GSTN has issued an advisory on service charges related with e-Invoice reporting and IRN (Invoice Reference Number) generation through IRPs (Invoice Registration Portals) and value added services provided by respective IRPs. Key points highlighted by GSTN in it’s advisory are as under:
1. List of Services offered by 4 IRPs:
GSTN has listed the free basic services services and the value added services (VAS) provided by the respective IRPS (Cygnet, Clear, EY, Iris) and has cautioned the Taxpayers about the additional charges which may be payble by the users for availing such VAS:
1. e-Invoicing reporting
2. Online Portal
3. e-Invoicing offline tool
4. Direct API, Through GSP or ERP
5. Excel utility
6. Bulk e-Invoice generation
7. e-Invoice Schema Validation
8. De-duplication check
9. Generation of QR code in respect of validated invoices
10. e-Invoice cancellation
11. QR code verifier app
12. Send notifications by email, SMS to users
13. Generation of E-way bill after IRN generation
14. Archival of e-Invoice data
15. Mobile App
16. ERP plugin Under Development
17. e-Invoicing data transfer through FTP
18. e-Invoicing data transfer through SFTP
19. Reconciliation of GSTR-1 Data
20. Invoice storage for more than 48 hours
2. Free Services:
The e-Invoice reporting and IRN generation services offered by all IRPs, including the four new ones, are provided without any charges (free of cost). Taxpayers can use these services for generating and reporting e-Invoices without incurring any additional costs.
3. Value-Added Services (VAS):
Any additional Value-Added Services provided by IRPs are not included in the standard e-Invoice reporting and IRN generation services. IRPs may charge separate for these additional VAS. Users have been advised to take note of the fact that GSTN is not involved in their pricing or provision.
4. Review Before Availing VAS:
Taxpayers have been advised by the GSTN to carefully review the details of any additional VAS, including service offerings, data security measures and associated costs. This review should be conducted for the respective IRPs offering these services.
5. NIC-IRP Services:
Apart from the four new IRPs, e-Invoice reporting and IRN generation services are also available through NIC-IRP.
6. Links to IRP’s Portals:
Access to these portal providing invoice registration services can be obtained through the URLs provided in the GSTN Advisory.
7. Support Contacts:
For assistance related to standard e-Invoice reporting and IRN generation services, taxpayers can seek help from GSTN or the specific IRPs they are using.
GSTN Advisory dated 01/08/2023: E-Invoice Reporting and IRN Generation Services (Free/VAS) Offered by the Four New IRPs
This detailed advisory from GSTN has clarified the intricacies of e-Invoice reporting and Invoice Reference Number (IRN) generation through Invoice Registration Portals (IRPs) by differentiating various services provided by different IRPs into free and VAS. GSTN has advised that while essential services come free of charge, value-added services bring additional dimensions and potential costs.