E-Invoicing ₹5 Crore Threshold 2026: Do You Need to Comply?

E-invoicing under GST isn't about your current turnover — it's about whether you've ever crossed the threshold, in any financial year going back to 2017-18. That one detail catches more businesses off guard than the threshold number itself.

The threshold, and the part everyone misses

As of 2026, e-invoicing applies once your aggregate annual turnover (AATO) has exceeded ₹5 crore in any financial year since 2017-18 — not just the current one. Cross it once, and the obligation is permanent, even if turnover falls well below ₹5 crore in a later year. There's no "opting back out."

What "aggregate turnover" actually counts

This is your all-India turnover on the same PAN — every branch, every GSTIN registered under it, combined. A business run across two states with ₹3 crore in each is over the threshold on aggregate turnover even though neither individual registration looks like it, on its own, crosses ₹5 crore.

Who's exempt regardless of turnover

A few categories stay outside e-invoicing even above the threshold — notably SEZ units (not developers), insurers, banks and financial institutions, goods transport agencies, passenger transport services, and a handful of others specifically carved out. If you're close to the threshold, it's worth confirming your category, not just your turnover, on the GST portal.

What compliance actually requires

Once it applies, every B2B invoice, export invoice, and deemed-export invoice needs to go through an Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) before it's valid — see what an IRN is and why e-invoices need one. B2C sales are not covered by this mandate (though very large businesses have a separate QR code requirement — see QR codes on GST invoices).

Taxpayers with AATO of ₹10 crore and above also have a 30-day reporting window — the e-invoice has to be reported to the IRP within 30 days of the invoice date, or the IRP will reject it outright.