E-Invoice for Ecommerce Sellers: Who Needs It and From When

You need e-invoicing only if your aggregate turnover crossed Rs 5 crore in any financial year from 2017-18 onwards. It then covers your invoices to GST-registered buyers, the credit and debit notes on them, and exports. Sales to consumers stay outside. Most small marketplace sellers are below the line, but a few business orders change that once you cross it.

What is an e-invoice, in plain words?

An e-invoice is not a new kind of bill. You still make the invoice in your own billing software. The difference is that, before you hand it over, its details are uploaded to a government Invoice Registration Portal (IRP). The IRP checks it and returns an IRN, the Invoice Reference Number, along with a signed QR code. The invoice carries both.

Why does the government want this? Because a registered invoice cannot quietly be changed or backdated, and the buyer's input tax credit (ITC, the GST they set off against their own tax) rests on a document the system has already seen. GSTN guidance also says the details of registered invoices flow into the B2B tables of your GSTR-1, so you type less at month end.

Do you need it? Check your turnover band

The test is aggregate turnover: all taxable, exempt, export and inter-State sales across every GSTIN on your PAN. That means marketplace sales, your own website, offline shops and wholesale, added together. The notification looks at any preceding financial year, so one year above the line is enough.

The 30-day limit comes from a GSTN advisory of 5 November 2024, which lowered it from Rs 100 crore to Rs 10 crore. Its own example: an invoice dated 1 April 2025 cannot be reported after 30 April 2025. The portal simply refuses it, and the advisory says the limit covers credit notes and debit notes too. We found no 2026 advisory changing either figure, as on 13 Nov 2026.

Where do marketplace sales fit?

Most Amazon, Flipkart and Meesho orders are to consumers. Those are B2C, so no IRN is needed however big you are. The question arises only when a buyer gives a GSTIN, for example an Amazon Business order. That is a B2B sale, and above Rs 5 crore it needs an IRN. Our guide on B2B marketplace orders in GSTR-1 shows where those invoices go.

Who generates the IRN for a marketplace order? The e-invoice system lets an e-commerce operator register and generate IRNs on behalf of its sellers, according to the National Informatics Centre's note for operators. Whether your marketplace does this for your orders, and for which fulfilment types, is something to confirm with its seller support. The duty to issue a valid invoice stays with you either way.

A worked example

Priya sells home decor from Surat. In FY 2025-26 her sales were Rs 4.2 crore on marketplaces, Rs 60 lakh on her own website and Rs 40 lakh to local shops. Each channel looks small. Together they are Rs 5.2 crore, which is above Rs 5 crore.

From FY 2026-27, Priya's B2B invoices need an IRN. Suppose she misses it for a month. Rule 48(5) says those bills are not invoices, so her buyers have no valid document for Rs 1,80,000 of credit. They will ask her to cancel and reissue, or stop ordering. Penalties can also follow, which is a question for a CA on the facts. Her consumer sales, the bulk of her business, are unaffected.

Her turnover is below Rs 10 crore, so the 30-day limit does not bind her. If it did, a document dated 1 June would have to be reported by 30 June.

How to get ready, step by step

1. Add up turnover year by year from 2017-18, across every GSTIN on your PAN and every channel.
2. If any year crossed Rs 5 crore, log in to the e-invoice portal, einvoice1.gst.gov.in, with your GSTIN and register.
3. Pick how you will generate IRNs: through your billing software, through the portal's own tools, or through a marketplace where it confirms it does this.
4. Cover returns. A credit note to a registered buyer needs an IRN as well. Set up that flow before the first B2B return arrives.
5. Check GSTR-1 each month. Registered invoices should appear in the B2B tables. Consumer sales still come from your sales reports, as before.
6. Fix mistakes fast. An IRN can be cancelled only within a short window after it is generated, widely reported as 24 hours. After that, you correct with a credit or debit note.

The mistake people usually make

The usual mistake is checking only the marketplace turnover. Sellers look at their Amazon or Flipkart total, see Rs 3 or 4 crore, and stop there. The law counts the whole PAN: every GSTIN, every channel, exempt sales included.

The second mistake is thinking it switches off when sales fall. The test is any preceding year from 2017-18, so one strong year keeps you in. If you are unsure, ask a CA to work out your aggregate turnover for each year once. It takes an afternoon and settles the question.

Frequently asked questions

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