Electronic Way Bill (E-Way Bill) is a document required to be carried by a person in charge of the conveyance carrying any consignment of goods of value exceeding fifty thousand rupees in terms of section 68 of Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act read with rule 138 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Rules, 2017 framed there under.
E-way bill is introduced to track movement of goods and ensure payment of taxes in relation thereto, wherever applicable.
Vide Notification No. 15/2018 – Central Tax dated 23rd March, 2018, e-way bill for inter-state movement of goods has been made mandatory w.e.f. 1st April, 2018. Further, as recommended in the 26th GST Council Meeting (held on 10th March 2018), e-way bill system for intra-state movement of goods, will be introduced w.e.f. a date to be announced in a phased manner but not later than 01st June, 2018. As on date, please note that E-way bill for Intra-state movement of goods has been made effective in 17 States.
Basis the revised E-way bill rules (notified vide Notification No.12/2018 – Central Tax dated 7th March 2018), recommendations made in 26th GST Council meeting and Press Releases issued by the Government w.r.t. GST e-way bill, we have prepared a brief questionnaire for your ready reference purposes:
Q.1 What is the incidence for generation of e-way bill?
A.1 E-way bill is required to be generated where movement of goods is
In brief, e-way bill is required to be generated for all movement of goods (of consignment value exceeding INR 50,000/-). However, there are certain exceptions to this rule, as prescribed under Rule 138(14) [discussed later in detail].
Q.2 Who can generate e-way bill?
A.2 E-way bill is required to be generated by the person who causes movement of goods. Accordingly, the following persons may generate e-way bill:
Further, an unregistered person or unregistered transporter can also enroll himself on the common portal and generate e-way bill for movement of goods.
Accordingly, please find below the table reflecting the person who would be required to generate e-way bill under difference scenarios:
| Scenario |
Consignor/Supplier |
Consignee/Receipent | Person required to generate e-waybill |
|
i) |
Registered | Registered | Person who causes movement of goods |
|
ii) |
Unregistered | Registered | Registered Recipient |
|
iii) |
Registered | Unregistered |
Registered Supplier However, unregistered recipient, enrolled on the website, may also generate e-way bill in this case |
|
iv) |
Unregistered | Unregistered | Enrolled Transporter or unregistered supplier or unregistered recipient |
Q.3 Which website is used for generation of e-way bill?
A.3 The website for generation of e-way bill is https://ewaybillgst.gov.in
Q.4 Whether e-way bill is required for intra-state movement of goods?
A.4 As on date (May 3, 2018), GST e-way bill for intra-state movement of goods has been made effective in 17 States from different appointed dates as under:
Q.5 What is the meaning of the term 'consignment value' to determine the threshold of INR 50,000/-?
A.5 The term "consignment value"is the value as mentioned on the invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan, as the case may be,including the applicable tax thereon and shall exclude the value of exempt supply of goods where the invoice is issued in respect of both exempt and taxable supply of goods.
Basis above definition, one may note that the consignment value would be determined on invoice level basis. In case of multiple invoices, each invoice would be treated as a separate consignment for e-way bill purposes.
Q.6 Whether e-waybill can be generated even if 'consignment value' is less than the threshold limit of INR 50,000/-?
A.6 E-way bill may be generated voluntarily, even if the value of the consignment is less than fifty thousand rupees.
Q.7 What is the format of E-Way Bill?
A.7 E-Way Bill is required to be generated in Form GST EWB-01 which comprises of two parts as under –
A.1 GSTIN of Supplier (if not registered, then the letters “URP” are to be filled)
A.2 Place of Dispatch (Pin code)
A.3 GSTIN of Recipient (if not registered, then the letters “URP” are to be filled)
A.4 Place of Delivery (Pin code)
A.5 Document Number (like Tax Invoice, Bill of Supply, Delivery Challan or Bill of Entry)
A.6 Document Date
A.7 Value of Goods
A.8 HSN Code
A.9 Reason for Transportation (like supply, export or import, job work, sales returns, for own use, others, etc. has to be chosen from the 10 options available on the Portal).
