Compliance for India

India mandates registration of some B2B and B2G invoices and transport documents through Invoice Registration Portals (IRPs) in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) e-invoice system. You access IRP services through the GST e-invoice portal. The GST e-invoicing system is operated under the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN).

Businesses with a total turnover over ₹5 crore must issue e-invoices for B2B transactions. B2G e-invoicing is mandatory when supplying to GST-registered government entities.

Document requirements

B2B invoices must be registered through an IRP. B2G e-invoices must also be registered when supplying to GST-registered government entities. There is no existing mandate for B2C transactions.

India compliance summary

Learn more about compliance transaction terms and concepts.

Aspect	Description	Requirement
B2B	Invoices exchanged between businesses.	Mandatory for businesses with total turnover over ₹5 crore.
B2C	Invoices issued by businesses to consumers.	Optional
B2G	Invoices issued by businesses to public administrations for public procurement.	Mandatory when supplying to GST-registered government entities.
Electronic signature	Signature or seal rules for authenticity and integrity of e‑invoices.	Invoices are digitally signed by an IRP.
Legal archiving	Minimum retention period for e‑invoices.	6 years
Model	The e-invoicing flow model used by the country.	Clearance
Platform	The government-managed platform for e-invoicing.	Managed by GSTN through IRPs.
Supported format	The e-invoicing format legally required by the country.	JSON per the GST e-invoice schema is mandatory for registration.
Automatic updates	Whether invoice status updates synchronise automatically in Monitor.	Yes

Format

India’s e-invoice format is based on a local JSON schema defined for GST e-invoicing. For technical specifications, see the GST documentation.

Invoice types

The document type code element within the invoice must contain one of the following codes.

Document	Code	Description
Credit note	CN	Used to correct amounts or settle a balance between a supplier and a buyer.
Debit note	DN	A document issued by a supplier to apply additional charges or increase the total value of a previously issued e-invoice.
Invoice	INV	An invoice for goods or services from a supplier to a buyer.

Automated e‑invoicing flow

ecosio enables you to automate the registration and retrieval of compliant e-invoices for India.

Accounts receivable flow

The following diagram and steps illustrate the AR process for e-invoices in India.

You send the invoice data from your ERP or business software to ecosio in a structured format, such as VRBL, CSV, or IDoc.
ecosio validates the invoice data and converts it into the JSON format required by the IRP.
The invoice is forwarded to an IRP in the GST e-invoicing system for registration. The IRP generates an Invoice Reference Number (IRN), digitally signs the invoice, and generates a QR code containing key invoice data.
The IRP returns the validated, signed invoice to ecosio.
You deliver the invoice to the buyer using your agreed delivery method, for example, as a PDF that includes the QR code.

Accounts payable flow

The following diagram illustrates the AP process for e-invoices in India.

You receive the invoice from the supplier using your agreed delivery method, for example as a PDF. You can verify the QR code using GST e-invoice verification options, for example by scanning it using the mobile app or by uploading the signed invoice data to the GST e-invoice portal.

E-transport requirements

India mandates transport controls for the movement of goods through the e-way bill framework. The e-way bill is a digital document used to declare the movement of goods within India. The e-way bill system is operated by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), a government organisation that provides digital services and platforms. You report transport details to NIC, and NIC validates the submission and generates the e-way bill number and validity period.

Before the NIC can generate an e-way bill, you submit transport details and supporting document details. The GSTN E Way Bill API Developer's Portal lists the required information depending on your requirements.

You can report e-way bill data to NIC in three ways, depending on your business process:

Create the e-way bill together with an e-invoice.
Create the e-way bill from an already registered e-invoice using the Invoice Reference Number (IRN).
Create a standalone e-way bill.

For official guidance, see the NIC project page.

Outbound

ecosio enables you, as a supplier, to automate the transmission of e-way bill data to NIC. The following diagram and steps illustrate this process.

You send the e-way bill data from your ERP or business software to ecosio in a structured format, such as VRBL.
ecosio validates the data and converts it into the JSON format required by NIC.
ecosio submits the e-way bill data for creation. If you create the e-way bill together with an e-invoice, ecosio first submits the e-invoice to an IRP in the GST e-invoicing system for registration, which generates the IRN and routes the relevant data onwards for e-way bill generation.
NIC validates the submission and generates an e-way bill number and validity period.
The generated e-way bill details are returned to ecosio and made available for you to obtain.
You provide the carrier with the e-way bill number for use during transit.

Inbound

The following diagram and steps illustrate the inbound process for e-way bills in India.

The supplier reports the transport details to NIC and specifies you as the recipient.
NIC validates the submission and generates an e-way bill number and validity period.
ecosio retrieves the e-way bill data and sends it to your system.
The supplier provides the e-way bill number to the carrier for use during transit.

Legal resources

The following official documents define the legal and technical framework for e-invoicing in India.

Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 (Rule 48): Legal basis for GST invoicing and the e-invoicing mechanism.
GST Tutorials: Official user guides for GST portal processes.
GSTN E-invoicing Overview: Overview of e-invoicing under GST.