Central TaxMedium impact for ecommerce sellers
E-invoicing extended to reverse charge supplies from unregistered persons and import of services
Official text · Summary prepared automatically
- Document
- Notification No. 04/2026-Central Tax
- Issued
- 26 Oct 2026
- Effective
- 1 Jan 2027
- Issued by
- Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance
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What it means for ecommerce sellers
Notification No. 04/2026-Central Tax amends Notification No. 13/2020-Central Tax, issued under rule 48(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017. Two categories are added to supplies to registered persons and exports: supplies received from an unregistered person where tax is payable on reverse charge basis by the recipient, and import of services. The change comes into force on 1 January 2027. A seller that buys from unregistered persons under reverse charge or imports services would be affected, though the text does not restate who must prepare e-invoices or any turnover condition.
Who it affects
- Recipients of supplies of goods or services or both from an unregistered person where tax is payable on reverse charge basis by the recipient
- Persons making import of services
- Persons making supplies of goods or services or both to registered persons or for exports, whose categories are retained
Before and after
Categories of supply listed in the first paragraph of Notification No. 13/2020-Central Tax
- Before
- Supply of goods or services or both to a registered person or for exports
- After
- Supply of goods or services or both to a registered person; supply for exports; supply received from an unregistered person where tax is payable on reverse charge basis by the recipient; and import of services (from 1 January 2027)
What to do
- Identify supplies received from unregistered persons where tax is payable on reverse charge basis by the recipient, as these become a listed category from 1 January 2027
- Identify any import of services, as it becomes a listed category from 1 January 2027
- Check applicability against the conditions in Notification No. 13/2020-Central Tax, which this notification amends but does not reproduce
Provisions referred to: Rule 48(4), Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017; Notification No. 13/2020-Central Tax, dated 21 March 2020
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Official text
As issued by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance. Where the text starts with “Extract”, only the parts that concern ecommerce sellers are reproduced; the official PDF (opens in a new tab) is the authoritative version.
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Questions sellers ask
What does Notification No. 04/2026-Central Tax change for e-invoicing?
Notification No. 04/2026-Central Tax amends the first paragraph of Notification No. 13/2020-Central Tax, issued under rule 48(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017. The categories now listed are supplies to a registered person, supplies for exports, supplies received from an unregistered person where tax is payable on reverse charge basis by the recipient, and import of services. The amendment comes into force on 1 January 2027.
From when does e-invoicing apply to import of services?
Under Notification No. 04/2026-Central Tax, import of services is added as a category in the first paragraph of Notification No. 13/2020-Central Tax, which relates to invoices under rule 48(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017. The notification states that it comes into force on the first day of January, 2027. Its text does not itself set out who must prepare these invoices or any turnover condition.
Do purchases from unregistered suppliers under reverse charge need an e-invoice?
Notification No. 04/2026-Central Tax adds to Notification No. 13/2020-Central Tax the category of supply of goods or services or both received from an unregistered person where tax is payable on reverse charge basis by the recipient, with effect from 1 January 2027. The notification text does not specify the turnover condition or who prepares the invoice; those points sit in the principal notification, which the text does not reproduce.
Are exports and supplies to registered persons still covered by e-invoicing?
Yes. Notification No. 04/2026-Central Tax substitutes the earlier words covering supply to a registered person or for exports with a list that keeps both: supply of goods or services or both to a registered person, and supply of goods or services or both for exports. Two new categories are added alongside them, reverse charge supplies received from unregistered persons and import of services, from 1 January 2027.
Want help working out what this means for your business?
We handle GST and TDS compliance, returns and notice replies for D2C and marketplace sellers, and can walk you through how a change applies to your books.
General information only, not professional advice. The summary is ecomca’s reading of the document; the official PDF is the authoritative version, and later amendments may change it. Check the official source before you act.