Published by: Mohammed Haris
Last updated: Dec 6, 2023 2:32 PM IST
E-invoice for B2C transactions.
The government is likely to make it mandatory for companies to issue electronic or e-invoices for B2C transactions in the next 23 years
The government is likely to make it mandatory for companies to issue electronic or e-invoices for B2C transactions in the next two to three years, an official said on Wednesday. Currently, companies with a turnover of Rs 5 crore and above are required to generate e-invoices for their Business-to-Business (B2B) sales and purchases.
The government plans to extend the e-invoice requirement to B2C transactions as well.
Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) GST member Shashank Priya said GST systems need to be scaled up and there is work to be done to bring B2C (business to consumer) transactions under e-invoicing .
“We are investigating the requirement of e-invoice for B2C. GSTN capabilities need to be scaled up. Systems will have to be set up. We need to see which sectors we can start first. It is a work in progress but we hope we can take this further in the coming years,” he said at an event in Assocham.
Priya further said that companies with a turnover between Rs 5-10 crore are not fully issuing e-invoices and CBIC officials are giving a push to non-compliant companies.
“Its implementation (Rs 5 crore company issuing e-invoices) is still quite late. We have given instructions. We are trying to convince taxpayers that it has certain benefits, such as ease of doing business. GSTR -1, e-way bills will be filled,” Priya said at the National Conference on GST.
The government has made e-invoicing mandatory for companies on a staggered basis. Under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, e-invoicing for business-to-business (B2B) transactions was made mandatory for companies with a turnover of more than Rs 500 crore from October 1, 2020, which was subsequently expanded to companies with a turnover of more than Rs 100 crore with effect from January 1, 2021.
From April 1, 2021, companies with a turnover of more than Rs 50 crore were generating B2B e-invoices, and the threshold was reduced to Rs 20 crore from April 1, 2022.
From October 1, 2022, the threshold was reduced to Rs 10 crore. From August 1, 2023, the requirement was extended to companies with a turnover of Rs 5 crore.