Documents To Be Carried By A Person-In-Charge of A Conveyance and Its Verification

Rules 138A and 138B of E-Way Bills provide the documents to be carried by a person-in-charge of conveyance and the necessary compliance from his end. The following topics are discussed in this article:

• Documents that need to be carried
• RFID meaning and compliance requirements
• The paperwork required if an Eway bill is not needed
• The Process of document verification
• The effect of the regulations on taxpayers as well as transporters

In this blog, we will take a look at the documents to be carried by a person-in-charge of conveyance and every related aspect of its verification process.

What are the Documents To Be Carried By A Person-In-Charge of Conveyance?

Given below are the documents to be carried by a person-in-charge of conveyance:

1. An invoice or a bill of supply or a delivery challan as may be required.
2. A copy of the Eway bill, the Eway bill number, or an Eway bill that has been mapped to a Radio Frequency Identification Device, also known as RFID

Note – An RFID-mapped Eway bill isn’t valid for train, air, or sea transit. Furthermore, if products have been transported by rail, they will only be delivered to the consignee if he/she is able to produce a valid Eway bill.

RFID Meaning and Compliance Requirements

It isn’t necessary for the transporter to carry a physical invoice if the dealer has already produced an Invoice Reference Number (IRN) by downloading Form GST INV-01. The transporter just needs to quote the IRN to the verifying officer. An RFID reader must be installed in the vehicle of certain types of carriers as a mandatory safety measure.

The Commissioner is required to provide notification to such a category of transporters. When an RFID is implanted, an Eway bill needs to be mapped to it before the movement of goods can begin. This must be done before the RFID can be used. As of right now, this notice has yet to be sent in any way.

Documents To Be Carried By A Person-In-Charge of Conveyance if an E-Way Bill is not Required

Carriers  to carry some documents instead of an Eway bill in certain instances, as mentioned below:

1. Any one of an invoice, a bill of supply or a bill of entry, or
2. Delivery Challan (DC) for commodities other than supply, job work, liquid gas, etc. The DC should be issued in duplicate per Act regulations.

Document Verification Process

The transporting vehicle can be stopped by an authorised officer for verification of the goods being transported. The transporter must present any valid documents as demanded by the officer, and he must have all the valid documents mentioned above. If the vehicle has an embedded RFID, the details of the e-way bill can be verified through an RFID reader.

The officer may also physically verify the conveyance and goods. If he finds any reason to suspect tax evasion, he is permitted to conduct a physical verification without waiting for any authorisation.

Impact of Rules on Taxpayers and Transporters

Traders and transporters who are yet to adopt the digital approach may carry a paper invoice and E-way bill. Traders who are already using digital methods can utilise the IRN and EBN.

This gives dealers an alternative option in case of a technical breakdown. However, this automated procedure might threaten the smaller transporters, since RFID installation may prove too costly for them, which hinders their ability to compete with the larger transport agencies.

In previously announced schemes, the Government had proposed financial assistance to micro and small enterprises for the purpose of installing RFID. It remains to be seen whether the proposals set forth will actually be implemented to the benefit of dealers.

Transporters may need help to carry many invoices and Eway bills. Even a tiny delay like a vehicle breakdown might be problematic. Electronic IRN and E-way bill will help in overcoming these setbacks.

It is mandatory to carry valid documents at all times. The person in charge of the carrier needs to check that he is carrying a valid Eway bill. If the goods are being transferred to a different vehicle, the Eway bill must be updated to include information about the new vehicle.

Conclusion

The shift from a physical to a digital approach will prove beneficial in ensuring faster verification and thus reducing the waiting time for transporters. However, this is possible only when the digital approach is adopted across the country, and everyone gets compliant with the rules and regulations.

Most importantly, the technology needs to be able to support this change, and malfunctions need to be avoided at any costs for this approach to be truly beneficial. Using an e-way bill generation software like BUSY will greatly speed up the process of generating e-way bills.