B.1 Vehicle Number for Road Transportation
B.2 Transport Document Number (like Goods Receipt Number or Railway Receipt Number or Forwarding Note number or Parcel way bill number issued by railways or Airway Bill Number or Bill of Lading Number)
Please note that a unique number (i.e. e-way bill number) would be generated after furnishing information in Part-A of the e-way bill. However,the e-way bill shall not be valid for movement of goods by road unless the information in Part-B of FORM GST EWB-01 has been furnished.
Further, furnishing of information in Part-B is not mandatory in case of movement of goods from the place of consignor to the place of transporter for further transportation or from the place of transporter to consignee’s place of delivery, if such movement is within the State or Union territory and the distance is upto 50 km.
Q.8 Whether e-way bill is required for transportation of goods from the place of Consignor (like factory or warehouse) to the place of Transporter or from the place of Transporter to the place of Consignee?
A.8 If the distance between the place of business of Consignor and place of Transporter is upto 50 km within the same State/ Union Territory, then in such cases information in Part A of e-way bill is required to be furnished for movement of goods from Consignor’s place of business to Transporter’s place. Part-B (i.e. Conveyance details) ofE-way bill may be furnished later by the Transporter, when movement of goods actually starts from the place of Transporter.
Similarly, if distance between the place of Transporter and the place of business of Consignee is upto 50 km within the same State/ Union Territory, then Part-B of e-way bill is not required to be updatedand the original e-way bill (generated at the time commencement of movement of goods) would be valid for movement of goods from the Transporter’s place to Consignee’s place for delivery of such goods.
In all cases other than above, Part-B of e-way bill is mandatory required to be furnished/ updated for every movement of goods.
Q.9 Whether e-way bill is required for transportation of goods only by road?
A.9 E-way bill is required to be generated for transportation of goods by all modes of transportation i.e., road, air, vessel and railways.
Further e-way bill is also required to be generated for transportation of goods whether by own conveyance, public conveyance or hired one. The responsibility of generating e-way bill in case of movement of goods by public transport would be of the consignor or consignee who causes movement of goods.
Q.10 Whether it is mandatory to generate e-way bill before commencement of movement of goods?
A.10 Yes. E-way bill is required to be generated before commencement of movement of goods. However, in case of transportation of goods by air, vessel or railways, Part-B (conveyance details) of e-waybill may be furnishedbeforeorafter the commencement of movement of goods.
Further, it has been prescribed that that the railways would not deliver the goods unless the e-way bill is produced at the time of delivery of goods
Q.11 Who is liable for generation of e-way bill in case of transportation of goods through an e-commerce operator or a courier agency?
A.11 In case of transportation of goods through an e-commerce operator or courier agency, on anauthorization received from the consignor, e-way bill may be generated by such e-commerce operator or courier agency. In such cases, the information in Part A of the e-way bill may be furnished by such e-commerce operator or courier agency (on an authorization received from the consignor) and unique e-way bill number would be generated on the portal.
Q.12 How e-waybill would be generated in case of movement of goods on job-work basis?
A.12In case of movement of goods on account of job- work, either the principal or the registered job worker can generate e-way bill. Further, where the movement of such goods is from one State/Union Territory (UT) to another State/ UT, then e-way bill is mandatorily required to be generated irrespective of the value of the consignment.
Q.13 How movement of goods on ‘bill-to-ship-to’basiswould be handled?
A.13 In case of "bill to and ship to" transaction,there are 3 parties involved as follows:
In this complete scenario two supplies are involved and accordingly two taxinvoices are required to be issued as under:
It has been clarified by the Government that only one e-Way Bill is required to begenerated in case of "bill to and ship to" transactions. Following alternatives are available for generating e-way bill in such cases:
Case-1:Where e-Way Bill is generated by ‘B’, the following fields shall befilled in Part A of GST FORM EWB-01
| 1. | Bill From: | In this field details of ‘B’ are supposed to be filled |
| 2. |
Dispatch From: |
This is the place fromwhere goods are actually dispatched.It may be the principal or additional place of business of‘B’ |
| 3. | Bill To: | In this field details of ‘A’ are supposed to be filled. |
| 4. | Ship to: | In this field address of ‘C’ is supposed to be filled. |
| 5. |
Invoice Details: |
Details of Invoice-1 are supposed to be filled |
Case-2:Where e-Way Bill is generated by ‘A’, the following fields shall be filled in Part A of GST FORM EWB-01
| 1. | Bill From: | In this field details of ‘A’ are supposed to be filled |
| 2. |
Dispatch From: |
This is the place from where goods are actually dispatched. It may be the principal or additional place of business of ‘B’ |
| 3. | Bill To: | In this field details of ‘C’ are supposed to be filled. |
| 4. | Ship to: | In this field address of ‘C’ is supposed to be filled. |
| 5. |
Invoice Details: |
Details of Invoice-2 are supposed to be filled |
Q.14 What would be the consequences if, during movement, goods are transferred from one conveyance to another?
