E-invoice portal India — everything you need to know

India's e-invoicing regime started in October 2020 for businesses above ₹500 crore turnover. By August 2023 the threshold was lowered to ₹5 crore. If your business crosses that line, e-invoicing is not optional — invoices without an IRN are treated as invalid. This guide covers what the portal is, how it works, and how our invoice generator prepares files ready for upload.

What is an e-invoice?

An "e-invoice" is not just a PDF sent by email. Under GST rules, an e-invoice is a tax invoice that has been reported to the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP), assigned a unique 64-character IRN (Invoice Reference Number), and returned with a signed QR code. Only invoices with a valid IRN are legally recognised for ITC purposes above the threshold.

Who has to generate e-invoices?

• Any registered person with aggregate annual turnover above ₹5 crore in any preceding financial year from 2017-18 onwards.
• All B2B supplies, exports and reverse-charge invoices — mandatory.
• B2C invoices — currently exempt from IRN but must have a dynamic QR code if turnover crosses ₹500 crore.
• Exempt sectors: banks/insurance/NBFCs, SEZ units (SEZ supplies still require IRN), goods transport agencies, passenger transport, cinema admission.

How the e-invoice portal (IRP) works

1. You generate an invoice in your accounting/billing software in the prescribed JSON schema.
2. You upload the JSON to the IRP — einvoice1.gst.gov.in or one of the alternate portals (NIC-IRP, Cygnet-IRP, IRIS-IRP, GSTN-IRP, EY-IRP, Clear-IRP).
3. The IRP validates the JSON against schema and business rules.
4. The IRP returns an IRN + signed QR code + digital signature.
5. You embed the IRN and QR on the printed/PDF invoice and send it to your customer.
6. The data auto-flows to GSTR-1 and the recipient's GSTR-2B.

E-invoice login — how to access the portal

Go to einvoice1.gst.gov.in and click "Login". Use your GSTIN, username and password (the same as GST portal but with a separate registration on the IRP). First-time users need to click "Registration" → enter GSTIN → OTP verification.

What our free invoice generator does (and doesn't) do

Our tool prepares a fully compliant tax invoice PDF with all fields required by the e-invoice schema — GSTIN, HSN, taxable value, tax breakup, place of supply, invoice number. It does not upload directly to the IRP because that requires GSP/ASP access and API credentials tied to your GSTIN.

Workflow for e-invoice users:

1. Create the invoice in our generator, download the PDF.
2. Manually enter the same data on the IRP portal (or use your accounting software's IRP integration).
3. Get the IRN and QR code.
4. Print the QR on the physical/PDF invoice.

For businesses below ₹5 crore turnover, our tool alone is enough — no IRP involvement needed.

Penalty for not generating an e-invoice

• Non-issuance of an e-invoice: penalty equal to 100% of tax due, or ₹10,000 per invoice — whichever is higher.
• Incorrect e-invoice: ₹25,000 per invoice.
• Recipient loses ITC on invoices without IRN.

Frequently asked questions