IRN, that invoice is not valid for a B2B sale, and the buyer cannot claim input tax credit on it.

As of October 2026, businesses between ₹5 crore and ₹10 crore do not have this limit. Report on the day of the sale anyway. Late reporting causes trouble with e-way bills and buyers' credit.

What changes on the printed bill

An e-invoice is still printed in your own format. These items are added to it:

• The IRN
• The acknowledgement number and date
• The signed QR code returned by the IRP
• The e-way bill number, if one was created with the invoice

Everything Rule 46 asks for stays on the bill. Under the CGST Rules, a signature is not needed on an electronic invoice issued under the IT Act, 2000. Many businesses still print "Authorised Signatory" by habit; it does no harm.

B2C bills and the dynamic QR code

E-invoicing is for B2B. A different rule applies to large businesses selling to consumers. Under Notification 14/2020-Central Tax, a business with aggregate turnover above ₹500 crore must print a dynamic QR code on B2C invoices. Circular 156/12/2021-GST explains that the QR must carry the payee's UPI ID along with the invoice payment details, so the customer can pay by scanning it. No IRN is needed for these bills.

The GST Council, at its 54th meeting in September 2024, recommended a voluntary B2C e-invoicing pilot in selected sectors and states. As of October 2026, we found no notification making B2C e-invoicing compulsory. A shop below ₹500 crore turnover does not need the B2C dynamic QR, though a UPI QR on the bill is still handy for collecting payment.

Cancelling or changing an e-invoice

• An IRN can be cancelled on the IRP within 24 hours of generation. Partial cancellation is not allowed; you cancel the whole invoice.
• After 24 hours, you cannot cancel it on the IRP. Fix the sale with a credit note or debit note, which also needs an IRN.
• If an e-way bill was created with the invoice and is still active, cancel the e-way bill first.
• Do not reuse the cancelled invoice number. Issue a new invoice with a new number.

Login security

The e-invoice and e-way bill systems now use multi-factor authentication: a username, password and an OTP. Per the GSTN advisory of December 2024, it became compulsory in phases: above ₹20 crore AATO from 1 January 2025, above ₹5 crore from 1 February 2025, and for all users from 1 April 2025. Keep the registered mobile number with someone who is at the shop during billing hours.

Common e-invoice mistakes

• Not checking turnover across all GSTINs. Branches in other states count. Many distributors find out late.
• Treating a B2B sale as B2C. If the buyer gives a GSTIN, the invoice needs an IRN. Billing it as B2C to skip the IRN leaves the buyer without credit.
• Wrong buyer GSTIN or state code. The IRP rejects invalid GSTINs, but a valid GSTIN of the wrong customer goes through. Check names at the counter.
• Letting invoices pile up. At ₹10 crore AATO and above, anything older than 30 days cannot be reported.
• HSN with too few digits. Businesses above ₹5 crore must use 6-digit HSN codes. See our HSN code guide.
• Editing a bill after the IRN. Any change after the IRN needs a credit or debit note, not an edit.
• Billing offline and forgetting to report. If your internet goes down, the IRN can be generated when it is back, but do it the same day.

A simple monthly routine

1. Each day, check that every B2B invoice and credit note has an IRN.
2. Each week, look for invoices that failed at the IRP and fix them.
3. Before filing GSTR-1, compare your B2B sales with the e-invoice data that the GST portal fills in. See GSTR-1 for retailers.
4. Once a year, check the AATO of the past year with your CA, especially if you are near ₹5 crore or ₹10 crore.

Doing this in Cartix Prime

E-invoices and e-way bills are part of the Gold plan, along with GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B ready for filing or for your CA. Cartix Prime makes the bulk-upload file the government portal takes; you upload it on the portal, bring the IRN back (import the portal's file or type it), and the bill prints with the IRN and the signed QR. It checks each bill first, so one the portal would refuse (a wrong GSTIN, a short HSN) is pointed out before you upload. GST reports are on every plan. Bills carry HSN and GST by rate, and the A4 invoice prints the HSN summary. Billing keeps working when the internet goes, and bills go up to the cloud when it is back. See GST billing software.