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E-Invoice Format, JSON File, Schema & Template
Updated on: Jan 31st, 2023 - 10:40:39 AM
20 min read
The CBIC has notified the latest e-invoice schema on 30th July 2020. The e-invoicing system was implemented from 1st October 2020 for large taxpayers with a turnover of more than Rs.500 crore. Thereafter, it got extended to businesses with a turnover of more than Rs.100 crore from 1st January 2021.
Later on, it was extended to those taxpayers with turnover ranging between Rs.50 crore to Rs.100 crore from 1st April 2021. The government thereafter extended the e-invoicing applicability to businesses having more than Rs 20 crore turnover w.e.f 1st April 2022. Recently, the e-invoicing system got extended to those with a turnover above Rs.10 crore from 1st October 2022. Soon, it shall be implemented for businesses with a turnover of more than Rs.5 crore from 1st January 2023.
Taxpayers should consider the turnover of any financial year from 2017-18 while checking the e-invoicing applicability.
E-invoice does not mean the generation of invoices from a central portal of the tax department. It is because such centralisation will bring unnecessary restrictions on the way trade is conducted. Instead, the specified taxpayers have been provided with a comprehensive standard format for raising invoice that consists of both mandatory and optional fields. This will be done on their existing ERP or accounting of billing software for invoices and credit-debit notes.
The specified taxpayers must ensure that the set parameters are supported by the accounting/billing software used for generation of the invoice. Thereafter, the details are uploaded onto the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP), such as Clear IRP and NIC’s e-invoice portal, to obtain an Invoice Reference Number (IRN) for every document. Such invoice generated will be called the e-invoice.
Pro Tip: Get up and running with e-Invoicing in 3 minutes Request a free demo
Latest Update
30th January 2023
Few updates are made on the NIC's e-invoice portal-
(1) User can select POS state code of '96-Other Country' against items where HSN codes are 9965 and 9968 (Services by way of transportation of goods, including by mail or courier).
(2) The documents dated 1/10/2021 or after shall only be considered on the portal.
(3) The portal has added a new error code 2295 for duplicate requests apart from 2150, with error as 'IRN is already
generated and registered with GSTN Lookup Portal by other IRP'.
11th October 2022
The GST Council may implement the next phase of e-invoicing for businesses with an annual turnover of more than Rs.5 crore from 1st January 2023. The system may get extended to businesses with a turnover of over Rs.1 crore by the end of the next fiscal year.
1st August 2022
The e-Invoicing system for B2B transactions has now been extended to those with an annual aggregate turnover of more than Rs.10 crore up to Rs.20 crore starting from 1st October 2022, vide notification no. 17/2022.
24th February 2022
The e-Invoicing system will get extended to those annual aggregate turnover of more than Rs.20 crore up to Rs.50 crore starting from 1st April 2022, vide notification no. 1/2022.
Contents of e-invoice and limits
The e-invoice schema contains both mandatory and optional fields. The mandatory fields are those that must be compulsorily there for an invoice to be valid under the e-invoice standard. The optional fields are those that may be incorporated as per the business needs. The maximum number of line items per e-invoice is 1000. In special cases, based on a request, it is raised to 5000 line items.
All the mandatory fields are to be filled in to register an e-invoice on the IRP. A mandatory field without any value can be reported as NIL. An overview of the mandatory sections are as follows:
- Basic details
- Supplier’s information
- Recipient’s information
- Invoice item details
- Document total
An overview of the mandatory annexures are as follows:
- Invoice item details
- Document total details
How is e-invoice authorised?
After validation of data by the IRP, the seller will receive JSON with a unique IRN, digitally-signed e-invoice and QR code. The QR code contains basic invoice details.
The serial number of invoice will be unique for a GSTIN for a financial year and the same has to be captured by the supplier’s ERP. The IRN will be generated by the IRP using the GSTIN of supplier or document creator, financial year and the unique serial number of the document/invoice.
The supplier has to keep the IRN against each invoice. It is useful to store the IRN in ERP as an invoice without IRN will not be a legal document.
The e-invoice schema is a go-to guide for users to understand what are the different specifications, examples and explanations broadly pre-defined for the invoice fields.
