Section 31A 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.
Section 31A sits between the invoicing provisions and has nothing to do with documents. It is a market-conduct obligation placed in the invoicing chapter because that is where the supplier-recipient interface lives.
Section 31A: "The supplier shall, in respect of a supply, offer such other modes of payment to the recipient of a supply, as may be prescribed." Inserted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2019. It empowers the prescription of electronic payment modes that a notified class of supplier must offer, alongside the invoice.
The provision
Short, enabling, and entirely dependent on what is prescribed.
Three features of the drafting:
"Offer", not "accept only". The supplier must make the prescribed modes available; it is not obliged to refuse other modes.
"To the recipient of a supply", so the obligation is transaction-facing rather than a general business requirement.
"As may be prescribed" — the content is in the rules and notifications, not in the section.
The parallel provision in income tax
Section 31A mirrors s.269SU of the Income-tax Act, 1961, inserted by the same Finance (No. 2) Act, 2019.
Section 269SU: every person carrying on business shall, if his total sales, turnover or gross receipts in business exceed fifty crore rupees during the immediately preceding previous year, provide facility for accepting payment through prescribed electronic modes, in addition to the facility for other electronic modes of payment, if any, being provided by such person.
Rule 119AA of the Income-tax Rules prescribes the modes: Debit Card powered by RuPay, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) (BHIM-UPI), and Unified Payments Interface Quick Response Code (UPI QR Code) (BHIM-UPI QR Code).
Section 271DB imposes a penalty of five thousand rupees for every day during which the failure continues — with the proviso that no penalty is imposable if the person proves there were good and sufficient reasons for the failure.
Section 10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 prohibits the imposition of any charge on a payer making, or a beneficiary receiving, a payment through the prescribed electronic modes.
So the practical content of the obligation, for a business above ₹50 crore turnover, is: offer RuPay debit card, UPI and UPI QR acceptance, and charge nothing for it.
What it means for GST compliance
No separate GST notification has prescribed additional modes under s.31A. The section is enabling and, as at present, the operative obligation runs through the income-tax provisions.
That does not make s.31A irrelevant:
It creates the power. A future notification could prescribe modes for a class of GST-registered suppliers on a different turnover basis.
It sits alongside the invoice. Where modes are prescribed, the obligation attaches to the supply, and a failure would be a contravention of the Act attracting the general penalty under s.125 — up to ₹25,000.
It supports the digital trail. Electronic receipt of consideration corroborates the supply, which matters when a supplier's genuineness is questioned. Non-existent taxpayer risk →
Practical notes
- Test the ₹50 crore threshold each year on the preceding year's sales, turnover or gross receipts for s.269SU.
- Offer all three prescribed modes, not one. The rule lists RuPay debit card, UPI and UPI QR.
- Do not levy a charge on those modes — s.10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act prohibits it, and the prohibition extends to the bank as well.
- Display the UPI QR at the point of sale and on invoices where feasible; it also satisfies the separate dynamic QR code requirement for B2C invoices where that applies. QR code on B2C invoices →
- Keep evidence of availability — screenshots, terminal agreements, QR signage — since the penalty is daily and the defence is that the facility was provided.
Key takeaways
- Section 31A empowers prescription of payment modes a supplier must offer to recipients.
- It is enabling; no separate GST notification currently prescribes modes.
- The operative obligation runs through s.269SU of the Income-tax Act for businesses above ₹50 crore turnover.
- The prescribed modes are RuPay debit card, UPI and UPI QR code.
- Section 271DB penalty is ₹5,000 per day of continuing failure.
- No charge may be levied on those modes.
Read next
- Section 31A CGST Act: Digital Payment Facility
- QR Code on B2C Invoices: When Required
- Rule 46: Every Particular a Tax Invoice Must Carry
- GST Penalty Guide
Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on the CGST Act as amended to 31 March 2026 (ICAI Bare Law, 12th edition). The income-tax thresholds and prescribed modes are as notified under section 269SU; verify the current position.