India Signals an Expansion in the Scope of E-Invoicing

Selin Adler Ring
February 28, 2021

The new India’s e-invoicing expansion has been live since October 2020 and it has been rolled-out in phases. The first phase started in October 2020 with taxpayers with a 500 Cr. rupees threshold or more and the second phase continued in January 2021 covering taxpayers with a threshold of 100 Cr. rupees or more.

The Indian authorities have continuously expressed their ambition of a nationwide e-invoicing solution and plans to gradually expand the scope of e-invoicing. It is therefore interesting to note that taxpayers were not allowed to implement e-invoicing voluntarily in the first two stages but instead had to wait until their market segments were identified by the authorities as ready for testing.

It was previously announced by the Finance Secretary that by 1 April 2021 all taxpayers in India would have access to e-invoicing, but it was not clear from these announcements whether the goal was to make it mandatory or simply to allow voluntary adoption of e-invoicing from April 2021.

Recent e-Invoicing Developments

The e-Invoice API Sandbox portal has been enabled for taxpayers with a turnover between 50 Cr. rupees and 100 Cr. rupees for technical testing. Given the previous practices, this development could be interpreted as an indication that a mandate is around the corner.

It was previously announced through the e-Invoice API sandbox portal that taxpayers between 100 Cr. rupees and 500 Cr. rupees were enabled for testing. This development was soon followed by a notification mandating e-invoicing for those taxpayers from January 2021. Therefore, it is expected that the Indian government will soon publish a notification that mandates e-invoicing for taxpayers with a turnover of 50 Cr. rupees or more.

Timeline of India’s e-invoicing expansion

Even though there are no formal statements communicated by the authorities on the timeline or on the mandate, many stakeholders are expecting 1 April 2021 to be the mandatory date to comply with the new e-invoicing process for the next segment of taxpayers. Given the previous announcements, it would not be a bombshell. However, taxpayers would be left with a very tight deadline to comply.

Take Action

Sovos has more than a decade of experience keeping clients up to date with e-invoicing mandates all over the world.

Sign up for Email Updates

Stay up to date with the latest tax and compliance updates that may impact your business.

Author

Selin Adler Ring

Selin is Regulatory Counsel at Sovos. Based in Stockholm and originally from Turkey, Selin’s background is in corporate and commercial law, and currently specializes in global e-invoicing compliance. Selin earned a Law degree in her home country and has a master’s degree in Law and Economics. She speaks Russian, Arabic, English and Turkish.
Share this post

North America
June 6, 2024
Observations and Predictions: The Future of Tax and Compliance

When I became the CEO of Sovos one year ago, I knew that I was stepping into an innovative company in an industry primed for a seismic transformation. However, even with this knowledge in place, I must admit that the speed and scope of change over the past year has been extraordinary to witness. Here […]

EMEA IPT
July 8, 2024
Hungary Insurance Premium Tax (IPT): An Overview

Regarding calculating Insurance Premium Tax (IPT), Hungary is the only country in the EU where the regime uses the so-called sliding scale rate model.

North America ShipCompliant
July 3, 2024
The Prospects and Perils of AI in Beverage Alcohol

I recently had the privilege of speaking on a panel at the National Conference of State Liquor Administrators (NCSLA) Annual Conference, a regular meeting of regulators, attorneys and other members of the beverage alcohol industry to discuss important issues affecting our trade. Alongside Claire Mitchell, of Stoel Rives, and Erlinda Doherty, of Vinicola Consulting, and […]

North America ShipCompliant
June 27, 2024
Shifting Focus: How to Make Wine Country Interesting to Millennials

Guest blog written by Susan DeMatei, President, WineGlass Marketing WineGlass Marketing recently conducted a study to explore how Millennials and Gen X feel about wine, wine culture and wine country. The goal was to gain insight into how we can make wine, wine club and wine country appealing to these new audiences. We’ll showcase in-depth […]

North America Sales & Use Tax
June 24, 2024
Illinois to Adjust Sales Tax Nexus Rules in Light of PetMeds Threat

Illinois is poised to change their sourcing rules again, trying to find their way in a world where states apply their sales tax compliance requirements equally to both in-state and remote sellers. With this tweak, they will effectively equalize the responsibilities of remote sellers with no in-state presence, to those that have an Illinois location. […]

EMEA VAT & Fiscal Reporting
June 21, 2024
ViDA Rejected Again – Europe Misses Another Chance to Harmonize e-Invoicing

During the latest ECOFIN meeting on 21 June, Member States met to discuss if they could come to an agreement to implement the VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) proposals. At the ECOFIN meeting in May, Estonia objected to the platform rules being proposed, instead requesting to make the new deemed supplier rules optional (an […]