Indian businesses need to get two separate decisions right: which GST document to issue and whether its details must be reported to an Invoice Registration Portal (IRP). A tax invoice or bill of supply records the supply under GST rules; e-invoicing is an additional reporting and authentication step that produces an Invoice Reference Number (IRN). A PDF invoice by itself is not an e-invoice in this sense.
As of 7 October 2026, the general e-invoicing threshold is aggregate turnover of ₹5 crore or more in a preceding financial year from FY 2017–18 onward, calculated across registrations under the same PAN. Exemptions and the notified scope of documents still matter. Businesses with annual aggregate turnover (AATO) of ₹10 crore or more also face a separate 30-day IRP reporting restriction for covered documents, effective 1 April 2025.
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Which GST document should you issue?
Tax invoice for taxable supplies
A registered supplier generally issues a tax invoice for a taxable supply, subject to the CGST Act and Rules. The invoice records the supplier, the supply and the applicable GST particulars. Requirements vary with the transaction, so a single universal checklist cannot describe every invoice.
Bill of supply for specified cases
A bill of supply is used in relevant cases such as exempt supplies and supplies by a composition-scheme taxpayer. Do not treat a bill of supply and a tax invoice as interchangeable: the appropriate document depends on the supply and the supplier’s GST treatment. CBIC’s invoice rules and sectoral FAQs set out the applicable requirements.
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What details does a GST tax invoice need?
CBIC Rule 46 prescribes invoice particulars. Some apply generally, while others are conditional on the recipient, place of supply, delivery arrangements or type of transaction.
| Particular | When it applies or what to check |
|---|---|
| Supplier name, address and GSTIN | Identify the registered supplier issuing the invoice. |
| Serial number and issue date | The serial number must be consecutive, in one or more series, and unique for the financial year. |
| Recipient name, address and GSTIN or UIN | Include the recipient’s details where registered. For certain supplies to an unregistered recipient, the rules require additional particulars, subject to their conditions. |
| HSN or service accounting code, and description | Use the applicable classification and describe the goods or services. For goods, include quantity and unit or unit code as required. |
| Total value, taxable value, tax rate and tax amount | Show the values and applicable tax particulars for the supply. |
| Place of supply and State code | Include these for an inter-State supply. |
| Delivery address | Include it where it differs from the recipient’s address and the rules require it. |
| Reverse-charge indication | State whether tax is payable on a reverse-charge basis when applicable. |
| Supplier’s signature or digital signature | Apply the signature requirement as prescribed for the document and circumstances. |
Credit notes and debit notes have their own prescribed particulars and should be linked to the original invoice as required by the rules. Export invoices also require specified endorsements and particulars. Build those cases into the invoicing process rather than assuming a domestic-sale template covers them.
When must the invoice be issued?
Goods
Under the general rule described by CBIC, issue a goods invoice before or at removal of the goods where supply involves movement, or before or at delivery or making the goods available in other cases. Special provisions may affect particular transactions.
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For a taxable service, the general period under Rule 47 is 30 days from the date of supply. The period is 45 days for specified insurers, banks and financial institutions, including non-banking financial companies. Special timing provisions also apply to certain inter-branch services and continuous supplies, so confirm the rule for the transaction rather than relying on the general period alone.
Low-value supplies
The below-₹200 exception is conditional, not a blanket exemption from invoicing. CBIC’s sectoral FAQ describes it for specified circumstances where the recipient is unregistered and does not ask for an invoice; the rules address consolidated invoicing where applicable. If the conditions are not met, do not assume an invoice can be omitted.
Who needs to generate GST e-invoices?
GSTN’s e-invoice overview states a threshold of ₹5 crore or more in aggregate turnover, applicable from 1 August 2023. The calculation looks at turnover in any preceding financial year since FY 2017–18 across all registrations under the same PAN. It is not a separate threshold for each GSTIN.
Crossing the turnover threshold is an applicability trigger to check, not a complete answer for every taxpayer or document. GSTN identifies exemptions, and the notified scope of documents and supplies also matters. CBIC Circular 186/18/2022-GST clarifies that the exemption it addresses applies to the entity as a whole, not just to one type of supply. Check the current notification and the entity’s facts before deciding that e-invoicing applies—or that an exemption does.
