What e-invoicing actually is
A common misunderstanding: e-invoicing is not the practice of sending invoices electronically. It is a registration step. You submit the invoice data to the Invoice Registration Portal, and the IRP returns an Invoice Reference Number — a 64-character hash derived from your GSTIN, the document type, the financial year and the document number — along with a signed QR code that must appear on the invoice you give the customer.
The portal also pushes the data onward, which is the real purpose: your GSTR-1 and, where relevant, the e-way bill are populated from what you reported, rather than keyed in again later.
Who it applies to
As of 2026, e-invoicing is mandatory for businesses whose aggregate annual turnover exceeded ₹5 crore in any financial year from 2017-18 onwards. The test looks backwards: if you crossed the threshold once, you are in, whether or not you are above it now.
It applies to B2B supplies and exports. It does not apply to B2C invoices, though large taxpayers have separate QR-code obligations there.
| Aggregate annual turnover | E-invoice required | 30-day IRN window |
|---|---|---|
| Above ₹10 crore | Yes | Yes — hard stop at 30 days |
| ₹5 crore to ₹10 crore | Yes | Not currently applied |
| Below ₹5 crore | No | — |
Thresholds and reporting windows have been revised repeatedly since 2020 and will be again. Treat the figures above as correct at the time of writing and confirm your own position against the current notifications or with your accountant before relying on them.
The 30-day window
For taxpayers with turnover of ₹10 crore and above, invoices, credit notes and debit notes older than 30 days cannot be reported to the IRP at all. There is no late reporting and no grace period — the portal refuses the document.
The consequence is not merely administrative. An invoice that should have carried an IRN and does not is not a valid tax invoice, which puts the recipient's input tax credit at risk on a document they had no part in delaying.
Where this generator fits
This tool produces the invoice document. It does not connect to the IRP, and it makes no attempt to — that requires your GSTIN credentials, and the entire premise here is that nothing you type leaves your browser.
- If e-invoicing does not apply to you, the PDF from this tool is your invoice. Nothing further is needed.
- If it does apply, generate the IRN through your accounting software, an ASP/GSP or the government portal, then place the IRN and QR code on the document you send.
- Either way, the formatting rules on the rest of these pages are unchanged. E-invoicing adds a registration step; it does not alter what the invoice must contain.