E-way Bill generation is a mandatory requirement under GST when goods of Rs. 50,000 or more are being transported from one location to another for inter-state as well as intra-state transactions barring a few exceptions. It is an effective tool to track the movement of goods and check tax evasion. And there are penalties for non-generation of E-way Bill as per the rule. A lot has changed with E-invoicing-E-way bill pairing; there is simultaneous generation, blocking of EWB on tax non-compliance, Fastag integration to name a few.

In this article, we will discuss 10 important and lesser-known facts about the E-way Bill…

1) After generating Part A of the e-way bill, Part B should be updated within the next 15 days

There is a time limit for updating the first time Part B of the e-way bill. If after 15 days, Part B is updated for a Part A e-way bill then the system does not allow it as the status of the e-way bill changes to “DISCARDED”. In this case, the user has to again generate Part A of the e-way bill with the help of the same document number and then only Part B details can be updated.

2) Where Pincode between a source and destination is the same then distance should be passed and the maximum distance allowed is 100 KM

The actual distance has to be passed when the source and destination pin codes are the same and the allowed range is 1 to 100 KM. This is applicable for both e-invoice and e-way bills.

3) Consolidated E-way Bill does not have any independent validity period

When multiple consignments are transported in a single conveyance, a consolidated e-way bill needs to be generated. For each individual consignment, an e-way bill needs to be generated so that the transporter can carry a single document instead of multiple documents in a single conveyance. So, each individual e-way bill has its own validity period and has to reach the final destination as per its validity period.

4) If goods are rejected by the recipient, for e-way bill generation delivery challan needs to be issued

This is a case of Sales return. Goods are sent back by the recipient to the supplier; so in this case, the transporter needs to generate e-way bill with the help of the recipient or supplier through ‘delivery challan’ issued by either of the parties.

Read: How you can generate an E-way Bill if the goods are rejected by the recipient.

5) E-way Bill extension responsibility

Extension of the e-way bill can only be done by the current transporter of the e-way bill. If the transporter is not assigned then e-way bill extension can only be done by the supplier. E-way bills can be extended either before or after 8 hours of expiry. So, on the date of expiry, one can start extending the validity of the e-way bill from 4 pm till 8 am in the morning.

Read: 5 Key Responsibilities a Transporter should adhere to!

6) E-way Bill cannot be generated from e-way bill system with the help of IRN number

In the case of B2B transactions, IRN is generated from the e-invoice portal by a consignor (supplier) and for the movement of goods, the e-way bill has to be generated. In this case, with the help of IRN, an e-way bill can be generated only from the e-invoice portal by the supplier and not from the e-way bill system. One can generate an e-way bill from the e-way bill system separately but that will be without IRN details.

Read more: E-invoicing and E-way Bill: Generating E-way Bill using IRP

7) Blocking of e-way bill generation is applicable only to the Supplier GSTIN

Blocking of e-way bills is done on the NIC portal if taxpayers do not file their GST returns continuously for two tax periods. The GSTIN of such blocked taxpayers cannot be used for generating e-way bills as a consignor. Earlier it was also applicable to the consignee but with reference to Notification 15/2021-CT dated 18.05.2021, blocking of e-way bill generation is applicable only to the Supplier GSTIN.

Unblocking of e-way bill generation can be done if the taxpayer files GSTR3B or CMP-08 return for the required tax period.

Also Suspended Supplier GSTIN cannot generate e-way bills but as a recipient or transporter, they can get the e-way bill generated.

Read More: Blocking and Unblocking of E-way bill

8) Limitation of line items for E-way and E-invoice 

The maximum number of items in each invoice should not exceed more than 250 items. In an e-way bill and for e-invoice, the maximum number of items should not exceed more than 1000 this as per the validations check present in the NIC system. Also, if an e-way bill is generated through e-invoice, the detailed print of the e-way bill will have IRN, but it will not have the Item details.

9) Supplies covered and not covered under e-invoicing currently

E-invoicing is currently applicable to:

• Supplies to registered person (B2B)
• Credit and Debit note transactions pertaining to B2B Transactions
• Exports (with or without payment)
• Deemed Exports

E-invoicing is currently not applicable to

• B2C
• Delivery Challan

10) Bill to Ship to Transactions and generation of e-way bill and e-invoice

There can be cases where the supplier does not have goods at his warehouse so he orders the goods from some third party and asks the third party to deliver the goods to the customer. So, there will be 2 different invoices created. Now, as per rules, an E-way Bill Number is to be generated whenever there is any movement of goods. In the Bill-to and Ship-to scenario, though there are two invoices, the physical movement of goods is happening only once. Thus E-way bill needs to be created only once and ideally, the Bill to Party should generate the e-way bill since in the e-way bill the value of goods should match with the value of goods reported in the invoice.

Supplier A is in Maharashtra who sells some goods worth Rs.1, 00,000/- attracting 5% GST and bills to customer B in Maharashtra. On instructions from customer B, the goods are to be supplied to C in Karnataka. Now as per GST rules, there will be two invoices –

Invoice no A001 (for example) from Supplier A to Recipient B. As both A and B are in the same state, this will be an intra-state transaction and CGST and SGST will be charged and IRN needs to be generated for this transaction..

Invoice no B001 (for example) from B (who will be the supplier) to Recipient C (who is in a different state). In this case, IGST will be applied. It should be noted that here the value of goods will be based on what price B has charged to C for this transaction which could be different from what A charged to B and IRN need to be generated for this transaction.

Now, as per rules, an E-way Bill Number is to be generated whenever there is any movement of goods subject to certain conditions. In Bill-to and Ship-to scenario, though there are two invoices, the physical movement of goods is happening only once. Thus E-way bill needs to be created only once and ideally, the Bill to Party should generate the e-way bill since in the e-way bill the value of goods should match with the value of goods reported by B to C in the invoice.

Using the same example let us understand the details to be provided by generating E-way Bill number:

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It is designed to cater to the needs of suppliers, consignors and transporters alike, by enabling the creation of a business hierarchy and role/Eway bill assignment to mimic your sales and dispatch processes.

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