e-Invoice & e-Way Bill

Register an invoice on the government portal to get its IRN, raise an e-way bill for the goods that travel with it, and take either back within a day if it was a mistake. Lekhya checks the invoice first, so a call is not spent on something the portal would refuse.

The short version

1. Connect your GST account

In Settings → GST Filing enter your GSTIN and the API username and password you created on the e-invoice and e-way bill portals. Start in Sandbox to rehearse.

2. Open a posted invoice

Choose Generate e-Invoice. Lekhya lists what to put right, with a link to each, and shows exactly what it will send.

3. Send it, then move the goods

The IRN and QR code come back and stay on the invoice. For goods, choose e-Way Bill, say how they travel, and raise it.

Who needs what

	e-Invoice	e-Way bill
When	Your turnover has been above ₹5 crore in any year since 2017-18	Goods worth more than ₹50,000 in one consignment (some states set a higher limit for moves inside the state)
For	Invoices, credit notes and debit notes to businesses (B2B), to SEZ units, and for exports. Not sales to consumers (B2C)	The goods on an invoice. Services never need one
Not required of	Banks, insurers and NBFCs, goods transport agencies, passenger transport, multiplex cinemas, government departments, and SEZ units as the seller	Certain goods and some kinds of conveyance are exempt
Time	If your turnover is ₹10 crore or more, within 30 days of the invoice date	Valid for a day for every 200 km (20 km for an over-dimensional load), to midnight of the last day

This is how Lekhya applies the rules. The government changes limits and dates from time to time, so confirm your position with your CA.

Connecting, and trying it first

Settings → GST Filing takes your GSTIN, the e-invoice (IRP) API username and password, and the e-way bill API username and password. Passwords are stored encrypted and never shown again.
Sandbox (testing) is for rehearsal: the numbers it gives are practice numbers, not on the government portal, and an invoice registered there can still be voided. Production (live filing) is the real thing.
The invoice must be under the GSTIN you connected. If your company profile says another GSTIN, Lekhya tells you before it sends anything.
For the technical side of the GST connection, see the GST API guide.

What Lekhya checks before it spends a call

The customer has a GSTIN, and it is a real one. A sale to a customer with no GSTIN is B2C and does not go on the portal. A GSTIN whose check digit is wrong does not exist, and the portal refuses it.
The invoice number fits. At most 16 characters; letters, digits, “/” and “-” only; not starting with 0, “/” or “-”. A posted invoice cannot be renumbered: if it has not gone to the customer, reverse it and issue it again under a number that fits.
Addresses, PIN codes and states for your company and the customer: address, city or town, a six-digit PIN. A PIN that does not belong to the state is flagged, because the portal rejects it.
An HSN or SAC on every line, of 4 to 8 digits. Above ₹5 crore of turnover the GST rules ask for at least six, so a four-digit code gets a warning.
Tax that fits the supply. CGST and SGST inside your state; IGST to another state; IGST also for an SEZ unit; none under LUT. The tax on each line must match its rate.
The date. Not in the future. An invoice more than 30 days old gets a warning, because larger taxpayers cannot report one that late.
The total. It must agree with the lines and tax. A difference of up to ₹1 is sent as a round-off; a bigger one is flagged, and the portal takes a round-off of at most ₹99.99.

Anything that depends on your turnover, which Lekhya does not know, is a warning and does not stop you.

How the invoice is described to the portal

GST treatment of the invoice	Sent as
Ordinary sale to a registered customer	B2B
Export under LUT (no IGST)	EXPWOP
Export paying IGST	EXPWP. The IGST is in the invoice value the portal sees, though you bill the customer the value only
SEZ supply under LUT	SEZWOP, to the unit’s own GSTIN
SEZ supply paying IGST	SEZWP
Credit note, debit note	CRN, DBN, each naming the invoice it corrects

An export goes to the portal with an overseas buyer, so the customer’s country matters: Overseas bills & foreign currency. Deemed exports are not covered; raise those on the portal. For notes, see Credit & debit notes.

The e-way bill

Goods only. The goods on the invoice go on it, to the customer’s address. A service line, such as installation, is not listed: its value is carried as “other value” so the total still matches the invoice.
How they travel. By road, give the vehicle number, or the transporter’s GSTIN so the transporter can add the vehicle later. By rail, air or ship, give the railway receipt, airway bill or bill of lading number and its date. Distance is in kilometres; 0 lets the portal work it out from the two PIN codes. What you used last time is remembered.
Exports are moved on an e-way bill raised on the portal with the port and shipping details, so Lekhya does not raise those.
Changing the vehicle on the road is done on the e-way bill portal, by you or the transporter.

Taking one back

Within 24 hours of registering an invoice you can cancel its IRN, and within 24 hours of raising an e-way bill you can cancel it, from the same page. You are asked to type CANCEL and to say why.
An IRN is not cancelled while an e-way bill stands on the invoice. Cancel the e-way bill first.
A cancelled IRN means the invoice is no longer valid. The portal will not register that number again. Reverse the invoice in Lekhya and issue a new one under a new number. Until you do, GSTR-1 reminds you that it is still in your books.
After 24 hours, a mistake is put right with a credit note. An invoice registered in your live GST account is not voided.

Good to know

Each successful call uses one GST call from your plan’s allowance, then from any GST credits you have bought. A call the portal refuses is not counted, and what was sent is kept so you can see why.
Sending twice. If you click twice, or open two tabs, the second is stopped. One invoice has one IRN: it is worked out from your GSTIN, the financial year, the type of document and its number.
Seeing what was sent. The e-invoice and e-way bill pages show the exact request before you send it.