GST Council may propose E-invoice for B2C Transactions

As per the news shared by Business Standard, businesses across the country may soon be obliged to issue electronic invoices, or e-invoices, directly to consumers for the sale of goods and services.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council’s upcoming meeting on Monday is anticipated to debate expanding the e-invoicing obligation to include business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. Currently, e-invoicing is required for businesses with a turnover of Rs. 5 crore or more, but only for business-to-business (B2B) transactions.

“A pilot program may be proposed to introduce voluntary e-invoicing in selected sectors, in collaboration with states willing to participate,” according to a government person familiar with the proposal.

What is E-invoice?

E-invoice is a system in which GSTN electronically authenticates B2B invoices for subsequent usage on the common GST portal. Under the electronic invoicing system, the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) will assign an identification number to each invoice, which will be administered by the GST Network.

Changes in Eligibility Criteria of E-invoice

Over the years, the eligibility criteria for E-invoices have changed. Let’s have a look at it.

Benefits of using E-invoice

• To eliminate mismatch mistakes, the e-invoice resolves and plugs a major gap in GST data reconciliation.
• E-invoices made with one software can be read by another, facilitating interoperability and reducing data entry errors.
• E-invoice allows for real-time tracking of supplier-prepared invoices.
• Backward integration and automation of the tax return filing process – invoice details would be auto-populated in the various returns, particularly when creating part-A e-way bills.
• Increased availability of genuine input tax credit.
• Tax authorities are less likely to conduct audits or surveys since the information they seek is available at the transaction level.