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For a covered taxpayer and document, e-invoicing means reporting specified invoice data to a government-notified IRP and receiving an IRN. The IRP process also returns signed QR information. Creating a PDF, emailing it, or recording an invoice only in accounting software does not by itself complete this GST reporting step.
- Prepare the document data. Capture the particulars in the prescribed schema and classify the document and supply correctly.
- Report it to an IRP when required. Use the relevant portal or an integration; exact interfaces can vary.
- Receive and retain the response. Obtain the IRN and signed QR information, then use the resulting document data in the business’s downstream GST process.
- Reconcile the return data. Check the IRP-sourced details against the business records and GSTR-1.
What is the 30-day e-invoice rule?
Since 1 April 2025, the IRP advisory says taxpayers with AATO of ₹10 crore or more must report covered invoices, credit notes and debit notes within 30 days of the document date. The IRP rejects reporting after that limit. The advisory was published by IRIS IRP, a GSTN-authorised IRP, on 27 March 2025.
This is a limit on reporting a document to the IRP; it is not a replacement for the ordinary statutory deadline to issue an invoice. In particular, the service-invoice periods in Rule 47 and the IRP reporting limit answer different questions. A business subject to both should manage each deadline independently.
How does e-invoice data reach GSTR-1?
GSTN’s GSTR-1 user guide says e-invoice details received from the IRP update GSTR-1. Treat that as a return workflow aid, not a substitute for checking the return: reconcile the imported details with sales records, amendments and notes before filing.
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The guide gives usual GSTR-1 due dates of the 11th of the following month for monthly filers and the 13th after quarter-end for quarterly filers. Government extensions can change these dates, so confirm the due date for the relevant tax period.
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A practical compliance workflow
- Confirm the supplier and supply treatment. Establish whether the supplier is registered and whether the supply is taxable, exempt or otherwise treated under a relevant scheme.
- Select the document. Choose a tax invoice, bill of supply or applicable note based on that treatment.
- Classify the transaction and collect required fields. Determine which recipient, HSN or service-code, tax, place-of-supply, delivery, reverse-charge, export or other particulars apply.
- Apply a controlled numbering and timing process. Keep invoice serials unique for the financial year and issue the document within the applicable statutory period.
- Test e-invoice applicability at PAN level. Check preceding-year aggregate turnover from FY 2017–18 onward, relevant exemptions and the notified document scope.
- If covered, report and retain IRP output on time. Include a 30-day control for AATO of ₹10 crore or more, and manage any earlier deadline that applies to the underlying document separately.
- Reconcile with GSTR-1. Compare IRP-received details with books and the return, including relevant credit and debit notes.
Manual reporting or accounting-software integration?
Both approaches need to support the same reporting obligations. The right process depends on document volume, accounting systems and the business’s ability to control errors and deadlines. The following are evaluation criteria, not a performance ranking of particular portals or vendors.
| Decision area | Manual portal or reporting workflow | ERP or accounting-software integration |
|---|---|---|
| Field and schema validation | Check how staff validate required fields before submission. | Check whether the integration validates the prescribed fields and schema before sending data. |
| Submission deadlines | Check who monitors pending documents and IRP reporting dates. | Check whether the process flags pending submissions and supports deadline controls, including the 30-day limit where applicable. |
| Credit and debit notes, and errors | Check how staff submit notes, spot errors and correct records. | Check how notes, rejected submissions and corrections are handled in the connected workflow. |
| GSTR-1 reconciliation | Plan how portal output will be compared with books and return data. | Check how IRP data is carried into downstream records and reconciled with GSTR-1. |
| Fit with business operations | Assess whether manual handling is workable for the document volume and staffing. | Assess compatibility with existing accounting systems and whether integration reduces avoidable duplicate entry. |
Neither an integration nor a manual workflow guarantees compliance. The business still needs correct transaction classification, appropriate source data, timely review and a process for resolving rejected or inconsistent records.
Which official guidance should a business check?
For invoice particulars and timing, consult the current CGST Rules, including Rules 46 and 47, and relevant CBIC sectoral FAQs. For e-invoice scope and workflow, check GSTN’s e-invoice overview and GSTR-1 user guide, the applicable notifications, and relevant IRP advisories. Portal guidance can explain operations, but a business-specific determination may depend on the latest notification and the facts of the entity and transaction. This article is general information, not a determination of any taxpayer’s liability or exemption.
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