GST e-invoicing sounds like paperwork. Operationally, it's a race against a dispatch clock — and the teams that win treat it as part of the dispatch, not a task for later.
What an IRN actually is
When you raise a B2B invoice above the threshold, it must be registered with the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP). The IRP returns:
- An IRN (Invoice Reference Number) — a unique 64-character hash
- A signed QR code — cryptographically signed by GSTN
- An acknowledgement number and timestamp
Your buyer and your auditor can scan that QR and verify the invoice on the GST portal. No IRN, no valid B2B invoice.
Why "at dispatch" matters
The common failure mode is generating the IRN after the goods have moved — in a batch, the next morning, by hand. That's where mismatches and missed e-way bills creep in.
A truck that leaves without a valid e-way bill can be detained, and the penalty can be up to the tax amount or more. Timing isn't a nicety — it's the whole game.
Generating the IRN at the dispatch event means:
- The invoice reflects exactly what was picked
- The e-way bill is raised from the same event, with vehicle and validity
- Nothing ships in a non-compliant state
The role of a licensed GSP
You don't talk to the IRP directly. A GST Suvidha Provider (GSP), licensed by GSTN, brokers the connection. A good integration:
- Registers invoices through the licensed GSP channel
- Handles retries and error codes gracefully
- Scales throughput to your dispatch volume
State-code-aware tax, automatically
The place of supply decides the split:
| Order type | Tax applied |
|---|---|
| Intra-state | CGST + SGST |
| Inter-state | IGST |
Easy Procure derives this from the destination state code per line, so the split is never a manual decision. Read more on the compliance page, or see how it works inside the Compliance module.