BEIJING -- China's e-commerce giant 360buy Jingdong Mall has started using electronic invoicing for individual buyers as e-commerce in the country rapidly grows.

The major online retailer said Thursday that electronic invoicing, a pilot project, is available to customers buying books and video products in Beijing. Customers are free to choose paper invoices or electronic ones.

The move is aimed at promoting electronic invoicing and improving the development of e-commerce, said Sun Yao, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Commerce.

Online retail sales reached 1.32 trillion yuan ($213.6 billion) in 2012, a jump of 64.7 percent from the previous year, according to the Internet Society of China.

China is encouraging and supporting electronic invoicing in certain areas and industries, said an official of the State Administration of Taxation in early April.