E-way bill under GST came into effect from 1st April 2018 for inter-state transactions and became effective for all intra-state transactions from June 2018.

Let us have a quick look at some key aspects related to E-way Bill under GST

1. What is an E-way bill under GST?

E-way bill is a document required to be carried by a person in charge of the conveyance carrying any consignment of goods as mandated by the Government in terms of Rule 138, Section 68 of the Goods and Services Tax Act. An E-way bill under GST needs to be generated before the commencement of movement of goods or consignment.

2. When should an E-way Bill be generated?

An E-way Bill under GST needs to be generated when there is a movement of goods of consignment value more than fifty thousand rupees

• in relation to a supply or
• other than supply or
• due to inward supply from an unregistered person

Also, E-way Bill is  generated even if the value is less than fifty thousand rupees in case of

• Interstate movement of goods by the principal to job worker and from job worker to the principal
• Interstate transport of handicraft goods by a dealer exempted from GST registration

3. What are the components of an E-Way Bill under GST?

An E-Way Bill Form – GST EWB-01 has two components:

Part A: Part A of an E-Way Bill carries important information about the consignor and consignee like:

1. Details of GSTIN of the recipient
2. Place of delivery (PIN Code)
3. Invoice or challan number
4. Invoice /Challan date
5. Value of goods
6. HSN code
7. Transport document number (Goods Receipt Number or Railway Receipt Number or Airway Bill Number or Bill of Lading Number)
8. Reasons for transportation

Part B: Part B of an E-Way Bill carries details about the vehicle comprising of transporter details (Vehicle number).

4. Who can generate an E-way bill?

E-way bill is generated by the registered taxpayer (having a valid GSTIN) or the transporter (registered or unregistered).

1. The consignor or consignee, as a registered taxpayer with GSTN generate the E-Way bill in cases where the transportation is being done in own/hired conveyance or by railways by air or by Vessel.
2. The transporter of the goods generates the E-way bill in case where goods are transported in transporter’s vehicle on road. Where neither the consignor nor consignee generates the e-way bill and the value of goods is more than Rs.50,000/- it shall be the responsibility of the transporter to generate it. The unregistered transporter will need to enrol on the common portal and generate a Common Enrolment Number (Transporter ID before generating the E-way bill for movement of goods. There is also a provision for common citizen to enrol and generate the e-way bill for movement of goods for his/her own use.

When any E-way Bill is generated, a unique E-way Bill Number (EBN) is allocated and is available to the supplier, and recipient. The EBN is also allocated to the transporter of the goods. He/she plays an intermediary yet the crucial role in an EWB cycle, delivering the given shipment safely to the customer. In order to deliver the goods in a hassle-free manner, a registered/ unregistered transporter has some key responsibilities.

5. What is the validity period for E-way bill under GST ?

The validity of the E-way bill depends upon the distance the goods have to be transported and the vehicle used for transportation.

Initially, in the case of regular vehicle or transportation modes, for every 100 KMs or part of its movement, one-day validity was provided. And in case of Over Dimensional Cargo vehicles, for every 20 KMs or part of its movement, one-day validity was provided.

Validity of the e-way bill starts when the first entry is made in Update part B i.e. Vehicle Number /Transport Document Number & date in case of Road, Rail, Air or Ship. And this validity expires on the midnight of last day.

6. Can the validity of E-way bill be extended?

Yes, the validity of the GST E-way bill can be extended, if the consignment does not reach the destination within the validity period due to reasons like natural calamities, law and order issues, trans-shipment delay, accident of conveyance, etc.

Validity of e-way bill can be extended by the current transporter and if the transporter is not assigned then by the generator of the e-way bill

Validity of e-way bill can be extended between 8 hours before expiry time or 8 hours after the expiry time (earlier it was before 4 hours and after 4 hours of expiry of the validity).

The reason for extension needs to be given while extending the validity period along with from place (current place), approximate distance to travel and Part-B details.

The extended validity will be based on the remaining distance to travel.

7. Can an E-way bill be modified or cancelled?

The E-way bill once generated cannot be edited or modified. Only Part-B (which consists of vehicle details) can be updated. However, if E-way bill is generated with wrong information, it can be cancelled and generated afresh. The cancellation is required to be done within 24 hours from the time of generation.

8. Can multiple invoices be clubbed to create a single E-way bill?

No, in case multiple invoices are issued by the supplier to the recipient, multiple E-way bills to be generated. Thus, for each invoice, a single E-way bill has to be generated, irrespective of the fact whether same or different consignors or consignees are involved. However, after generating all these E-way bills, one Consolidated E-way bill can be prepared for transportation purpose, if goods are going in one vehicle.