E-Way Bill under GST – Detailed Analysis

CA Parth Shah

1. Implementation of E-Way Bill  

Inter State (between 2 or more states) – Effective from 01.02.2018 Intra State (within the state where the goods originated) – Voluntary up to 31.05.2018 otherwise mandatory from 01.06.2018 ( Notification No. 15/2018 – central Tax dt 23 March 2018)

2. Meaning Of E-way Bill (Rule 138(1)

EWB will be required for transporting any consignment value more than Rs. 50,000. It is required even in case of purchase of goods from unregistered person (URD) by Registered Person.

3. E-way bill is applicable where any movement of goods value exceeding Rs 50000/- is: –

In relation to Supply, whether of taxable or non taxable goods

For reason other than Supply (Ex: -Branch Transfer within State, Job Work, Consignment, etc)

Inward Supply from URD

4. What is Consignment Value :

The consignment value of goods shall be the value, determined in accordance with the provisions of section 15, declared in an invoice, a bill of supply or a delivery challan, as the case may be, issued in respect of the said consignment and also includes the central tax, State or Union territory tax, integrated tax and cess charged, if any, in the document. It will not include value of exempt supply of goods, where the invoice is issued in respect of both exempt and taxable supply. It will also not include value of freight charges for the movement charged by transporter.

5. Why it is necessary to generate e way bill ? 

Non-filers of GST returns for 2 consecutive months will  be barred from generating e-way bills for movement of goods ( Rule 138 E ) – Notification No. 74/2018 – Central Tax Dated 31^st December 2018  , In  case of  composition dealer  , e-way bill will not be generated for making supply ,if return not filed for two consecutive tax period

Rule 138E of CGST Rules 2017 is notified from 21st June 2019. (Notification No 22 /2019 Central Tax Dated 23rd April, 2019)

Now, default in filing of your GST Returns may get  business shut down, as a person  will not be able to make any movement of goods because  details will be restricted in part A of form GST EWB 01.

6. Mandatory to Generate E-Way Bill ( Notification No. 12/2018 Central Tax dt 07 March 2018)– e way Bill system for interstate movements of goods on a compulsory basis have been substituted by new Rules 138 , 138A to 138 D vide CGST ( second Amendment Rules 2018 notified vide Notification No. 12/2018- Central Tax dated 07 March 2018) 

(a) Principal to Job Worker – Provided that where goods are sent by a principal located in one State to a job worker located in any other State, the e-way bill shall be generated by the principal or the job worker, if registered, irrespective of the value of the consignment.

(b) Handicraft Goods (Notification No. 32/2017 of Central Tax)

– Provided further that where handicraft goods are transported from one State to another by a person who has been exempted from the requirement of obtaining registration under clauses (i) and (ii) of section 24, the e-way bill shall be generated by the said person irrespective of the value of the  consignment.

(c ) E Commerce operator / Courier Agency  – Where the goods to be transported are supplied through an e-commerce operator or a courier agency, on an authorization received from the consignor, the information in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01 may be furnished by such e-commerce operator or courier agency

(d) Goods Transported in own conveyance/ Hired / Public Conveyance – Where the goods are transported by the registered person as a consignor or the recipient of supply as the consignee, whether in his own conveyance or a hired one or a public conveyance, by road, the said person shall generate the e – way bill in FORM GST EWB-01 electronically on the common portal after furnishing information in Part B of FORM GST EWB-01.

(e) Goods Transported by railways / air/ vessel  – Where the goods are transported by railways or by air or vessel, the e-way bill shall be generated by the registered person, being the supplier or the recipient, who shall, either before or after the commencement of movement, furnish, on the common portal, the information in Part B of FORM GST EWB-01:

There is no requirement to carry e-way bill along with the goods, but railways has to carry invoice or delivery challan or bill of supply as the case may be along with goods.