Overview of the notified e-invoice schema
The e-invoice schema contains the following columns:
| S.No. | Defined Columns | Meaning |
| 1 | Technical field name | It refers to the technical name used for the field |
| 2 | Cardinality | It indicates whether the item is mandatory or optional and also indicates about the recurrence of the item, i.e. whether the item can be repeated or not |
| 3 | Small description of the field | This is the field name which will be displayed in the e-invoice |
| 4 | Is it mandatory on invoice | Whether the field is optional or mandatory |
| 5 | Technical field specification | This specifies limitations of the string, i.e. the maximum length of the field, date format, and decimal places |
| 6 | Sample values of the field | Example for the user to get familiar |
| 7 | Explanatory notes of the field | A detailed explanation about the small description of the file, i.e. what it means and what are the details to be mentioned |
Mandatory fields of the e-Invoice schema dated 30th July 2020
As per the latest notified e-invoice schema in July 2020, following are the 30 mandatory fields required in an e-invoice.
| Sl. no. | Name of the field | List of Choices/ Specifications/Sample Inputs | Remarks |
| 1 | Document Type Code | Enumerated List such as INV/CRN/DBN | Type of document must be specified |
| 2 | Supplier_Legal Name | String Max length: 100 | Legal name of the supplier must be as per the PAN card |
| 3 | Supplier_GSTIN | Max length: 15 Must be alphanumeric | GSTIN of the supplier raising the e-invoice |
| 4 | Supplier_Address | Max length: 100 | Building/Flat no., Road/Street, Locality, etc. of the supplier raising the e-invoice |
| 5 | Supplier_Place | Max length: 50 | Supplier’s location such as city/town/village must be mentioned |
| 6 | Supplier_State_Code | Enumerated list of states | The state must be selected from the latest list given by GSTN |
| 7 | Supplier Pincode | Six digit code | The place (locality/district/state) of the supplier’s locality |
| 8 | Document Number | Max length: 16 Sample can be “ Sa/1/2019” | For unique identification of the invoice, a sequential number is required within the business context, time-frame, operating systems and records of the supplier. No identification scheme is to be used |
| 9 | Preceeding_Invoice_Reference and date | Max length:16 Sample input is “ Sa/1/2019” and “16/11/2020” | Detail of original invoice which is being amended by a subsequent document such as a debit and credit note. It is required to keep future expansion of e-versions of credit notes, debit notes and other documents required under GST |
| 10 | Document Date | String (DD/MM/YYYY) as per the technical field specification | The date when the invoice was issued. However, the format under explanatory notes refers to ‘YYYY-MM-DD’. Further clarity will be required. Document period start and end date must also be specified if selected. |
| 11 | Recipient_ Legal Name | Max length: 100 | The name of the buyer as per the PAN |
| 12 | Recipient’s GSTIN | Max length: 15 | The GSTIN of the buyer to be declared here |
| 13 | Recipient’s Address | Max length: 100 | Building/Flat no., Road/Street, Locality, etc. of the supplier raising the e-invoice |
| 14 | Recipient’s State Code | Enumerated list | The place of supply state code to be selected here |
| 15 | Place_Of_Supply_State_ Code | Enumerated list of states | The state must be selected from the latest list given by GSTN |
| 16 | Pincode | Six digit code | The place (locality/district/state) of the buyer on whom the invoice is raised/ billed to must be declared here if any |
| 17 | Recipient Place | Max length: 100 | Recipient’s location (City/Town/Village) |
| 18 | IRN- Invoice Reference Number | Max length: 64 Sample is ‘a5c12dca8 0e7433217…ba4013 750f2046f229’ | At the time of registration request, this field is left empty by the supplier. Later on, a unique number will be generated by GSTN after uploading of the e-invoice on the GSTN portal. An acknowledgement will be sent back to the supplier after the successful acceptance of the e-invoice by the portal. IRN should then be displayed on e-invoice before use. |
| 19 | ShippingTo_GSTIN | Max length: 15 | GSTIN of the buyer himself or the person to whom the particular item is being delivered to |
| 20 | Shipping To_State, Pincode and State code | Max length: 100 for state, 6 digit pincode and enumerated list for code | State pertaining to the place to which the goods and services invoiced were or are delivered |
