Know all about E- Way bill under GST Law

What is an E-Way bill?

E-Way bill is basically short for Electronic Way Bill. It is a document which is generated electronically for movement of goods from one place to another. This movement may be inter-state or intra-state. E-Way bill is mandatory to be issued where the consignment value exceeds Rs 50,000.

What are the components of E-Way Bill?

An E-Way Bill has 2 components:-

1. Part A comprises of details of:-

i. GSTIN of recipient

ii. place of delivery (PIN Code)

iii. invoice or challan number and date

iv. value of goods

v. HSN code

vi. transport document number (Goods Receipt Number or Railway Receipt Number or Airway Bill Number or Bill of Lading Number)

vii. reasons for transportation

2. Part B comprises of transporter details (Vehicle number).

Who is required to issue an E-Way Bill?

As per Rule 138 of the CGST Rules, 2017, every registered person who causes movement of goods and whose consignment value exceeds Rs. 50,000 is required to furnish an E-Way bill.

Person generating the E-way bill	Condition for generating the E-way bill
Consignor or Consignee	transportation is being done in own/hired conveyance or by railways/air/vessel
Transporter	goods are handed over to a transporter for transportation by road
Transporter	neither the consignor nor the consignee generates the e-way bill and the value of goods exceeds Rs.50,000
Principal	goods are sent to the job worker and principal is located in one State & the job worker located in any other State
Person exporting handicraft goods	where handicraft goods are transported from one State to another by a person who has been exempted from the requirement of obtaining registration, irrespective of the value of the consignment

For what cases is E-Way Bill not required?

1. Transport of goods as specified in Annexure to Rule 138 of the CGST Rules, 2017
2. Goods being transported by a non-motorised vehicle
3. In respect of movement of goods within areas notified under rule 138(14) (d) of the SGST Rules, 2017 of the concerned State
4. Transportation of empty cargo containers
5. Consignment value less than Rs. 50,000 (except in cases of mandatory E-way bill provisions like the movement of Handicraft goods and movement of goods for Interstate Job work )
6. Goods transported to or on transit to/from Nepal or Bhutan
7. If Goods are being transported

i. From the port, airport, air cargo complex and land customs station to an inland container depot (ICD) or a container freight station (CFS) for clearance by Customs

ii. From ICD or CFS to a customs port, airport, air cargo etc under customs bond

iii. From one customs port/station to another one under customs bond

iv. Goods transported under the customs supervision or customs seal

8. Goods transported are to/from the Ministry of Defence

9. Consignor transporting goods to or from between place of business and a weighbridge for weighment at a distance of 20 kms, accompanied by a Delivery challan

10. Where Government or local authorities transport goods by rail as a consignor

How is E way bill generated?

Following points are to be kept in mind while generating an e-way bill.

1. Person required to generate E-way bill is to fill Part A of GST-EWB 01 on the GST common portal, before the movement of goods.
2. If the intra state transport distance does not exceed 50 kms, then filling of Part B is not required.
3. In other cases, Part B is to be updated within 72 hours either by the transporter, supplier, recipient as the case may be.
4. Upon generation of the e-way bill on the common portal, a unique e-way bill number (EBN) generated by the common portal, shall be made available to the supplier, the recipient and the transporter on the common portal.
5. The details of e-way bill generated shall be made available to the recipient, if registered, on the common portal, who shall communicate his acceptance or rejection of the consignment covered by the e-way bill.
6. In case, the recipient does not communicate his acceptance or rejection within 72 hours of the details being made available to him on the common portal, it shall be deemed that he has accepted the said details

What is Validity of a E-way Bill?

The validity of e-way bill depends on the distance to be travelled by the goods.

In general, the validity of the e-way bill cannot be extended. However, Commissioner may extend the validity period only by way of issue of notification for certain categories of goods which shall be specified later.

Type of Conveyance	Distance	Validity from relevant date
Other than Over dimensional cargo	1) < 100 km 2) every additional 100 Kms or part thereof	1)1 day 2)  Additional 1 day
Over dimensional cargo	1) < 20 km 2) every additional 20 Kms or part thereof	1) 1 day 2) Additional 1 day

Important points to be remembered:-

1. The “relevant date” shall mean the date on which the e-way bill has been generated.
2. Period of validity shall be counted from the time at which the e-way bill has been generated and each day shall be counted as twenty-four hours.
3. If circumstances are exceptional and the goods cannot be transported within the validity period of the e-way bill, the transporter may generate another e-way bill after updating the details in Part B of FORM GST EWB-01.

Can the E-Way Bill be edited or Modified?

The e-way bill once generated cannot be edited or modified. Only Part-B can be updated.

Can the E-way Bill be cancelled?

1. If an e-way bill has been generated under this rule, but goods are either not transported or are not transported as per the details furnished in the e-way bill, then the e-way bill may be cancelled electronically on the common portal.
2. Cancellation can be done either directly or through a Facilitation Centre notified by the Commissioner.
3. Cancellation to be done within 24 hours of generation of the e-way bill.
4. An e-way bill cannot be cancelled if it has been verified in transit in accordance with the provisions of rule 138B of the CGST Rules, 2017.

Is E-way Bill required to be issued if the transport does not amount to supply?

E-way bill is to be issued irrespective of whether the movement of goods is caused by reasons of supply or otherwise.

What is to be done when there are multiple consignments in a single vehicle?

1. Where multiple consignments of varying values (per consignment) are carried in a single vehicle, e-way bill needs to be mandatorily generated only for those consignments whose value exceeds Rs.50,000.
2. This does not however prohibit the consignor/consignee/transporter to generate e-way bills even for individual consignments whose value is less than Rs. 50,000 per consignment.
3. For multiple consignments being carried in the same vehicle, the transporter is to prepare a consolidated e-way bill by indicating serial number of each e-way bill, on the common portal  prior to commencement of transport of goods.

What is to be done when a single vehicle carries multiple consignments?

1. Sometimes, multiple vehicles are used for carrying the same consignment to its destination.
2. For such situations, transporter transferring goods from one conveyance to another in the course of transit shall, before such transfer and further movement of goods, update the details of the conveyance in the e-way bill on the common portal in FORM GST EWB-01.

What documents are required in cases when E-Way Bill is not required?

1. The person in charge of a conveyance has to carry the invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan, as the case may be; and a copy of the e-way bill or the e-way bill number embedded on to the conveyance in such manner as may be notified by the Commissioner.
2. However, the Commissioner may, by notification, require the person-in-charge of the conveyance to carry the following documents instead of the e-way bill:

i. Tax invoice or bill of supply or bill of entry

Or

ii. Delivery challan, where the goods are transported for reasons other than supply

What are the consequences of carrying not E-Way Bill?

1. A taxable person who transports any taxable goods without e-way bill shall be liable to a penalty of Rs.10,000 or tax sought to be evaded whichever is greater.
2. Where any person transports any goods or stores any goods while they are in transit in contravention of the provisions of this Act or the rules made there under, all such goods, the conveyance and documents relating to such goods and conveyance shall be liable to detention or seizure.

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