Why e-Invoice Site is Not Working? Reasons Why e-Invoice Portal Not Working

Any GST-registered company needs to get an invoice authenticated electronically on the e-Invoicing portal prior to a B2B sales transaction. It is mandatory for any GSTIN with over ₹5 crore turnover. But recently the portal went offline for a few hours without prior intimation. Sometimes, people complain they cannot log in or the website is unreachable. Why does it happen? How can we overcome the problem? 

This article explains the reasons behind e-Invoice portal not working and possible quick fixes for companies in urgent need of e-Invoicing. Stay with us. 

Why does the e-invoice portal not work sometimes?

The e-Invoicing website https://einvoice1.gst.gov.in/ is a robust web application managed by National Informatics Centre (NIC). It is accessible from any of the top browsers 24/7. The major purpose of this web portal is to generate an Invoice Reference Number (IRN) after verifying user-reported GST-related documents for any B2B sales transaction.  

Accomplishing such apparently simple tasks requires millions of real-time interactions with the GST portal and other related servers daily. NIC achieves this unprecedented feat, ensuring the highest level of information security and a minimal downtime. 

Despite all the vigilance and hard work, users sometimes experience difficulties logging into the portal or reporting their transactions. Some of the technical reasons behind e-Invoice portal not working are: 

• Server specific problems 

Generating IRN for a B2B transaction involves a tremendous volume of handling and real-time processing of data residing across multiple servers. In any information technology application, servers can be susceptible to any unanticipated surge in processing or handling load. Modern server management processes are resilient but may suffer momentary lapses in performance. Server problems are one of the significant e-Invoice portal issues. 

• Maintenance downtime 

To improve server resilience and minimise unanticipated drops in server performance, NIC regularly maintains hardware software infrastructure of e-Invoicing portal. It may cause pre-scheduled downtime of the portal. 

For example, from 11:30 PM on March 8th, 2024 to 12:30 AM on March 9th, 2024, the e-Invoicing portal was down temporarily for 1 hour because of essential scheduled maintenance work. NIC and GST authority previously informed stakeholders and users about this scheduled downtime. 

• Connectivity issues 

At homes and offices, we connect our devices to the internet over Wi-Fi or cable. Even the best-quality internet connections can be unstable because of disruptions in power supply, cable breakage or similar issues. Sometimes, the internet connection remains intact, but the bandwidth narrows down, causing drops in data flow. We only realise it once the websites fail to open. So, a lack of reliable internet connectivity can cause e-Invoice portal issues.   

• Browser specific problems 

Every major internet browser supports all the functionalities of the e-Invoicing website. However, browsers are third-party applications and may sometimes experience slow loading, formatting errors, corrupt caches, etc, which can disrupt the site’s functioning.  

How to fix an e-Invoicing site not working?

If you are trying to generate an IRN urgently and find that the e-Invoice site is not working, it can be very annoying. We suggest following a few quick fixes in a similar situation. They might help. 

1. Check the health of your internet connection. Unplug power connection to your router/modem. Wait for 10 seconds and plug them in again. 
2. Search for any information about scheduled maintenance that you may have missed. NIC and the GST authority inform users about such scheduled downtime  in advance through email and text messages. 
3. Check the status of the e-Invoicing portal server following an e-Invoicing server status page.  
4. Delete stored cache and cookies from your browser. It can solve common internet browser specific issues. 
5. NIC has two portals to offer for its users to generate the e-invoices. You can try the second site if the first one is down. For instance, use https://einvoice2.gst.gov.in if https://einvoice1.gst.gov.in is not working.

In most e-Invoice portal issues, following these steps might fix the problem of the e-invoice portal not working.

How to generate IRN if the site is not working?

When e-Invoicing portal is not working, you can generate IRN online using GSTN-approved and authorised e-invoice registration services, like ClearIRP.

How to address e-Invoice login problems?

Sometimes, users need help logging into the e-Invoicing website, despite repeated attempts. For such problems:

1. Delete cookies and cache in your browser. 
2. Update the browser with its latest version. 
3. Try to log in to the portal using other browsers. 

Except for the server-end problems, you can fix most of the issues of the e-Invoice portal not working.

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Why GST Site is Not Working? Reasons Why GST Portal Not Working