Further, e-way bill generated for the movement is required to be produced at the time of delivery of the goods. Railways shall not deliver goods unless the e-way bill required under rules is produced at the time of delivery. But for the purposes of e-way bill, the expression ‘transported by railways’ does not include the ‘leasing of parcel space by Railways’

7. Exemption from Generating of E- Way Bill (Rule 138(14)( updated with Notification No. 03/2018 dt 23 Jan 2018 )

(a) where the goods being transported are specified in Annexure;

(b) where the goods are being transported by a non-motorized conveyance;

(c) where the goods are being transported from the port, airport, air cargo complex and land customs station to an inland container depot or a container freight station for clearance by Customs;

(d) in respect of movement of goods within such areas as are notified under clause (d) of sub-rule (14) of rule 138 of the Goods and Services Tax Rules of the concerned State; ( e-way bill is not required to be generated in case of intra-state movement of any goods, of any value, within the area covered under the National Capital Territory of Delhi.- NOTIFICATION NO. 3/2018 [F.NO.3(163)/POLICY-GST/2018/298-307], DATED 15-6-2018)

(e) where the goods being transported are alcoholic liquor for human consumption, petroleum crude, high speed diesel, motor spirit (commonly known as petrol), natural gas or aviation turbine fuel; and

(f) where the goods being transported are treated as no supply under Schedule III of the Act.

(g)  where the goods are being transported upto distance of twenty kilometers from the place of business of the consignor to a weighbridge for weighment or back , subject to condition that movement of goods accompanied by delivery challan issued in accordance with rule 55.

Also, check out:

How to generate e waybill in GST

8. Persons Liable For E-way Bill 

(a) Registered Person– E-way bill must be generated when there is a movement of goods of more than Rs 50,000 in value to or from a Registered Person. A Registered person or the transporter may choose to generate and carry e-way bill even if the value of goods is less than Rs 50,000.

(b) Unregistered Persons–

(i) Where a supply is made by an unregistered person to a registered person, the receiver will have to ensure all the compliances are met as if they were the supplier.

(ii) Where the movement is caused by an unregistered person either in his own conveyance or a hired one or through a transporter, he or the transporter may, at their option, generate the e-way bill  in FORM GST EWB-01 on the common portal

(iii) where the goods are supplied by an unregistered supplier to a recipient who is registered, the movement shall be said to be caused by such recipient if the recipient is known at the time of commencement of the movement of goods.

(c) Transporter–

(i) Transporters carrying goods by road, air, rail, etc. also need to generate e-Way Bill if the supplier has not generated an e-Way Bill. He requires authorisation from registered person

(ii) If the transporter is not registered under GST, he has to obtain transporter ID from e-way bill portal for generating the e-way bills. Transporter ID is a unique identification number allotted to transporters not registered under GST. Transporter ID consists of 15 digits. Supplier/ consignor has to mention the transporter ID on the e-way bill which will enable the transporter to update the vehicle number later while moving the goods actually.

(iii) Unregistered transporters have to mention transporter ID on the e-way bill instead of GSTIN number.

Case	Will e way bill be generated	Who will generate
Supplier and Recipient both are registered	yes	Supplier/Recipient
Supplier is registered and Recipient is unregistered	Yes	Supplier
Supplier is unregistered and Recipient is registered	Yes	Recipient
Supplier and Recipient both are unregistered	No

9. Validity Of E-way Bill (Rule 138(10)) 

An e-way bill is valid for periods as listed below:-

Distance Validity of EWB

Less Than 100 Kms 1 Day

For every additional 100 Kms or part thereof additional 1 Day

Upto 20 Kms – one day for over dimensional cargo , and for every 20 kms or part, one additional day for over dimensional cargo

Under circumstances of an exceptional nature, if the goods cannot be transported within the validity period of an e-way bill, the transporter can generate another e-way bill after updating the details in Part B of FORM GST EWB-01.

