Invoice and E explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Before e-invoicing, a B2B supply with movement required two independent uploads carrying substantially the same data. The Invoice Registration Portal collapsed them.
The e-invoice payload in FORM GST INV-01 contains almost everything the e-way bill Part A needs. Where the transporter and vehicle details are included, the IRP generates the e-way bill along with the IRN. Where they are not, Part A is created and Part B is completed separately on the e-way bill portal. The same payload also auto-populates GSTR-1 and flows to the recipient's GSTR-2B. One dataset, three outputs — and one point of failure.
What flows from one upload
The IRN and the signed QR code. Returned by the IRP, and required on the invoice under Rule 46(r).
The e-way bill. Where transport details are supplied, generated with the IRN. Where only Part A data is present, Part A is created and Part B awaits the vehicle number.
GSTR-1. The e-invoice data auto-populates the relevant tables. The supplier reviews and files; it is not filed automatically.
GSTR-2B. The recipient sees the supply once the supplier's GSTR-1 is filed, and the credit condition in s.16(2)(aa) is satisfied.
When the e-way bill is generated with the IRN
The IRP generates the e-way bill along with the IRN where the payload contains:
- transporter ID or vehicle number;
- transport mode and distance;
- dispatch and ship-to addresses, where they differ from the supplier and recipient addresses.
Where these are absent, the IRN is generated and the e-way bill is not. The supplier can then generate the e-way bill on the e-way bill portal using the IRN, which pre-fills Part A.
The advantage of the combined route is that the two documents cannot diverge, because they came from one payload.
The new failure mode
Before e-invoicing, an invoice and an e-way bill could differ and nobody noticed until interception. Now they cannot diverge if generated together — but a third dataset can differ: the accounting system's own invoice.
The recurring problem is that the ERP prints an invoice with one set of values, and a different payload is sent to the IRP — because of rounding, a late discount, a corrected HSN, or a manual edit after the IRN was generated.
The consequences:
The printed invoice is not the registered invoice. Under Rule 48(5), the registered document is the one that matters, and a printed document that does not match it is unsupported.
GSTR-1 shows the IRP values. A supplier that files on ERP values overwrites the auto-populated data and creates a permanent difference between the e-invoice register and GSTR-1.
The recipient's GSTR-2B carries the IRP values. A mismatch against the physical invoice is the recipient's reconciliation problem.
The control is simple and often missing: print the invoice from the IRP response, including the signed QR code, rather than from the pre-upload document.
Cancellation and the two documents
An IRN can be cancelled within twenty-four hours of generation, and only where no e-way bill is active against it.
So the sequence matters:
- e-way bill active → cancel the e-way bill first, then the IRN;
- more than twenty-four hours elapsed → the IRN cannot be cancelled; the correction is a credit note;
- an amendment cannot be made on the IRP at all — e-invoices are amended only through GSTR-1, which then diverges from the registered e-invoice.
That last point is worth planning around. Because e-invoices cannot be amended on the portal, an error found on day three is corrected by a credit note and a fresh invoice, not by an edit. E-invoice cancellation and amendment →
Where the e-way bill is still independent
Movements without an invoice. Job work, goods sent on approval, inter-branch transfers under one GSTIN — these move on a delivery challan, and the e-way bill is generated from it. There is no IRN. Rule 55: delivery challan →
B2C movements above the threshold. No IRN, e-way bill generated independently.
Supplies by an e-invoicing-exempt supplier. A GTA, a bank, an SEZ unit — no IRN, e-way bill generated independently.
Part B updates. Always separate, because the vehicle may change in transit. Rule 138(5) requires the transporter to update the conveyance details before further movement.
Key takeaways
- One INV-01 payload can produce the IRN, the e-way bill and the GSTR-1 entry.
- The e-way bill is generated with the IRN where transport details are included.
- Print the invoice from the IRP response, not from the pre-upload document.
- An IRN can be cancelled within twenty-four hours, and only where no e-way bill is active.
- E-invoices cannot be amended on the portal — corrections run through credit notes and GSTR-1.
- Delivery challan movements, B2C and exempt suppliers still generate e-way bills independently.
Read next
- Rule 48(5): An Invoice Without an IRN Is Not an Invoice
- How to Generate an E-Invoice on the IRP Portal
- E-Way Bill Rules: When Required, When Exempt
- Rule 55: The Five Situations That Need a Delivery Challan
Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on the CGST Rules as amended to 31 March 2026 (ICAI Bare Law, 12th edition) and the ICAI Handbook on Invoicing under GST (2025). Portal behaviour and reporting windows change; verify current advisories on the e-invoice portal.