The government has made it clear that the October 1 date to operationalize the new e-invoicing system in the country stands firm. This is being done even while the corporate sector and experts hoped for the proposed move's postponement. E-invoicing essentially involves reporting details of specified GST documents to a government-notified portal and obtaining a reference number. GSTN (the IT systems provider for GST) claims that there isn't much distinction between the current framework and the new one. Registered people will continue to create GST invoices on their accounting/billing/ERP systems.

These invoices will now be getting reported to the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP). On reporting, the IRP will return the e-invoice with a unique Invoice Reference Number (IRN) after digitally signing the e-invoice and adding a QR Code. The invoice can then be issued to the receiver along with the QR Code. A GST invoice will be valid only with a valid IRN. The government had notified in March that a new system would come into operation starting from October 1. Initially, it will be compulsory for registered persons with an aggregate turnover of ₹500 crores or more in a financial year.

According to GSTN, the use of e-invoicing will make filing the returns easier as all the information will be auto-populated. E-invoicing will also facilitate standardization and inter-operability, leading to a reduction of disputes among transacting parties, improvement of payment cycles, and reduction of processing costs, thereby improving overall business efficiency. Though there is intense lobbying to defer the move, Finance Ministry sources told that there is no change proposed on the timeline. However, experts feel that the government should defer this move.