| 21 | Dispatch From_ Name, Address, Place and Pincode | Max length: 100 each and 6 digit for pincode | Entity’s details (name, and city/town/village) from where goods are dispatched |
| 22 | Is_Service | String (Length: 1) by selecting Y/N | Whether or not supply of service must be mentioned |
| 23 | Supply Type Code | Enumerated list of codes Sample values can be either of B2B/B2C/ SEZWP/S EZWOP/E XP WP/EXP WOP/DE XP | Code will be used to identify type of supply such as business to business, business to consumer, supply to SEZ/Exports with or without payment, and deemed export. |
| 24 | Item Description | Max length: 300 The sample value is ‘Mobile’ The schema document refers to this as the ‘identification scheme identifier of the Item classification identifier’ | Simply put, the relevant description generally used for the item in the trade. However, more clarity is needed on how it needs to be described for every two or more items belonging to the same HSN code |
| 25 | HSN Code | Max length: 8 | The applicable HSN code for particular goods/service must be entered |
| 26 | Item_Price | Decimal (12,3) Sample value is ‘50’ | The unit price, exclusive of GST, before subtracting item price discount, can not be negative |
| 27 | Assessable Value | Decimal (13,2) Sample value is ‘5000’ | The price of an item, exclusive of GST, after subtracting item price discount. Hence, Gross price (-) Discount = Net price item, if any cash discount is provided at the time of sale |
| 28 | GST Rate | Decimal (3,2) Sample value is ‘5’ | The GST rate represented as a percentage that is applicable to the item being invoiced |
| 29 | IGST Value, CGST Value and SGST Value Separately | Decimal (11,2) Sample value is ‘650.00’ | For each individual item, IGST, CGST and SGST amounts have to be specified |
| 30 | Total Invoice Value | Decimal (11,2) | The total amount of the Invoice with GST. Must be rounded to a maximum of 2 decimals |
Mandatory fields of the e-Invoice schema dated 1st January 2020
As per the earlier notified e-invoice schema in January 2020, following were the 50 mandatory fields required in an e-invoice.
| Sl.No. | Name of the field | List of Choices/Specifications/Sample Inputs | Remarks |
| 1 | IRN | Max length: 50 Sample: 649b01ft | This is a unique reference number for the invoice. It can be generated by the seller or can be left blank before submission to IRP. In case IRN is generated by the seller, the system will validate it and register against the invoice. If this field has been left blank, the e-invoice system will generate an IRN. The invoice is valid only if it has IRN and it is registered on the e-invoice system |
| 2 | Invoice_Type_Code | Max length: 10 Can be one of the following: Reg/SEZP/SEZWP/EXP/EXPWP/DEXP | Denotation for regular, SEZ supplies with payment, SEZ supplies without payment, deemed exports, sale from the bonded warehouse, export without payment of tax, and export with payment of tax |
| 3 | Invoice Number | Max length: 16 Sample input is ‘Sa/1/2019’ | For unique identification of the invoice, a sequential number is required within the business context, time-frame, operating systems and records of the supplier. No identification scheme is to be used |
| 4 | Invoice Date | (DD/MM/YYYY) | The date when the invoice was issued |
| 5 | Invoice_Period_Start_Date | (DD/MM/YYYY) | Not explained |
| 6 | Invoice_Period_End_Date | (DD/MM/YYYY) | Not explained |
| 7 | Preceeding_Invoice_Reference | Max length:16 Sample input is ‘Sa/1/2019’ | Detail of original invoice which is being amended by a subsequent document such as a debit and credit note. It is required to keep future expansion of e-versions of credit notes, debit notes and other documents required under GST |
| 8 | Preceeding_Invoice_Date | (DD/MM/YYYY) | The date when the invoice was issued |
| 9 | Supplier_Legal_Name | Max length: 100 | Name as appearing in PAN of the supplier |
| 10 | Supplier_GSTIN | Max length: 15 Must be alphanumeric | GSTIN of the supplier raising the e-invoice |
| 11 | Supplier_Address1 | Max length: 100 | Address of the supplier |
| 12 | Supplier_State | Max length: 50 | State of the supplier |
| 13 | Supplier_Pincode | Max length: 6 | Pincode of the supplier |
| 14 | Billing_Name | Max length: 100 | The trade name of the buyer should be mentioned here |
| 15 | Billing_GSTIN | Max length: 15 | The GSTIN of the buyer to be declared here |
| 16 | Billing_POS | Max length: 2 | The place of supply state code to be declared here |
| 17 | Billing_Address1 | Max length: 100 | The place (locality/district/state) of the buyer on whom the invoice is raised/billed to must be declared here, if any |