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

10. Rules For Transporter

Rule 138(5)

If a transporter is transferring goods from one conveyance to another during the course of the transit, then the consigner or the recipient must update the details of the new conveyance in the e-way bill already generated on the common portal in the FORM GST EWB-01, before such transfer takes place.

Provided further that if the goods are being transported for a distance of fifty  kilometers or less, within the same State or Union territory as the place of business of the transporter to the place of business of consignee, the details of conveyance need not be updated in the e-way bill.

Rule 138(6)

Where a transporter is moving more than one consignment in one conveyance, he must indicate the serial number of e-way bills for each consignment electronically on the common portal. A consolidated e-way bill in Form GST EWB-02 may be generated before the movement of goods.

Rule 138(7)-– Generation of e way bill is not required If the transporter is carrying goods of more than Rs 50000/- in a single conveyance and individual consignment is less than Rs 50000/- (This Rule has been deferred temporarily)

11  Acceptance or Rejection under Rule 138(11) and (12) 

Rule 138(11)

The details of e-way bill generated under sub-rule (1) shall be made available to the-

(a) supplier, if registered, where the information in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01 has been furnished by the recipient or the transporter; or

(b) recipient, if registered, where the information in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01 has been furnished by the supplier or the transporter, on the common portal, and the supplier or the recipient, as the case maybe, shall communicate his acceptance or rejection of the consignment covered by the e-way bill.

Rule 138(12)

Where the person to whom the information specified in sub-rule (11) has been made available does not communicate his acceptance or rejection within seventy two hours of the details being made available to him on the common portal, it shall be deemed that he has accepted the said details. 

11. Cancellation of E-way Bill (Rule 138(9))

Where 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, the e-way bill may be cancelled electronically on the common portal, either directly or through a Facilitation Center notified by the Commissioner, within 24 hours of generation of the e-way bill. However, 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 .

12. Documents to be carried by person-in-charge 

The person-in-charge of a conveyance must carry The invoice or bill of supply or delivery Challan AND A copy of the e-way bill OR the e-way bill number, either physically or mapped to a RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device). RFID is embedded on to the conveyance (mode of transport). Details of these will be notified by the commissioner. However, the commissioner may notify person-in-charge to carry the following documents instead of the e-way bill – Tax invoice or bill or supply of bill of entry OR A delivery challan, where goods are transported other than by way of ‘supply’

13. Rejection of E-way Bill

A recipient can accept or reject an e-way bill. An e-way bill will be assumed to be accepted if there’s no communication within 72 hours of the e-way bill being made available to the recipient via the common portal.

14. Cancellation of E-way Bill

Select the ‘Cancel’ under ‘E-waybill’ option.

Enter 12 digite-way bill no.& select go.

Particular e-way bill will be displayed.

Give suitable reason for cancellation.

15 (a) Consequences of Non-conformance of E-way bill Rules

If e-way bills, wherever required, are not issued in accordance with the provisions contained in Rule 138 of the CGST Rules, 2017, the same will be considered as contravention of rules.

As per Section 122 of the CGST Act, 2017, a taxable person who transports any taxable goods without the cover of specified documents (e-way bill is one of the specified documents) shall be liable to a penalty of Rs. 10,000/- or tax sought to be evaded (wherever applicable) whichever is greater. As per Section 129 of CGST Act, 2017, 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 and conveyance used as a means of transport for carrying the said goods and documents relating to such goods and conveyance shall be liable to detention or seizure.

