What is eInvoicing?
Electronic Invoicing, also called eInvoicing, refers to the process of submitting and thereby electronically authenticating B2B invoices of a business through a portal to the GSTN. eInvoicing does not mean generation of invoices electronically but the submission of already generated invoices to the portal.
A unique identification number called the Invoice Reference Number (IRN) is generated for every invoice submitted through the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP).
Invoices generated with a valid Invoice Reference Number (IRN) are the only invoices which are considered valid as per the law. The Invoice information submitted to the IRP is transferred to the GST portal and e-Waybill portal in real-time. With this, while filing the GSTR-1 returns, businesses need not manually update the invoice data and can generate part-A of the eWaybills.
eInvoices are used in business transactions by suppliers and their customers due to a standard schema, to present and monitor transactions between one another and ensure the terms of their trading agreements are met.
How to implement eInvoicing for your business?
This generation of eInvoices and IRN can be achieved by any of the following methods:
• Bulk upload all the invoices using a bulk generation tool, which generates a JSON file. This JSON file needs to be uploaded in the IRP portal to bulk generate IRNs.
• Through an Application Service Provider(ASP) API integration
• Through a GST Suvidha Provider (GSP) API integration
• Thorough a direct API integration, where the IP address of a computer needs to be whitelisted on the eInvoice portal.
Of these above-mentioned methods, the most preferred are the Application Service Provider (ASP) APIs and GST Suvidha Provider (GSP) APIs, due to automation and streamlining of the IRN generation process. Under these, the ERP systems of the businesses are connected to the IRP using ASP or GSP APIs.
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