A.14 In case of transfer of goods from one conveyance to another during movement, the consigner or the recipient who has provided information in Part A of the FORM GST EWB-01 or the transporter shall, before such transfer and further movement of goods, update the details of conveyance in the e-waybill on the common portal in Part B of FORM GST EWB-01.
Q.15 Whether Transporters are mandatorily required to enroll (registered) himself on GST e-waybill website?
A.15 Yes. The Transporter should either have a valid GSTIN or he should enroll himself on GST e-waybill since as per Rule 138(6), where multiple consignments are to be transported in one conveyance, then the transporter would be required to indicate the serial number of e-way bills generated in respect of each such consignment electronically on the common portal and a consolidated e-way bill in FORM GST EWB-02 shall have to be generated prior to the movement of goods.In the absence of a valid GSTIN or registration on GST e-way bill website, transporter would not able to generate consolidated e-way bill in FORM GST EWB-02.
Q.16 Whether e-waybill is required to be generated if the aggregate value of the multiple consignment of goods carried in the conveyance is more than INR 50,000/-, however value of each individual consignmentis less than INR 50,000/-
A.16 As per Rule 138(7) of CGST Rules, 2017, in case of interstate movement of goods, where the consignor or consignee has not generated e-way bill (considering that the value of each individual consignmentis less than INR 50,000/-) and the aggregate value of multiple consignment of goods carried in the conveyance is more than INR 50,000/-, then the transporter shall generate the e-way bill in FORM GST EWB-01 on the basis of invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan, as the case may be, and may also generate a consolidated e-way bill in FORM GST EWB-02 prior to the movement of goods.
However, provisions of sub-rule (7) has not been notified yet. Accordingly, no e-waybill would be required to be generated by the transporter where individual value of consignments is less than INR 50,000/-.
Q.17 What is the validity period of an e-way bill?
A.17 The validity period for an e-way bill is as follow:
| S. No | Distance | Validity Period |
| 1. | Up to 100 km | One day in cases other than Over Dimensional Cargo |
| 2. | For every 100 km or part thereof thereafter | One additional day in cases other than Over Dimensional Cargo |
| 3. | Up to 20 km | One day in case of Over Dimensional Cargo |
| 4. | For every 20 km or part thereof thereafter | One additional day in case of Over Dimensional Cargo |
One day shall be counted as the period expiring at midnight of the day immediately following the date of generation e-way bill.
For instance, if e-waybill is generated at 10.00 hrs on 1st April 2018, then the limit of one day would expire on midnight of 2nd April 2018 (i.e. midnight of the day immediately following the date of generation e-way bill).
Further, the unique number generated after furnishing of information in Part-A of the e-waybill shall be valid for a period of fifteen days for updation of Part B of FORM GST EWB-01.
Q.18 Whether the validity period of e-way bill can be extended?
A.18If the goods cannot be transported within the validity period of the e-way bill due to certain exceptional circumstances including cases of trans-shipment, then it has been provided under law that the transporter may extend the validity period after updating the details in Part-B of e-way bill.
Q.19 What is the time limit for the supplier or recipient to communicate his acceptance or rejection of the e-waybill?
A.19 Time period for the supplier or recipient to communicate his acceptance or rejection of the e-waybillis 72 hours from the date of generation of e-way bill ortime of delivery of goods, whichever is earlier. In case, acceptance or rejection is not communicated within 72 hours, it would be deemed as accepted.
Q.20 Whether an e-way bill can be cancelled?
A.20 Where an e-way bill has been generated, but goods are either not transported or are not transported as per the details furnished in e-way bill, then e-way bill may be cancelled within 24 hours of generation of the e-way bill.
