Govt. to mandate e-invoice for B2C transactions in 2-3 years

The statement issued by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) member GST, Shashank Priya on Wednesday, the government is considering implementing mandatory electronic or e-invoices for Business-to-Consumer (B2C) transactions within the next 2-3 years.

Businesses having a turnover of Rs. 5 crore or more are now required to create e-invoices for Business-to-Business (B2B) transactions. The government now aims to expand this obligation to B2C transactions, which will need an expansion of the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) capacity.

Priya emphasised that expanding e-invoicing to B2C is a work in progress, with efforts focused on identifying industries where implementation may begin first. Priya noted at a National GST Conference that enterprises with a turnover of Rs. 5-10 crore are still not completely compliant with e-invoice production, and CBIC officials are aggressively promoting non-compliant businesses to embrace the system.

The government’s policy includes a progressive introduction of e-invoicing. Initially, it was mandated for B2B transactions for enterprises with a turnover of more than Rs. 500 crore beginning October 1, 2020. Following that, the barrier was gradually reduced to encompass businesses having a revenue of more than Rs. 100 crore (January 1, 2021), Rs. 50 crore (April 1, 2021), Rs. 20 crore (April 1, 2022), and eventually Rs. 10 crore (October 1, 2022).

The most recent change, which takes effect on August 1, 2023, expands the e-invoicing requirement to enterprises with a turnover of Rs. 5 crore, a significant step towards greater adoption and integration of electronic invoicing in the Indian corporate scene. As the government pushes for digital transformation in taxes, businesses are expected to react, resulting in enhanced efficiency and transparency in transactions.