(b ) Reduced Penalty   Circular No. 64/38/2018-GST dt 20 Sep 2018 :

In case of the following  situations, penalty to the tune of Rs. 500/- each under section 125 of the CGST Act and the respective State GST Act should be imposed (Rs.1000/- under the IGST Act) in FORM GST DRC-07 for every consignment:-

i) Spelling mistakes in the name of the consignor or the consignee but the GSTIN, wherever applicable, is correct;

ii) Error in the pin-code but the address of the consignor and the consignee mentioned is correct, subject to the condition that the error in the PIN code should not have the effect of increasing the validity period of the e-way bill;

iii) Error in the address of the consignee to the extent that the locality and other details of the consignee are correct;

iv) Error in one or two digits of the document number mentioned in the e-way bill;

v) Error in 4 or 6 digit level of HSN where the first 2 digits of HSN are correct and the rate of tax mentioned is correct;

vi) Error in one or two digits/characters of the vehicle number.

vii) A record of all such consignments where proceedings under section 129 of the CGST Act have not been invoked in view of the situations listed in paragraph 5 above shall be sent by the proper officer to his controlling officer on a weekly basis

16. Transportation for reason other than supply under E-way Bill

E-way bill is to be issued irrespective of whether the movement of goods is caused by reasons of supply or otherwise. In respect of transportation for reasons other than supply, movement could be in view of export/import, job-work, SKD(Semi-Knocked Down) or CKD(Completely Knocked Down), recipient not known, line sales, sales returns, exhibition or fairs, for own use, sale on approval basis etc.

17. Release of Goods once Detained

After due verification, if a vehicle and its contents are detained, the goods therein will be released in any of the following ways:

1. If the owner of the goods comes forward for payment of tax and penalty

> Applicable Tax, plus

> Penalty equal to 100% of the tax payable.

2. If the owner of the goods does NOT come forward for payment of tax and penalty

> Applicable Tax, plus

> Penalty equal to 50% of value of goods.

3. Upon furnishing of security equivalent to the amount payable as under point 1 or 2 above

18. NEW CHANGES IN E-WAY BILL SYSTEM w.e.f 01 April 2019 – Following new changes have been enabled in e way portal in order to make it more user friendly (published on 25 March 2019 on e way portal )  :-

(a) Route distance would be auto- calculated based on the PIN code –

The e-way bill system would now be equated to auto-calculate the route distance based on the PIN code of source location and the PIN code of the destination locations i.e. the e-way bill system would calculate and display the actual distance between the supplier and the recipient based on the PIN code entered.

The user in order to know the distance between the source and destination need to follow the below mentioned steps –

Visit site https://ewaybill.nic.in/;
Under the home page, navigate the path Search > Pin to Pin distance;
Following details need to be entered –
Dispatch from PIN code;
Ship to PIN code;
Enter the value shown in the image.
After entering the above details, click on the ‘Go’ icon.

On following the above steps, the approximate distance between the source and destination would be displayed.

(b) Generation of multiple e-way bills will not be possible for a single invoice –

Adopting the policy of ‘One Invoice, One E-way Bill’, now, the same would be In corporated in the e-way bill system also.

Once the e-way bill is generated with an invoice number, then, the e-way bill system will not allow generating another e-way bill for the same invoice number.

None of the party i.e. consignor, consignee or the transporter would be permitted to generate another e-way bill using the same invoice number.

(c ) Facility to extend e-way bill would be made available in case the consignment is in transit or movement –

Now, the e-way bill system would be enabled with the facility to extend the e-way bill when the goods are in transit. The goods in transit mean that the goods could be on the road or in the warehouse.

The user needs to follow the below mentioned steps –

Visit site https://ewaybill.nic.in/;

Click on Login icon and provide appropriate Username and Password;

Navigate the following path –

E-way Bill Module > Extend Validity > Enter e-way bill Number to fill the form

The user needs to select the option ‘Yes’ for extension of e-way bill and on selecting ‘Yes’, Transportation details i.e. Part B would appear.

While going for extension of the e-way bill, the user needs to answer whether the consignment is in transit or in movement.

In case the consignment is in transit, the user needs to provide the details of the address of the transit place and in the case in movement is selected, the user needs to provide the vehicle details like vehicle number and vehicle type from where the extension is required.

