India’s GST Network is testing two new e-invoicing categories for self-invoices covering domestic purchases from unregistered suppliers and imported services, with businesses facing tighter controls and a 30-day reporting deadline.
India’s Goods and Services Tax Network has widened its e-invoicing framework to cover self-invoices raised under the reverse charge mechanism, opening the door for a major change in how some businesses report tax on purchases rather than sales. According to a GSTN advisory dated 16 October, the new functionality is being built for domestic purchases from unregistered suppliers and for imported services, both of which can trigger reverse charge liability, where the buyer rather than the seller pays the tax.
The new categories, RCM-DOM and RCM-IMP, are designed to let eligible taxpayers generate Invoice Reference Numbers through authorised Invoice Registration Portals. Business Standard reported that the facility is intended for registered taxpayers with annual turnover of ₹50 million or more, subject to the relevant legal provisions and government notifications, although the date for a full production launch has not yet been announced. The system is now available for testing across all six authorised e-invoice portals.
The change marks a notable extension of India’s e-invoicing regime, which was first introduced on a voluntary basis in 2020 for large businesses and was presented at the time as a way to cut manual errors and streamline tax reporting. GSTN chief executive Prakash Kumar has previously said standardisation and interoperability were central to the push towards electronic invoicing, and the latest step appears aimed at bringing reverse charge transactions more fully into that digital framework.
Tax specialists say the move could tighten compliance, but it also raises practical questions for businesses. Vivek Jalan of Tax Connect Advisory Services told Business Standard that companies will need stronger internal controls and better enterprise resource planning systems because self-invoices must be raised within 30 days under reverse charge rules. He warned that delays in identifying eligible transactions could create interest costs and complicate claims for input tax credit. Shivam Mehta of Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan said the reform should improve reporting of imported services and other reverse charge transactions, though he noted that it remains to be seen whether the new framework will alter existing time limits for claiming input tax credit on self-invoices.
GSTN said the National Informatics Centre’s e-invoice portal will publish a detailed release note covering technical specifications, validation rules and other operational requirements, while GSTN and the authorised registration portals plan to hold a webinar to explain the new process. The advisory said the rollout date and the point at which reporting becomes mandatory will be announced separately.
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