E-Way Bill Rules and Guidelines

An electronic waybill, popularly known as an e-way bill, is a mandatory electronic document generated to certify and authenticate the movement of goods and services between and within states. It is a compliance mechanism put into place as a part of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime that sellers/consignors must adhere to before transport. 

Before transporting goods or services, the seller/consignor must upload details about the consignment on a digital interface and generate an e-way bill through the GST portal. An e-way bill typically contains the following information.

• Consignor/Seller Name: Any individual who is the supplier of goods and initiates the transportation process.

• Consignee/Recipient name: The name of the individual who is supposed to receive the goods in question.

• Origin of consignment: It is the starting point of the goods’ journey.

• Delivery Address and Details: This is the address of the location where the goods are to be delivered.

• Route: It is the course as well as the time taken by the driver while transporting the cargo.

Once an e-way bill is generated, it is made available to the supplier, consignee, and transporter.

Rampant evasion of taxes was prevalent in the country during the previous indirect tax regime. The Central government levied duties and taxes on the manufacturing and rendering of services. On the other hand, the state governments were empowered to levy taxes on the intrastate sale of goods. The revenue was then shared among the Centre and the states. This process included innumerable checks and transporters had to be equipped with various documents like permits, challans, and more. This is why a technological system was devised to serve the purpose of easy taxation. Thus, the e-way bill rules were put forth into existence under the GST regime. 

The transporter or the person in charge of conveyance must keep the following documents handy as per the GST e-way bill rules:

• Invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan

• Physical copy of the e-way bill or the e-way bill number

When verifying the conveyance, the officer can intercept any vehicle to assess the e-way bill during interstate or intrastate movement. The officer can also conduct physical verification of the vehicle with the approval of the commissioner if they suspect tax evasion. However, once a vehicle has been verified in a given state, it cannot be verified again in another, unless there is a case of tax evasion. 

A detailed explanation about E-Way Bill Verification can be read in our article E Way Bill Verification & Inspection of Goods in Transit.

The e-way bill in GST is composed of two parts: Part A and Part B. 

• Part A of Form EWB 01: This form must include details of the consignment, associated details, that include GSTIN of the recipient, delivery location, invoice or challan number, the value of goods, HSN code, the reason for transportation, and the transport document number.

• Part B of Form EWB 01: This section must include the details of the vehicle number in which goods are transported. It will be filed by the transporter in the common portal.

Here is a table that lists down the categories of persons who can fill the relevant parts of the form in question:

In a bid to simplify the e-way bill process, the Indian government and the GST Council implemented some changes in the 26th GST Council Meeting. Here are some of the enlisted modifications:

• As part of the revised e-way bill notification, there is no need to generate an e-way bill when the value of an individual consignment is below ₹50,000, even if the value of the collective consignments exceeds ₹50,000

• Earlier, the e-way bill was not mandatory for goods that were moved within the distance of 10 km, within a state or Union Territory. As part of the current revision, the distance has been increased to 50 km

• Earlier, the e-way bill could be accepted or rejected by the recipient within a fixed period of 72 hours. Post those hours and no communication, the bill was deemed as accepted by the recipient. At present, the bill has to be accepted or rejected within 72 hours or by the time of delivery, whichever is earlier

• As part of the revised notification, the new eway bill validity rules have been put in place for consignments:

  • For up to 20 km: 1 day

  • For every other 20 km or thereof: Addition of 1 day

Here are some of the other changes that have been introduced to the e-way bill rules:

• Consignments carried via railways have been exempted from the need of generating and carrying an e-way bill. However, it is mandatory for railways to carry the invoice or delivery challan 

• In the case of inter-state movement of goods, registered job workers can generate the e-way bill

• There is no need for e-way bill generation during transit of cargo from/to Nepal or Bhutan

• A field titled "Place of Dispatch" is added in the e-way bill. It helps capture details on the movement of goods on account of the "Bill-To-Ship-To" supply

• When the movement of goods is being undertaken by railways, airways, and waterways, the e-way bill may also be generated post the commencement of the movement of goods

• Once a consignment has been verified by a tax officer, the conveyance is not subject to a second check at any other location. Exceptions are made when there is a special order in place.