E-invoice Printing: Process, Mandatory Fields, Modes of IRN generation

E-invoice Printing is one of the most significant aspects of e-invoicing after the mandate gets applicable to a taxpayer. Currently, the government has made e-invoicing mandatory for taxpayers with an AATO of Rs. 5 Cr. from January 1, 2023.

Under the e-invoicing mandate, the taxpayers' invoices need to be registered on the official e-invoicing portal. This portal is known as the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) which will help taxpayers generate the invoice reference number (IRN) which will be unique for every single invoice that is being generated. E-invoice printing is one of the topics that taxpayers are most concerned about. In this article, we discuss everything related to e-invoice printing i.e. the process, mandatory and optional fields, generation etc. Read on…

E-invoice Printing - IRN & QR Code:

Under the e-invoice mandate, taxpayers will continue to generate their specific GST invoices (covered under the mandate) on their own with the help of their Accounting/Billing/ERP Systems. Once generated, the invoice data will now have to be sent to Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) if their business crosses the e-invoice turnover limit.

IRP then will verify and assign a number unique for that particular invoice using the hash algorithm under e-invoicing which is the Invoice Reference Number (IRN) along with a QR Code. QR code will be part of the signed JSON, returned by the IRP. It will be a string (not an image), which the ERP/accounting/billing software shall read and convert into QR Code image for placing on the invoice.

A B2B GST invoice will be valid only with a valid IRN. And before sharing it with the concerned parties, taxpayers need to print this IRN and QR Code on the invoice. Hence, understanding the nuances of e-invoice printing becomes important.

Mandatory fields to be printed on an invoice and an E-invoice As per Rule 46 of CGST tax rules 2017

Following fields are mandatory to be printed on the e-invoice as per Rule 46. Tax invoice referred to in section 31:

1. Name, address and Goods and Services Tax Identification Number of the supplier
2. A consecutive serial number not exceeding 16 characters, in one or multiple series, containing alphabets or numerals or special characters- hyphen or dash and slash symbolised as "-'' and "/" respectively, and any combination, unique for FY
3. Date of its issue
4. Name, address and Goods and Services Tax Identification Number or Unique Identity Number, if registered, of the recipient
5. Name and address of the recipient and the address of delivery, along with the name of the State and its code, if such recipient is un-registered and where the value of the taxable supply is Rs. 50,000/- or more
6. Name and address of the recipient and the address of delivery, along with the name of the State and its code, if such recipient is un-registered and where the value of the taxable supply is less than Rs. 50,000/- and the recipient requests that such details be recorded in the tax invoice
7. HSN code for goods or services
8. Description of goods or services
9. Quantity in case of goods and units or Unique Quantity Code thereof
10. The total value of the supply of goods or services or both
11. Taxable value of the supply of goods or services or both taking into account discount or abatement, if any
12. Rate of tax (central tax, State tax, integrated tax, Union territory tax or cess)
13. Amount of tax charged in respect of taxable goods or services (central tax, State tax, integrated tax, Union territory tax or cess )
14. Place of supply along with the name of the State, in the case of a supply in the course of inter-State trade or commerce
15. Address of delivery where the same is different from the place of supply
16. Whether the tax is payable on reverse charge basis
17. Signature or digital signature of the supplier or his authorised representative
18. QR code, having embedded Invoice Reference Number (IRN) in it, in case invoice has been issued in the manner prescribed under sub-rule (4) of rule 48.