| 18 | Billing_State | Max length: 50 | State of the buyer |
| 19 | Billing_Pincode | Max length: 6 | Pincode of the buyer |
| 20 | Payee_Name | Max length: 100 | Name of the person to whom payment is to be made |
| 21 | Payer_Financial_Account | Max length: 18 | Account number of payee |
| 22 | Mode of Payment | Max length: 6 | Cash/Credit/Direct Transfer |
| 23 | Financial_Institution_Branch | Max length: 11 | IFS code must be mentioned here |
| 24 | Dispatch_From_Details | Details about the place from which goods has been dispatched | |
| 25 | List (items) | A group of business terms providing information about the goods and services invoiced | |
| 26 | Tax_Total | Decimal (10,2) | When tax currency code is provided, two instances of the tax total must be present, but only one with tax subtotal |
| 27 | Paid_amount | Decimal (10,2) | The sum of amounts which have been paid in advance. Must be rounded to maximum two decimals |
| 28 | Amount_due_for_payment | Decimal (10,2) | The outstanding amount that is requested to be paid. Must be rounded to maximum 2 decimals |
| 29 | Tax_Scheme | Max length: 4 | Mandatory element. Usually mentions ‘GST’ |
| 30 | Shipping_To_Name | Max length: 60 | A group of business terms providing information about the address to which goods and services invoiced were or are delivered |
| 31 | Shipping_To_GSTIN | Max length: 100 | A group of business terms providing information about the address to which goods and services invoiced were or are delivered |
| 32 | ShippingTo_Address1 | Max length: 50 | A group of business terms providing information about the address to which goods and services invoiced were or are delivered |
| 33 | ShippingTo_Pincode | Max length: 50 | A group of business terms providing information about the address to which goods and services invoiced were or are delivered. |
| 34 | ShippintTo_State | Max length: 100 | A group of business terms providing information about the address to which goods and services invoiced were or are delivered. |
| 35 | Subsupply Type | Max length: 2 | A group of business terms providing information about the address to which goods and services invoiced were or are delivered. |
| 36 | Transaction Mode | Max length: 2 | A group of business terms providing information about the address to which goods and services invoiced were or are delivered |
| 37 | Company_Name | Max length: 60 | Detail of person and address wherefrom goods are dispatched |
| 38 | Address1 | Max length: 100 | Detail of person and address wherefrom goods are dispatched |
| 39 | State | Max length: 2 | Detail of person and address wherefrom goods are dispatched |
| 40 | Pincode | Max length: 6 | Detail of person and address wherefrom goods are dispatched |
| 41 | SLNO | Integer | Serial Number like 1, 2, 3… |
| 42 | Quantity | Decimal (13,3) | The quantity of items (goods or services) that is charged in the invoice line |
| 43 | Rate | Decimal (10,2) | The number of item units to which the price applies |
| 44 | Assessable Value | Decimal (13,2) | The unit price, exclusive of GST, before subtracting item price discount, cannot be negative |
| 45 | GST Rate | Decimal (3,2) | The GST rate, represented as percentage that applies to the invoiced item |
| 46 | Iamt | Decimal (11,2) | IGST amount as per item |
| 47 | Camt | Decimal (11,2) | CGST amount as per item |
| 48 | Samt | Decimal (11,2) | SGST amount as per item |
| 49 | Total Invoice Value | Decimal (11,2) | The total amount of the invoice with GST. Must be rounded to maximum 2 decimals |
| 50 | Batch Name | Max length: 20 | Batch number details are important to be mentioned for certain set of manufacturers |
The optional fields include references to contracts, vendor purchase order, e-way bill number, phone number or email ID, and the place of dispatch of the goods to mention a few.
Complete format of e-Invoice
Below link provides the detailed format of an e-Invoice
Sample View of e-Invoice Format
Here is a sample e-invoice as generated by the ERP software.
GSTN’s Initial Proposed format of e-Invoice
The GST portal initially released two types of e-invoice templates. One template was only with mandatory fields and the other was with both mandatory and optional fields. These templates were in excel. The template containing only mandatory fields:
Initial Proposed template for e-invoice is provided in the link given below
Find the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) about E-invoicing
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