e-Invoice Registration on IRP – Who should register, Steps for Registration

Under the new e-invoicing system, a taxpayer will have to generate his invoices on his own accounting/ERP system and then upload the same into the IRP i.e the government’s Invoice Registration Portal. The IRP will then generate a unique Invoice Reference Number, after which, the invoice details are transferred from the IRP to GST portal and e-way bill portal. Therefore, it eliminates the need for manual data entry each time.

Latest Update

30th June 2021
The CBIC has issued a notification seeking to waive the penalty imposed on non-compliance of dynamic QR code provisions for B2C invoices between 1st December 2020 and 30th September 2021.

1st June 2021
CBIC has notified vide Central Tax Notification no.23 dated 1st June 2021 that the e-invoicing system shall not apply to a government department and local authority.

30th March 2021
The CBIC has issued a notification seeking to waive the penalty imposed on non-compliance of dynamic QR code provisions for B2C invoices between 1st December 2020 and 30th June 2021, provided the said person complies with the provisions of the said notification from 1st July 2021.

8th March 2021
The CBIC has notified that e-Invoicing will be applicable from 1st April 2021 for businesses with an aggregate turnover of more than Rs.50 crores (in any financial year from FY 2017-18 onwards).

29th November 2020
The CBIC issued a notification seeking to waive the penalty imposed on non-compliance of dynamic QR code provisions for B2C invoices between 1st December 2020 and 31st March 2021, provided the eligible registered person complies with these provisions from 1st April 2021.

10th November 2020
The taxpayers having an aggregate turnover exceeding Rs.100 crore should implement e-invoicing from 1st January 2021.

1st October 2020
The applicable taxpayers have been given a grace period of 30 days for generating an Invoice Reference Number (IRN). However, this grace period is valid for the invoices issued between 1st October 2020 to 31st October 2020.

30th September 2020
Now, the aggregate turnover should be checked from FY 2017-18 till FY 2019-20, for checking the applicability of e-invoicing. Also, the date of implementation of the dynamic QR Code for B2C invoices has been extended until 1st December 2020.

30th July 2020
1. A new refined format of e-invoice has been notified by CBIC adding 20 new fields and removing 13 fields. Certain fields have undergone changes in character length as well.
2. e-Invoicing system shall apply to those taxpayers with an annual turnover exceeding Rs 500 crore instead of Rs 100 crore.
3. Special Economic Zones (SEZ) units shall also be exempted from issuing e-invoices.

23rd March 2020
The implementation of e-invoicing and the QR code has been deferred to 1st October 2020.
Exemption from e-Invoicing and QR code has been granted to sectors such as insurance, banking, financial institutions, NBFCs, GTA, passenger transportation service and movie tickets.

Who must register for e-invoicing?

E-invoicing has been made applicable from 1st October 2020 for all businesses whose aggregate turnover has exceeded Rs.500 crore limit in any of the preceding financial years from 2017-18 to 2019-20.

From 1st January 2021, e-invoicing was extended to businesses exceeding the Rs.100 crore turnover limit in any of the financial years from FY 2017-18.

On 8th March 2021, the CBIC notified that businesses with turnover more than Rs.50 crore must also begin compliance with e-Invoicing from 1st April 2021.

Hence, businesses who fall under the categories specified above need to register for e-invoicing. However, e-invoicing shall not be applicable to the following categories of registered persons irrespective of the turnover:

• An insurer or a banking company or a financial institution, including an NBFC
• A registered person supplying passenger transportation services
• A Goods Transport Agency (GTA)
• A registered person supplying services by way of admission to the exhibition of cinematographic films in multiplex services
• An SEZ unit (excluded via CBIC Notification No. 61/2020 – Central Tax)

Where to register for e-invoicing?

All GST registered taxpayers who need to generate IRNs should register on the trial e-invoice system using his GSTIN. The taxpayers registered on the e-way bill portal can use EWB credentials for login and need not register on the e-invoice system again. 

Steps for registration on the e-invoice system

Step 1: Visit the IRP portal.

• If a taxpayer is registered on the e-way bill portal: In this case, a taxpayer can use the same login credentials to login onto the e-invoice portal.
• If a taxpayer is not registered on the e-way bill portal: In this case, he/she should have a GSTIN and mobile number registered with the GST system. Once he/she enters the URL of the e-invoice system, the screen below will open.

Step 2: Navigate to the ‘Registration’ tab A first-time GSTIN can register by clicking on the e-invoice registration tab, which will open the e-invoice registration form. The user needs to enter his/her GSTIN and captcha code displayed and then click ‘Go’ to submit the request. Once the request is submitted the user will be redirected to the e-invoice registration form.

Step 3: The applicant’s details as per the registered GSTIN will get displayed such as applicant name, trade name,  address, mobile number, email ID, etc. as registered on the GST portal.

The user is required to verify these details by clicking on ‘Send OTP’. A one-time password (OTP) will be sent on the registered mobile number. The user shoukd enter this OTP in the registration form and click on the ‘Verify OTP’ button.

Once the OTP has been successfully verified, the system prompts the user to enter a user name of choice (consisting of 6-15 characters) and enter a password, then re-enter the password for confirmation and click on ‘Save’. The user can now log into the e-invoice system using the created credentials.

Note:

• In case a user forgets his password, he/she should click on the ‘Login -> Forgot Password’ option, and enter the username, GSTIN and mobile number on the e-invoice system. On successful validation, he/she can reset his password.
• In case a user forgets his username, he/she should click on the ‘Login -> Forgot User Name’ option, then enter his GSTIN and the registered mobile number. The system will validate the same and send a username to his registered mobile number through SMS.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a seller upload the e-invoice on a bulk basis?

Yes, a seller can bulk upload the e-invoices with the help of API.

Is a no-tax invoice required to obtain IRN?

An invoice with a no-tax component (generally known as Bill of Supply) is exempted from obtaining the IRN.

If a person is already registered on the GST portal, is he/she required to again register on the e-invoice portal?

Yes, even if a person is registered on the GST portal, he needs to again register on the e-invoice portal. But, if he is registered on the e-way bill portal, he need not re-register on the e-invoice portal.

For how long will the generated e-invoice be available on the government portal?

After the validation of an invoice by the IRP, it will be available for the taxpayers on the e-invoice system for 24 hours.

Can the IRN be generated twice for a single invoice?

No, the e-invoice system will check under the Central Registry of GST system to ensure that the invoice is not uploaded twice for re-generation of IRN. 

Can IRN be cancelled?

Note that an IRN once generated cannot be deleted/modified, however, it can be cancelled and freshly generated in case wrong information is uploaded on the invoice. But, such cancellation can be done within 24 hours from the time of generation of IRN.