E-invoicing and B2C transactions with QR code generation has become important in the current scenario when the e-invoicing system is set to be mandatorily implemented for taxpayers with turnover over INR 500 cr. from October 1, 2020. Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) is the e-invoicing government portal which is currently managed by National Informatics Centre (NIC). The invoices for which Invoice Registration Number (IRN) is required to be generated are to be sent to NIC for registration and NIC in return will provide IRN, Signed QR Code, Acknowledgement Number, Acknowledgement Date, Status and Signed Invoice (in JSON format).
Read more about E-Invoicing and E-Way Bill here.
E-Invoicing and B2C Transactions
Transactions involving supplies made to unregistered persons or consumers are generally referred to as Business to Customer (B2C) transactions. B2C Invoices are those invoices where the end-user will not be claiming Input Tax Credit (ITC) from GSTN. While B2B transactions i.e. invoices raised to a registered counterparty are explicitly covered under the current e-invoicing mandate as per Notification No.13/2020, it is equally important to understand the effect of e-invoicing under GST on various other business transactions like Exports, Deemed Exports B2C etc.
The new schema for e-invoicing was released via Notification 60/2020 dated 30th July 2020 followed by the release of version 1.03 of E-invoicing API specifications. Actual APIs were released on the IRP portal on 5th August on sandbox for testing and they have been released on production on 15th August 2020.
Even though the mandate covers only B2B transactions, the e-invoicing schema notified include all invoice Types like Exports, Deemed Exports and B2C transactions as well.
Although the notification on e-invoicing schema has included B2C transactions as invoice Type, as per e-invoicing mandate and actual API released, IRN generation is not applicable for B2C. Hence taxpayers should not send the B2C invoices to the Government (i.e. IRP). This has been further clarified by NIC that the requests sent with B2C invoices will be rejected by them and if sent multiple times, then the IRN generation can be also be blocked.
Thus for e-invoicing and B2C transactions, IRN generation is not required, as per Notification No.14/2020, the government has made it mandatory for notified taxpayers (turnover over 500 crores) to display QR Code on their B2C invoices. Also, if the taxpayers already make a Dynamic QR code available to the recipient through a digital display, such dynamic QR code will be deemed to be QR code in accordance with the notification. Thus, B2C QR code has to be self-generated by the taxpayers. They are not supposed to send the B2C invoices on government portal to generate QR code.
QR Code – FAQs
What is a QR Code?
A QR Code or a Quick Response Code is coded information about anything. It is a 2-dimensional version of a Barcode which is scan-able from any mobile device to display a wide variety of information.
QR Code in case of IRN generated invoices
In the case of e-invoices, the IRP itself sends a signed QR code in response. This Signed QR code consists of the following information:
- GSTIN of the supplier
- GSTIN of the recipient
- Invoice number is given by the supplier
- Date of the generation of invoice
- Invoice value
- Number of line items
- HSN Code of the main item (the line item having the highest taxable value)
- Unique Invoice Reference Number/Hash
This Signed QR code must be displayed on print and PDF invoices. It can be scanned and validated to learn if it has been registered and signed by the IRP. The size of the printed signed QR code can be 2 X 2 inches. However, it depends on the available size on the invoice. But it should be readable from the QR code scanners.
QR Code in case of B2C invoices – How can you generate a QR Code?
There is no standard specification provided for B2C QR code. However, going in accordance with IRP Signed QR code, taxpayers can include all above-listed item excluding the GSTIN of the recipient (as here recipient is unregistered) and instead including the name of the recipient.
A dynamic QR code that the taxpayers are already making available to the recipient through a digital display, usually also includes a payment link. Thus, on scanning the dynamic QR code, the recipient can directly make payments through such payment links. So, in case the taxpayers do not already have such dynamic QR code, then the payment link can also be included in the self-generated QR code.
IRIS Onyx – A complete E-invoicing solution
IRIS Onyx is an automated, integrated and seamless e-invoicing solution!
Onyx is a cloud-based solution that can integrate with your billing systems seamlessly in multiple ways and generate IRN with zero disruption to your business. It is a one-stop platform to view, share and collaborate with your customers and suppliers alike while managing the entire communication with the GST systems in a hassle-free manner. IRIS Onyx helps with both IRN along with E-way Bill generation seamlessly and makes the entire process smooth and hassle-free!
At IRIS, we already have built-in features for not just verifying the Signed QR code received from IRP but also self-generating the QR code for B2C invoices sent by the taxpayers.
