Govt defers implementation of QR Code on B2C invoices till December1

The government on Wednesday deferred by two months the requirement of printing dynamic QR code on B2C invoices till December 1.

Quick Response Code or QR Code help users verify the details in the digitally signed e-invoice.

"Implementation of requirement of Dynamic QR Code on B2C invoices deferred to 1st December 2020," the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) tweeted.

Under Goods and Services Tax (GST), companies with a turnover of over Rs 500 crore will have to generate e-invoice for B2B (business-to-business) transactions from October 1.

However, for B2C (business-to-consumer) transactions, e-invoice is not yet mandatory.

EY Tax Partner Abhishek Jain said with there being quite a lot of ambiguity on this compliance for B2C invoices, the industry was awaiting an explicit clarification on this requirement along with with a deferment.

"This deferment would be quite a welcome one and now businesses would be looking for both a detailed clarification on this compliance for B2C invoices and a relaxation on B2B e-invoicing compliances; which are effective from October 1," Jain added.

AMRG & Associates Senior Partner Rajat Mohan said the government has deferred the implementation of the requirement of Dynamic QR Code on B2C invoices by two months just hours before its nationwide implementation.

"This kind of last-minute extensions are not helpful to a compliant taxpayer, who would have by now changed over to new systems with great difficulty," Mohan added.

Under e-invoicing, taxpayers have to generate invoices on their internal systems (ERP/accounting/billing software) and then report it online to the 'Invoice Registration Portal (IRP). The IRP will validate the information provided in the invoices and return the digitally signed e-Invoices with a unique 'Invoice Reference Number (IRN)' along with a QR Code to the taxpayer.