(e) Report reflecting e-way bill which is about to expire –

The e-way bill has now been equated with a system through which the taxpayer / transporter can analyze the list of e-way bill which is about to expire within a period of 4 days. Such a report would facilitate the taxpayer / transporter to ensure that the goods would reach the destination within the validity time.

The taxpayer / transporter need to follow the below mentioned step in order to generate the report reflecting the list of e-way bill which is about to expire –

Visit site https://ewaybill.nic.in/;

Click on Login icon and provide appropriate Username and Password;

Navigate the following path –

Reports > My EWB Reports > EWB about to expire.

(f) Composition dealer can not generat E way bill for INTERSTATE-

 movement The  system will  bar generation of e-way bill for interstate movement by composition taxpayer. This is being done to plug a .. loophole in the system as the GST Act does not allow the composition tax payers to do Inter-state transactions.

19. OTHER RELEVANT PROVISIONS (FAQ)

How to handle “Bill to” – “Ship to” invoice in e-way bill system?

In the e-way bill form, there are two portions under ‘TO’ section. In the left hand side – ‘Billing To’ GSTIN and trade name is entered and in the right hand side – ‘Ship to’ address of the destination of the movement is entered. The other details are entered as per the invoice.

In case ship to state is different from Bill to State, the tax components are entered as per the billing state party. That is, if the Bill to location is inter-state for the supplier, IGST is entered and if the Bill to Party location is intra-state for the supplier, the SGST and CGST are entered irrespective of movement of goods whether movement happened within state or outside the state.

What is Over Dimensional Cargo?

Over Dimensional Cargo mean a cargo carried as a single indivisible unit and which exceeds the dimensional limits prescribed in rule 93 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989 made under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

How the consignor is supposed to give authorization to transporter or e-commerce operator and courier agency for generating PART-A of e-way bill?

It is their mutual agreement and way out to do the same. If a transporter or courier agency or the e-commerce operator fills PART-A, it will be assumed by the department that they have got authorization from consignor for filling PART-A.

In case of Public transport, how to carry e-way bill?

In case of movement of goods by public transport, e-way bill shall be generated by the person who is causing the movement of the goods, in case of any verification, he can show e-way bill number to the proper officer.

Does the vehicle carrying goods from CSD to unit run canteens need e-way bill?

No, these are exempted supply and therefore have been exempted from the requirement of carrying e-way bill.

Is the e-way bill required for the movement of empty cargo containers?

No, such movement has been exempted from e-way bill.

Does the movement of goods under Customs seal require e-way bill?

No, such movement has been exempted from e-way bill.

Does the movement of goods which are in transit to or from Nepal/Bhutan, require e-way bill for movement?

No, such movement has been exempted from e-way bill.

Is the temporary vehicle number allowed for e-way bill generation?

Yes, temporary vehicle number can also be inserted as vehicle number for the purpose of e-way bill generation.

I am dealer in tractors. I purchased 20 tractors from the manufacturer. These tractors are not brought on any motorized conveyance as goods but are brought to my premise by driving them. Also, these tractors have not got the vehicle number. Is e-way bill required in such cases?

E-way bill is required in such cases. The temporary number or any identifiable number with the tractor have to be used for filling details of the vehicle number for the purpose of e-way bill generation.

Who is responsible for EWB generation in case DTA sales from SEZ/FTWZ?

There is no special provision for such supply and hence the registered person who causes movement of goods shall be responsible for the generation of e-Way bill as per the rules.

In many cases where manufacturer or wholesaler is supplying to retailers, or where a consolidated shipment is shipped out, and then distributed to multiple consignees, the recipient is unknown at the time the goods are dispatched from shipper’s premises. A very common example is when FMCG companies send a truck out to supply kirana stores in a particular area. What needs to be done in such cases?

In such cases, movement is caused on behalf of self. No supply is being made. In such cases, delivery challan may be used for generation of e-way bills. All the provisions for delivery challan need to be followed along with the rules for e-way bills.

