Any business with a GST license needs to issue a tax e-invoice during or before supplying goods. These e-invoices are necessary for every business to meet compliance requirements, and that’s the reason that suppliers have to issue e-invoices either before, after, or at the time of the supply.
Gone are the days when businesses generated paper-based invoices, which was extremely tedious. Nowadays, businesses prefer e-invoicing because automating the process not only saves time but also ensures cost benefits. Also, the government mandate has a major role to play in this regard. According to the latest mandate, e-invoicing is compulsory for businesses that generate more than 5 crores in annual revenue.
On that note, here’s time to scroll through the article and know about the most interesting facts about GST e-invoices.
- Flexible format
Did you have this piece of news that GST taxpayers don’t have to follow any specific format while generating their invoices? Every taxpayer has the liberty to design the e-invoices in their preferred format. However, GST law makes it mandatory to mention certain details in the invoices. Here, we have listed down all the important components to be present in the invoice.
- The document type code
- Name of the supplier
- GSTIN of supplier
- Supplier address
- Supplier Pincode
- Supplier state code
- Supplier’s place
- Supplier’s document number
- Preceeding_Invoice_Reference and date
- Document Date
While these are some of the crucial details required from the supplier, here are certain details to gather from the recipient.
- Recipient Legal Name
- Recipient’s Address
- Recipients GSTIN
- Recipients State Code
- Recipients GSTIN
- Place Of Supply
- State Code
- Pincode
- Invoice reference number
- GSTIN of the buyer
- State Code and Pincode of the buyers where goods are delivered
Other than these mandatory components, there are aspects such as supply type code, item description, HSN code, assessable value, GST rate, total invoice value, CGST and SGST values separately.
So, what about the time period for issuing e-invoices? We have got you covered in the following pointer!
- Time period for e-invoice issuance
The Indian government has declared a specific e-invoicing time limit for businesses with an annual aggregate turnover of Rs 100 crore or above. GST e-invoices must be generated within 30 days of supply. Apart from e-invoices, this 30-day time limit is also applicable for credit and debit notes. Another aspect to note in this regard is whether the rule is the same for other revenue brackets as well.
- Issuing goods e-invoices after delivery
As mentioned above, e-invoices for goods must be issued before delivery. However, two exceptions are present in this case. If the goods are out for delivery, but the supply quantity is unknown, the goods can be removed from the delivery challan. It is also possible to issue the e-invoice after delivery in this case. The same is also possible when the goods are out for delivery, but no information is present regarding the quantity to be supplied.
- A paper copy of the e-invoice during transportation
A large number of businesses are now using e-invoicing software solutions to generate e-invoices. But under normal circumstances, a paper copy of the e-invoice must be present with the transporter. However, GSTN enables taxpayers to collect an e-invoice reference number.
In case a taxpayer has that number, the need for a paper invoice during transportation is not mandatory. Paper copies of e-invoices can often get misplaced, lost, or damaged during transportation. However, the e-invoice reference number facility from GSTN can help solve this issue for taxpayers.
- Consolidated e-invoices
Did you know that small retailers and taxpayers need not generate e-invoices for making multiple small transactions of up to Rs 200 in a day? Instead, they can generate one consolidated e-invoice containing details of multiple small transactions done throughout the day.
But, customers have the right to ask for e-invoices even for small transactions. In case a customer asks for an e-invoice, businesses need to generate it, no matter how small the transaction amount is.
- Mentioning the HSN code
The GST law has taken several measures to reduce the compliance burden for small taxpayers. One initiative in that direction is making taxpayers with a maximum annual turnover of Rs 2.5 crore specify the HSN Code of goods in the e-invoices.
However, it is imperative to add the correct HSN code, as non-compliance and incorrect HSN code can lead to a penalty of 50000 INR.
- Serial number and customer’s address are optional
Serial number and customer’s address are kept optional, as there are several business models where the transactions are quite high. Say, for instance, transactions happening in the insurance, banking, and passenger transport sectors are pretty high. Therefore, mentioning the serial number and address of customers in their e-invoices isn’t mandatory. This optional feature ensures flexibility throughout the entire process.
Bottom line
So, with that, we are done sharing all the interesting facts about GST e-invoicing. Automated invoicing solutions have already made GST compliance easy. Knowing about the different facts related to GST e-invoices will further help businesses avoid non-compliance penalties. These interesting facts about e-invoicing in GST will help business owners to a great extent, as they will now be informed about the particulars needed to be mentioned while generating e-invoices for GST.
