GST Update: E-invoice to be mandatory for B2B deals for biz with turnover of Rs 10 crore from October 1

New Delhi: GST-registered businesses with an annual turnover of Rs 10 crore or more will have to generate e-invoices for B2B transactions from October 1, the finance ministry said. Currently, businesses with a turnover of Rs 20 crore and above are required to generate an electronic invoice for all B2B transactions. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on August 1 notified lowering the e-invoice threshold to Rs 10 crore and above from October 1. The GST Council, comprising finance ministers of the Centre and states, had decided to implement electronic invoices in a phased manner.

Under Goods and Services Tax (GST) law, e-invoicing for business-to-business (B2B) transactions was made mandatory for companies with a turnover of over Rs 500 crore from October 1, 2020, which was then extended to those with a turnover of over Rs 100 crore effective January 1, 2021. (Also Read: Bad news for CNG Car owners! CNG price hiked by Rs 6 per kg, PNG by Rs 4)

From April 1, 2021, companies with a turnover of over Rs 50 crore were generating B2B e-invoices, and the threshold was brought down to Rs 20 crore beginning April 1, 2022. Going forward, The CBIC plans to further lower the threshold for e-invoice generation to Rs 5 crore. (Also Read: Govt adopting targeted approach to tame inflation, says FM Sitharaman)

Deloitte India Partner MS Mani said this will further expand the GST tax base and provide more data to the tax authorities enabling better compliance. "The progressive reduction of the e-invoicing threshold indicates that, over a period of time, e-invoicing will become mandatory for all categories of GST taxpayers," Mani added.