E-way Bill under GST: Important Aspects

Hello friends, greetings for the day in the current topic we will discuss about E-way bills under GST Regime and  we will try to incorporate every aspect of e-way bill at one place so that industry at large can take benefit from this.

What is “E-way bill” under GST

A way bill is a document issued by carrier giving details and instruction relating to type of goods and movement of goods and route with other instructions to be followed including point of origin and destination.

Electronic way bill is a compliance procedure or the mechanism where the person responsible for the causing the movement of goods uploads all the relevant information’s which are required prior to the movement of goods and he has to login to the GST –portal to generate e-way bill and upload the relevant information.

According to Rule 138 of CGST Rules every registered person who causes movement of goods of consignment value exceeding 50,000 in relation to supply or for reason other than supply or due to inward supply from an unregistered person shall before starting the movement of goods from the place of origin furnish the information relating to goods as specified in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01 electronically on GST portal.

Components of “E-Way bills” under GST

E-Way bills has 2 components part A and part B

Part-A of E-Way bill comprises of:-

• GSTIN of recipient
• Place of delivery
• Invoice number and value of goods
• Vehicle no etc

Part-B of E-Way bills comprises of all the details of “Transporter” who is carrying the goods. Part-A is to furnished by the person who is causing movement of goods of consignment of more than 50,000 and Part-B is to be furnished by the “Transporter”. If goods are transported by registered person then he has to generate e-way bill and fill the information in part-B

Responsibility of generation of E-Way bill?

• E-Way bill is to be generated by the consignor or consignee in case transportation is being done in own/hired conveyance.
• Transporter on authorization received from the registered person can also generate by using the common portal
• In case goods to be transported are supplied through E-commerce operator or a courier agency then on authorization received from the consignor the information may be furnished by the E-commerce operator or courier agency.
• Where goods are sent by a principal located at one state to a “Job-worker” located in another state the e-way bill will be generated by the principal irrespective of the value of consignment.
• Where the goods are transported by railways or by air or vessels the e-way bill has to be generated by the registered person either by supplier or recipient. The railways will not deliver the goods if unless the e-way bill is produced at the time of delivery.

There is an option available registered person or the transporter may at his option generate and carry e-way bill even if the value of consignment is less than 50,000.

If the goods are transported for a distance upto 50 Kilometers within the state or union territory from the place of business of the consignor to the recipient or to another transporter for further transportation then Part-B consisting the details of transporter is not required to be filled.

Transportation by more than one conveyance (Transporter) of single consignment

Where the goods are transferred from one conveyance to another conveyance, the consignor or the recipient who has provided in Part-A or the transporter then such transfer for the further movement of goods the information provided earlier should be updated on the common portal in Part-B.

However in case of where the goods are transported upto 50 kilometers within the state or union territory then updating the details of transporter is not required. There is also an option of authorizing the transporter to update the information before the commencement of movement of goods.

Multiple consignment in one conveyance (Transporter)

Where e-way bill has been generated as per sub rule (1) of rule 138 where multiple consignment are intended to be transported by one conveyance then the transporter may indicate the serial numbers for each of such consignment on common  portal and consolidated e-way bill in FORM GST EWB-02 would be generated.

Consignor or consignee forgot to generate E-way Bill

Where the consignor or consignee has not generated the e-way bill in form GST EWB-01 and the aggregate value of consignment exceeds 50,000  then the transporter shall in respect of inter state supply generate e-way bill prior to the movement of goods.In case such goods are to be transported by E-commerce operator or courier agency then information in Part-A can be furnished by them as well.

Cancellation of “E-way bill” 

Where e-way bill has been generated but the goods are not transported  or are not transported as per the details furnished then the e-way bill may be cancelled electronically on the common portal within 24 Hours of generation of e-way bill. If e-way bill has been verified  during transit as per rule 138B then the e-way bill cannot be cancelled.

Validity of unique number generated under Rule 138 (1)

In case the unique number is generated by the consignor or consignee the validity of unique number is for fifteen days he has the option to update the Part-B of FORM GST EWB-01 and it can be used to transport another consignment

Validity period of E-Way bills

In order to understand validity period of e-way bill we need to first understand:-

• Over dimensional cargo(ODC) – In simple term ODC is a cargo that protrudes outside the loading deck in simple terms if a truck has a loading platform of 20 feet and TMT bars of 22 feet are loaded into the truck which is beyond its platform then it would qualify as ODC .Government has also specified dimension limits beyond that it would also be considered as ODC.
• Relevant date– It shall mean the date of the generation of e-way bill and validity period should be counted from that relevant date

S.NO	DISTANCE	VALIDITY PERIOD
1	UPTO 100 KM	ONE DAY (OTHER THAN ODC)
2	FOR EVERY NEXT 100 OR PART THEREOF	ONE ADDITIONAL DAY( OTHER THAN ODC)
3	UPTO 20 KM	ONE DAY IN CASE OF ODC
4	FOR EVERY NEXT 20 KM OR PART THEREOF	ONE ADDITIONAL DAY IN CASE OF ODC

 E-Way bill Details generated to be provided

The details of e-way bill generated under this rule shall be made available to recipient if generated by supplier and vice-versa. If transporter has furnished the information than he has the responsibility to make available the information.

Non requirement of E-Way bills in following cases:-

• Transportation by non-motorized vehicle
• Goods given in annexure ( LPG, Kerosene oil, Postal baggage, Natural or culture pearls and other precious stones, jewellery, currency, personal household, corals)
• Goods treated as non supply as per schedule III
• Goods transported are transit cargo from or to Nepal and Bhutan
• Empty cylinders of LPG for packaging
• Goods transported from or to the weighbridge for weighment upto 25 kilometers distance accompanied by delivery challan as per rule 55
• Empty cargo
• Movement of goods in case of Defence formation
• Movement of goods by rail and consignor is Central government or State government
• Where goods being transported are alcoholic liquor for human consumption, petroleum crude , High speed diesel ,motor sprit, aviation fuel.

Non compliance of E-Way bill

If e-way bills wherever required are not issued in accordance with the provisions contained in Rule 138 of CGST Rules 2017 , the same will be considered as contravention of rules. As per section 122 of CGST Act a taxable person who transports taxable goods without the cover of specified document (E-Way bill) shall be liable to a penalty of Rs10,000 or tax sought to be evaded whichever is higher.

As per sec 129 transportation of goods without the cover of specified documents shall be liable to detention and seizure

In case of any doubts in the current topic or consultancy regarding any provisions in Indirect taxation (GST and CUSTOMS) then you may contact us at abhutpurv@gmail.com

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