If your business moves goods across India and uses e-Way Bills, this advisory is for you. GSTN has announced two changes to the e-Way Bill portal. One is mandatory, and the other is voluntary but strongly recommended. Both changes go live in production by 15th June 2026. Read on to understand what these mean and what you need to do.
CHANGE 1 — ‘Ship To GSTIN’ is Now Mandatory
What is a Bill-To / Ship-To transaction?
Sometimes, the person who places the order (and gets the invoice) is different from the person who actually receives the goods at their premises. For example — a company’s Head Office in Delhi places the order and receives the invoice, but the goods are delivered directly to its warehouse in Surat. This is called a Bill-To / Ship-To transaction.
What has changed?
Earlier, the ‘Ship To GSTIN’ field was optional while generating an e-Way Bill. From now on, it is compulsory. You must enter the GSTIN of the actual delivery location every time.
What if the delivery is to an unregistered person?
No GSTIN? No problem — just type URP (Unregistered Person) in the ‘Ship To GSTIN’ field. The system will accept it.
Action Required: If you use ERP or API-based e-Way Bill generation, ask your software vendor to make the ‘Ship To GSTIN’ field mandatory in your system before 15th June 2026. Failing this, e-Way Bills for Bill-To/Ship-To transactions may not be generated.
CHANGE 2 — You Can Now Close an e-Way Bill After Delivery
What does ‘closing’ an e-Way Bill mean?
Until now, once goods were delivered, the e-Way Bill would simply remain open until its validity expired. There was no way to officially mark it as ‘delivered’. GSTN has now introduced an EWB Closure facility — once your goods reach the destination, you can formally close the e-Way Bill. This creates a proper delivery record on the system.
Who can close an e-Way Bill?
- Supplier — after logging in to the EWB portal
- Recipient — after logging in to the EWB portal
- Transporter — after logging in to the EWB portal
- Driver / Authorised Person — via mobile OTP, without any login
When can you close it?
Only within a 2-day window — on the same day of delivery or on the very next day. You cannot close it before or after this window.
How to close — two simple options:
- By e-Way Bill Number — search and close one specific EWB
- By Date — close all e-Way Bills generated on a particular date at once
How does the Driver close it without login?
At the time of generating the e-Way Bill, you can register a mobile number specifically for closure. The driver (or any authorised person) goes to the Search option on the EWB portal, enters that mobile number, receives an OTP, and can close all linked e-Way Bills — no username or password needed.
This mobile number can also be added or updated later during vehicle updation, consolidated EWB operations, or validity extension.
For ERP / API Users:
An API is available for system-based closure. Your system must send three details: the e-Way Bill number, the closure date, and remarks. The API is already live in the Sandbox environment for testing.
√ Note: EWB Closure is currently VOLUNTARY. You are not legally required to close it. However, it creates a clean audit trail and is expected to support future automated compliance checks. Early adoption is strongly advisable.
What is the Deadline?
API changes are already available in the Sandbox environment for testing. The changes will be deployed in production by 15th June 2026. All ERP vendors, GSPs, ASPs and system integrators must complete their testing and configuration updates before this date.
Quick Summary — Key Takeaways
Change 1 — Mandatory: ‘Ship To GSTIN’ must be filled for all Bill-To/Ship-To e-Way Bills.
Unregistered buyer? Enter ‘URP’ in the Ship To GSTIN field.
Change 2 — Voluntary: You can now close an e-Way Bill after delivery.
Who can close? Supplier, Recipient, Transporter, or Driver (via mobile OTP).
Closure window: Same day of delivery or the very next day — no exceptions.
Go-live date: 15th June 2026 — update your ERP/API systems before this date.
Compliance Note for Professionals
The mandatory ‘Ship To GSTIN’ requirement strengthens the department’s ability to cross-verify e-Way Bill data with GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B. Any mismatch between the Ship To GSTIN on the e-Way Bill and the recipient’s GSTIN on the tax invoice may invite scrutiny under Section 129 (detention & seizure) and Section 130 (confiscation) of the CGST Act, 2017. Businesses involved in multi-leg supply chains or drop-shipment models must align their invoicing and EWB data carefully.
Source: GSTN Advisory on Enhancements in e-Way Bill (EWB) Portal
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Author’s Note: The views expressed in this article are personal and based on current GSTN functionalities and legal interpretations. Readers are encouraged to refer to the specific facts of their case and the latest circulars before proceeding. While due care has been taken in preparing this article, certain mistakes and omissions may creep in. The author does not accept any liability for any loss or damage of any kind arising out of any inaccurate or incomplete information in this document, nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
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