On 24 February 2022, the Indian Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) issued a notification (Notification No. 01/2022 – Central Tax) that lowered the threshold for mandatory e-invoicing.
In India, e-invoicing is mandatory for taxpayers when exceeding a specific threshold (businesses operating in certain sectors are exempted). The current threshold for mandatory e-invoicing is 50 Cr. Rupees (approximately 6.6 million USD). From 1 April 2022, taxpayers with an annual threshold of 20 Cr. Rupees (approximately 2.65 million USD) or above must comply with the e-invoicing rules.
Evolution of e-invoicing in India
E-invoicing has been mandatory in India since October 2020. The IRP must approve and validate e-invoices before being sent to the buyer. Therefore, the Indian e-invoicing system is categorised as a clearance e-invoicing system, a type of continuous transaction controls (CTC).
From the beginning, the Indian tax authority clearly expressed their intention to gradually expand the scope of e-invoicing. In line with its message, the threshold limit has been lowered twice; in January 2021 (from 500 CR. To 100 Cr.) and April 2021 (from 100 CR. To 50 Cr.). Once again, the threshold limit is reduced to require more taxpayers to transmit their transactional data to the tax authority’s platform.
One important thing to be noted in this context is that voluntary adoption of e-invoicing is still not possible. Taxpayers cannot opt in to use the e-invoicing system and transmit their invoices to the IRP voluntarily. Given the recent developments, this might change in the future.
E-invoicing and E-waybill relationship
Suppliers in the mandatory scope of e-invoicing must generate e-waybills relating to B2B, B2G and export transactions through the e-invoicing platform because their access to the e-waybill platform is blocked for generating e-waybills relating to these transactions. E-waybills relating to transactions outside of the scope of e-invoicing can still be generated through the e-waybill platform.
Therefore, it would be advisable for taxpayers who are getting ready to implement e-invoicing to consider this aspect.
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Get in touch with our team of tax experts to learn how Sovos’ tax compliance software can help meet your e-invoicing requirements in India.
