E-invoice mandatory for MSMEs with over Rs 50 Cr turnover from April 1

The government has made it mandatory for businesses with over Rs 50 crore turnover to generate e-invoices for B2B transactions from April 1.

Under Goods and Services Tax (GST) law, e-invoicing for business-to-business (B2B) transactions has been made mandatory for companies with turnover of over Rs 500 crore and Rs 100 crore from October 1, 2020, and January 1, 2021, respectively.

E-invoicing will be extended to companies with turnover over Rs 50 crore from April 1, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said in a notification.

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Under e-invoicing, taxpayers have to generate invoices on their internal systems (ERP/accounting/billing software), and then report them online to the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP).

The IRP will validate the information provided in the invoices, and return the digitally signed e-invoices with a unique 'Invoice Reference Number (IRN)' along with a QR Code to the taxpayer.

EY Tax Partner Abhishek Jain said e-invoicing has been made mandatory for businesses of Rs 50 crore plus turnover from April 1, which showcases the proactiveness and the intent of the government to wider the net of digitisation.

"As limited time is left, industry players in this segment will need to proactively map out the IT and process changes, and start implementing the same," Jain added.

The Indian Government also announced recently that entrepreneurs and proprietors — who are exempted from filing GST returns — can register their company on the Udyam Registration portal as an MSME with the help of a PAN card. 

This facilitation would help several micro-enterprises, including skilled craftsmen, artisans, and other enterprises in the informal sector and unorganised sector, to register easily.