Invoice Furnishing Facility in GST

The Invoice Furnishing Facility in GST is an optional facility that allows a registered person or a regular taxpayer with a total annual turnover of less than ₹5 crore to file quarterly returns while uploading monthly invoices.

This reduces the taxpayer's burden of uploading all invoices at the end of the quarter. Further, buyers can claim input tax credit (ITC) monthly without waiting for the quarter end on their outward supplies.

Learn in detail about this facility, its importance and the filing due date. Check out if you are eligible to submit an IFF under the GST Council regulations.

What Is the Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF)?

The invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) was notified in November 2020 by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) for small taxpayers using notification number 82/2020- Central Tax. With effect from 2021, this optional feature allows taxpayers to upload invoices for the first two months of a quarter.

Taxpayers, however, need to file returns with Form GSTR-1 for the last month of the quarter. For instance, for the quarter of January to March, you can upload invoices for January and February while filing GSTR-1 returns for March.

For the first two months, you can upload information pertaining to invoices and Credit Notes/Debit Notes-Registered (CDNR) of B2B supplies. Notably, as quarterly taxpayers you do not need to fill in IFF details while filing GSTR-1 returns again. However, the data that you fill in the uploaded invoices will reflect on GSTR-2A/2B of your buyer.

Criteria for IFF

Here are the eligibility criteria for IFF:

1. You need to be a quarterly taxable person (quarterly filer) under the QRMP scheme filing GSTR-1 wherein you consider quarterly return filing and paying taxes monthly.
2. Your aggregate turnover in the preceding year should not exceed ₹5 Crore.
3. As a taxpayer, you can be eligible to use IFF using the tables mentioned below:

●  4A, 4B, 4C, 6B, 6C - to add details of B2B invoices

● 9A - to include details of amended B2B invoices (B2BA)

● 9B - to include information pertaining to Credit/Debit Notes Registered

● 9C - To include amended Credit/Debit Note Registered (CDNRA) details

4. The total value of all your invoices should not be more than ₹50 lakhs.

Notably, if you do not upload invoices, you need to furnish invoice information at the end of a quarter in Form GSTR-1 for all three months. Moreover, it does not include B2C invoices.

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Why Is Invoice Furnishing Facility Important?

IFF facility is important for the following reasons:

● Buyers can claim and optimise ITC (input tax credit) every month without waiting for quarter end. As a result, an increased number of buyers are likely to approach your business to claim credits.

● If you have multiple B2B invoices (Business to Business Invoices), you can reduce your tax burden, compliance burden, compliance cost and the need to upload a large volume of invoices at the end of a quarter. Thus, it ensures seamless monthly reconciliation.

What to Submit in the IFF Scheme Under GST?

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You need to submit the following details in the IFF scheme under GST:

● Details of B2B transactions or B2B sales details (B2B invoice details)

●  Details of credit notes and debit notes of B2B invoices that you issue during the first two months of a quarter

In addition, you need to fill in tables 4A, 4B, 4C, 6B, 6C, 9A, 9B and 9C on the invoice details page on the GST portal.

When to Submit the IFF GST Return? 

The GST portal allows you to file invoices for a month till the 13th of the following month. For instance, for July, you can upload invoices till the 13th of August. If you have invoices left to upload, you can use the IFF facility to upload the concerned invoices in the next month or GSTR-1 quarterly return.

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How to Submit and File IFF in the GST Portal?

You can follow the step-by-step process mentioned below to submit IFF on the GST portal:

Step 1: Log in to the unified portal of GST, using valid credentials.

Step 2: Navigate to the ‘Services’ option, then ‘Returns’ and then ‘ Returns Dashboard’.

Step 3: On the 'File Returns' page, select the financial year and return filing period and click on 'Search'.

Step 4: Select the ‘IFF’ option on the GSTR-1/IFF page.

Step 5: Choose ‘Prepare Online’ or ‘Prepare Offline’ (if you want to file returns offline) based on your convenience and upload JSON files to provide the necessary details.

Step 6: Click on ‘Generate IFF Summary’ and then on the Submit button. Notably, you cannot delete information after submission using an online or offline tool.

Step 7: In case you want to file form GSTR-1, select 'File Return', fill in the details and choose either DSC (Digital Signature Certificate) or EVC (Electronic Verification Code) to complete the process.

Due Date of IFF and GSTR-1

The time limit for submitting IFF and GSTR-1 is as follows:

Conclusion

Invoice Furnishing Facility in GST allows small taxpayers (quarterly GSTR-1 filers) to reduce their quarterly tax burden. As a taxpayer, you need to submit IFF for the first two months of a quarter and file quarterly form GSTR-1 for the relevant month of the quarter (tax period). This boosts transparency in the Indian finance ecosystem.

The due date for submitting IFF is the 13th of the following month. If you miss uploading certain invoices within the due date, you need to furnish invoices for the respective month in GSTR-1 at the end of the quarter. This ensures a connected finance ecosystem.

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