What should be the value in e-waybill in case goods are sent on lease basis as the value of machine is much higher than leasing charges?

The value of goods needs to be mentioned as per the explanation 2 of the sub–rule (1) of rule 138.

Expired stock has no commercial value, but is often transported back to the seller for statutory and regulatory requirements, or for destruction by seller himself. What needs to be done for such cases of transportation of the expired stock?

E-way bills are required even in cases where goods are moved for reasons other than supply. Delivery Challan has to be the basis for generation of e-way bill in such cases.

Whether shipping charges charged by E-commerce companies needs to be included in ‘consignment value’ though the same is not mentioned on merchant’s invoice?

Consignment value of goods would be the value determined in accordance with the provisions of section 15. It will also include the central tax, State or Union territory tax, integrated tax and cess charged, if any. So shipping charges charged by E- by the e-commerce companies need not be included in the ‘consignment value’.

Where an invoice is in respect of both goods and services, whether the consignment value should be based on the invoice value (inclusive of value of services) or only on the value of goods. Further, whether HSN wise details of service is also required to be captured in Part A of the e-way bill in such case.

Consignment value and HSN needs to be determined for goods only not for services as only the goods are in movement and e-way bill needs to be generated accordingly

20. ANNEXURE [(Rule 138 (14)]

Description Of Goods

1. Liquefied petroleum gas for supply to household and non domestic exempted category (NDEC) customers

2. Kerosene oil sold under PDS

3. Postal baggage transported by Department of Posts

4. Natural or cultured pearls and precious or semi-precious stones; precious metals and metals clad with precious metal (Chapter 71)

5. Jewellery, goldsmiths’ and silversmiths’ wares and other articles (Chapter 71)

6. Currency

7. Used personal and household effects

8. Coral, unworked (0508) and worked coral (9601)”;

21. Forms of E-way Bills 

EWB-01

Every registered person who causes movement of goods of consignment value exceeding fifty thousand rupees— (i) in relation to a supply; or (ii) for reasons other than supply; or (iii) due to inward supply from an unregistered person, shall, before commencement of such movement, furnish information relating to the said goods in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01, electronically, on the common portal.

Where the goods are transported by the registered person as a consignor or the recipient of supply as the consignee, whether in his own conveyance or a hired one or by railways or by air or by vessel, the said person or the recipient may generate the e-way bill in FORM GST EWB-01 electronically on the common portal after furnishing information in Part B of FORM GST EWB-01.

Part-A

A1 GSTIN of recipient

A2 GSTIN of Supplier

A3 Place of delivery

A4 Invoice or Challan Number

A5 Invoice or Challan Date

A6 Value of Goods

A7 HSN Code

A8 Reason for Transportation

Part-B

B1 Vehicle Number

B2 Transport Document Number

EWB-02 (Details required to generate Consolidated E-Way Bill)

1. Consolidated E-Way Bill No.:

2. Consolidated E-Way Bill Date.:

3. Generator

4. Vehicle No.

 EWB-03 (By Proper Officer)

A summary report of every inspection of goods in transit shall be recorded online by the proper officer in Part A of FORM GST EWB-03 within twenty four hours of inspection and the final report in Part B of FORM GST EWB-03 shall be recorded within three days of such inspection. See format GST EWB 03.pdf

EWB-04 (By Transporter) Where a vehicle has been intercepted and detained for a period exceeding thirty minutes, the transporter may upload the said information in FORM GST EWB-04 on the common portal. See format FORM_GST_EWB-04.pdf

22.  Updating E-way Bill

Select ‘Update Vehicle No.’ under ‘e-waybill’ option.

Check at least one option:

E-way bill No.

Generated Date

Generator GSTIN 

Enter following details:

Mode of Transport

Vehicle No.

From Place

From State

Reason for the transport change

(Article is republished with amendments by Taxguru Team & CA Anita Bhadra)