Billing › E-invoice and e-way bill

E-invoice and e-way bill: who needs them, and how to make the files here

Two government systems sit next to your invoice. An e-invoice is your invoice registered on a government portal (the IRP), which gives it an IRN and a signed QR code. An e-way bill is a permit for moving goods. This invoice maker can turn your invoice into the file each portal accepts, free, and print the portal's numbers on your bill.

E-invoice (IRN)

• Who: businesses whose aggregate turnover crossed ₹5 crore in any financial year since 2017-18, for B2B invoices, exports, SEZ supplies and credit or debit notes. Once crossed, the rule stays even if turnover falls later. Exempt: banks, insurance companies, NBFCs and financial institutions; goods transport agencies; passenger transport; cinema admission in multiplexes; SEZ units (not SEZ developers); government departments and local authorities.
• From 1 January 2027 the same businesses must also register their own self-invoices for reverse-charge purchases from unregistered sellers and for import of services (Notification 04/2026-Central Tax). This invoice maker makes sales invoices, not those self-invoices.
• How: the invoice details go to the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP). It returns an IRN (a 64-character reference), an acknowledgement number and a signed QR code, which must appear on the invoice.
• Time limit: since 1 April 2025, businesses with turnover of ₹10 crore or more must report an invoice, credit note or debit note within 30 days of its date. For example, an invoice dated 1 April can be reported until 30 April; after that the IRP refuses it. Below ₹10 crore there is no such block yet. Choose Your turnover in the e-invoice section and the tool checks this for you.
• HSN codes: an e-invoice needs at least 6 digits (8 if your item has an exact 8-digit code). 4 digits are only allowed for businesses under ₹5 crore, which don't e-invoice.
• Mistakes: an IRN can be cancelled on the portal only as a whole, within 24 hours, and only if no active e-way bill is linked to it. A cancelled invoice number can never be registered again, so make the corrected invoice with a new number. After 24 hours, correct it with a credit or debit note.

E-way bill

• When: goods worth more than ₹50,000 in one consignment are moved from one state to another. The value includes GST (leave out exempt goods on the same bill). Inside some states the limit is ₹1 lakh: Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan (₹2 lakh within one city in Rajasthan). Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir need it inside the state only for some goods. Job work and handicrafts going to another state need one at any value. This depends on the goods, not on your turnover, so small shops need it too.
• Who makes it: the supplier, the buyer or the transporter, on the e-way bill portal, before the goods move.
• What it needs: the invoice number and date, GSTINs, addresses with PIN codes, HSN codes, value, and the vehicle or transporter details. The vehicle number can be added later (Part B).
• How long it lasts: 1 day for every 200 km (20 km for over-dimensional cargo), until midnight. It can be extended only within 8 hours before or after it expires, and for at most 360 days in total. It can be cancelled within 24 hours, and the buyer can reject it within 72 hours.
• Old documents: since 1 January 2025 the portal does not make an e-way bill for an invoice or challan more than 180 days old.
• E-invoice businesses: since 1 March 2024, a business that must issue e-invoices makes the e-way bill for a B2B invoice from its IRN, not on its own.
• Some goods don't need one, for example many unprocessed foods, and movement over very short distances in certain cases.

Make the files here, step by step

1. Make the invoice as usual. Choose Tax invoice for an e-invoice (an e-way bill also works with a bill of supply). Fill in the City / town and PIN code for your business and the customer: both portals need them. Give every item its HSN or SAC code: 6 or 8 digits for an e-invoice; 4, 6 or 8 digits for an e-way bill.
2. Open "E-invoice and e-way bill" below the items. Choose the type of supply (B2B for a normal sale to a registered business). For an e-way bill, open Transport details and add the vehicle number, or the transporter ID. Leave the distance at 0 and the portal works it out from the PIN codes.
3. Press "Download e-invoice file" or "Download e-way bill file". If something is missing, a list tells you what to fix; tap a line to jump to that field. Otherwise a .json file is saved to your Downloads folder. Don't open it: it is for the portal.
4. Upload it on the portal.
   • E-invoice: sign in at einvoice1.gst.gov.in (any of the six IRPs works; this is the usual one) › e-Invoice › Bulk Upload, choose the file, press Upload.
   • E-way bill: sign in at ewaybillgst.gov.in › e-Waybill › Generate Bulk, choose the file, press Upload and then Generate.
   • Both portals ask for a one-time code (OTP) on your registered mobile when you sign in. That has been compulsory for everyone since 1 April 2025.
5. Bring the portal's reply back. Download the result from the portal (the JSON with the IRN and signed QR code), then press Load the portal's reply file here. Or open Or type the numbers from the portal and type the IRN, Ack No. and e-way bill number, and paste the signed QR code text.
6. Press Save, then Print / PDF. The invoice now shows the IRN, Ack No., Ack date, e-way bill number and the e-invoice QR code.

Good to know

• Your data is not sent anywhere by us. The file is made in your browser. You upload it yourself, with your own portal login.
• Changed the invoice after registering it? The tool warns you, because the portal still has the old details. Cancel the IRN on the portal within 24 hours and register again, or undo the change.
• E-way bill with the e-invoice: tick Also make the e-way bill together with the e-invoice and the transport details go into the e-invoice file, so the IRP makes the e-way bill too.
• Exports and SEZ: choose the matching type of supply. Supplies with tax paid need IGST; supplies under LUT or bond need GST 0% on every item.
• Below the limits? Small businesses below the e-invoice limit can use these invoices as they are.