Q.21 Whether the date of e-way bill and date of Tax Invoice should be same?
A.21 E-Way bill date is the date on which the e-way bill is generated. It can be different from theTax Invoice date.
Q.22 Is there any exemption from requirement of generation of e-way bill under the GST law?
A.22 E-waybill is not required in the following cases:-
Q.28 How would e-way bill system work in case of movement of goods involving multiple modes of transport (For instance in case of movement of goods through railways wherein goods are first required to be brought to railway station by road and then transported by railways. Lastly such goods are transported to consignee’s place from railways via road)?
A.28 As per e-way bill provisions, facility to update vehicle no. in the e-way bill is envisaged under the law. Accordingly, Part-B of e-way bill would be required to be updated whenever there is change in conveyance during the course of transportation of goods. In other words, e-way bill would be generated initially by giving the details of vehicle carrying the goods by road. Once the goods are unloaded from road and loaded in the train, then Part-B of e-way bill needs to be updated. Upon final movement of goods from railways to consignee’s place, Part-B of e-way bill would again be required to be updated with the truck details carrying the goods for final delivery.
(i) under customs bond from an inland container depot or a container freight station to a customs port, airport, air cargo complex and land customs station, or from one customs station or customs port to another customs station or customs port, or
(ii) under customs supervision or under customs seal;
Where the goods being transported are transit cargo from or to Nepal or Bhutan;
Q.23 Whether e-way bill is required to be generated when goods are supplied by a service provider to its customer for providing services of right to use of such goods?
A.23 Yes, the service provider would be required to issue delivery challan and shall also generate e-way bill for inter-state movement of goods from service provider’s place of business to the customer’s place of business.
Q.24 Whether e-way bill is required to be generated in case of movement of samples or goods sent on approval, warranty products etc.
A.24 As per clause (ii) of Rule138(1),e-way bill is required for movement of goods, where transportation isfor reasons other than supply. Accordingly, e-way bill would be required to be generated for inter-state movement of samples, goods sent on approval, warranty products etc., if consignment value of such goods is more than INR 50,000/-.
Q.25 Whether e-way bill is required to be generated in case of barter transactions involving movement of goods?
A.25 Under GST law, even barter transactions qualify as ‘supply’. Accordingly, e-waybill would be required to be generated in case of barter transactions involving movement of goods if consignment value of such goods exceeds INR 50,000/-.
Q.26 How would e-way bill be generated in case goods are transported in multiple vehicles in semi-knocked down or completely knocked down condition (like in case of plant & machinery)?
A.26 There may be a case where goods like plant & machinery are transported in multiple vehicles (i.e. multiple consignments) in a semi-knocked down or completely knocked down condition and a single Tax invoice is raised towards supply of such goods.In such case, the supplier shall issue complete invoice before dispatch of the first consignment. Then a separate delivery challan would be issued for each consignment, giving reference of the Tax Invoice and separate e-way bill would be generated for each consignment basis the delivery challan details.
Each consignment shall be accompanied by copies of the corresponding delivery challan along with a duly certified copy of the invoice and the original copy of the invoice shall be sent along with the last consignment. Further, in the absence of any clarification regarding the value to be reflected on each Delivery Challan / E-waybill, it is advisable that the consignment value should be bifurcated, on some reasonable basis, for the purpose of disclosing the same on each Delivery Challan and E-waybill.
Q.27 How would e-way bill be generated in case of import of goods?
A.27 In case of import of goods there can be following two situations:
Q.28 How would e-way bill system work in case of movement of goods involving multiple modes of transport (For instance in case of movement of goods through railways wherein goods are first required to be brought to railway station by road and then transported by railways. Lastly such goods are transported to consignee’s place from railways via road)?
A.28 As per e-way bill provisions, facility to update vehicle no. in the e-way bill is envisaged under the law. Accordingly, Part-B of e-way bill would be required to be updated whenever there is change in conveyance during the course of transportation of goods. In other words, e-way bill would be generated initially by giving the details of vehicle carrying the goods by road. Once the goods are unloaded from road and loaded in the train, then Part-B of e-way bill needs to be updated. Upon final movement of goods from railways to consignee’s place, Part-B of e-way bill would again be required to be updated with the truck details carrying the goods for final delivery.
