IRP Update: Case-Insensitive IRN Generation Effective June 1, 2025

The Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) plays a crucial role in India’s GST e-invoicing system by validating invoices and assigning them a unique Invoice Reference Number (IRN) code used to track every legitimate e-invoice. Recently, the government issued an advisory on 4^th April 2025 regarding case-insensitive IRN generation effective from 01^st June 2025.

Let’s understand this further in detail!

What is IRP?

The Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) is a government-authorized platform that validates GST invoices and assigns a unique Invoice Reference Number (IRN) to each invoice/credit note/debit note. It ensures the invoice’s authenticity within the GST system, making it a crucial component of India’s e-invoicing framework.

What is IRN?

IRN, or Invoice Reference Number, is a unique 64-character number allotted by the government to tag and identify every valid e-invoice generated under GST in India.

At the time of request for an e-Invoice on GST portal, IRN field is left empty by the supplier. Later on, a unique number will be generated by GSTN after uploading of the e-invoice on the GSTN portal. An acknowledgment will be sent back to the supplier after the successful acceptance of the e-invoice by the portal. IRN should then be displayed on e-invoice before use.

Advisory dated on Apr 4th, 2025

Advisory on Case Insensitivity in IRN Generation

Apr 4th, 2025

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Dear Taxpayer,

1.    This is to inform you that, effective 1st June 2025, the IRP (Invoice Reporting Portal) would treat invoice/document numbers as case-insensitive for the purpose of IRN generation.

2.    To ensure consistency and avoid duplication, invoice numbers reported in any format (e.g., "abc", "ABC", or "Abc") would be automatically converted to uppercase before IRN generation. This change aligns with the treatment of invoice numbers in GSTR-1, which already treats them as case-insensitive.

3.    The same is shared for your kind information please. For any further clarification, please reach out to the GST helpdesk.

Warm regards,

GSTN Team

Key highlights of the advisory

• W.e.f. 01^st June, 2025,  the IRP (Invoice Reporting Portal) would treat invoice/document numbers as case-insensitive for the purpose of IRN generation.
• To maintain consistency and prevent duplication, all invoice numbers—regardless of their original format (e.g., "abc", "ABC", or "Abc") are automatically converted to uppercase before IRN generation. 

Conclusion

The recent update from GSTN, effective 1st June 2025, marks a step forward in standardizing invoice processing. By treating invoice numbers as case-insensitive and converting them to uppercase, the IRP aligns with the GSTR-1 format, helping businesses avoid duplication and improve compliance efficiency.

Businesses must stay updated and ensure their invoicing systems are compliant with these new requirements to avoid any disruptions in IRN generation.

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