According to Rule 48(4), the following classes of people are exempt from the e-invoice mandate and need not generate an e-invoice under GST.
1. Banks, Insurance Companies, and Financial Institutions including but not limited to NBFCs.
2. Goods Transport Agency
3. Passenger Transport Services
4. Supplier of Services by way of admission to the exhibition of films.
5. Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Units. (Note: E-invoicing is applicable to Economic Zone Developers)
The e-invoice mandate is meant to ease up the legal and financial aspects of a business. Its core benefits are:
1. Reduced gap in GST Reconciliation and mismatch errors
2. Reduced data-entry error, since e-invoices can be read on several platforms.
3. Real-time invoice tracking is possible
4. Faster Input Tax Credits (ITC) verification
5. Reduced fraudulent activities