E-way Bill Requirements for Transporting Goods by Railways

An E-way bill is a document that is electronically generated and required during transporting of goods from one place to another if the value of goods exceeds Rs. 50,000. It is to be generated from the GST portal before transporting goods either by rail, road or airways. It includes the details of goods being transported and the names of the consignor, consignee, transporter, etc. 

The consignor or consignee should generate the e-way bill, or a transporter (even one who is not registered) can generate it through the GST portal if neither of them has done so. However, to generate the E-way bill, an unregistered transporter must first sign up on the E-way bill portal. The transporter is not accountable for generating an e-way bill for transportation by rail, air, or ship.

The following are the documents required to generate an e-way bill:

1. Tax Invoice

2. Delivery Challan

3. Transporter ID

4. Transport document number

Goods transported by Railways

If the goods are being transported by rail, information regarding the transport document number (RR number) and the document's date must be included. The document must include the approximate mileage (in KM) travelled. A "Railways Receipt" (RR) receipt is issued by railroads to acknowledge the goods transported by railroads. The FNR, which consists of the 11 numbers printed on the top-left of the RR, allows the transporter to keep track of the transit.

Usually, for the goods to be transported by rail, they must first be brought by road to the railway station. Only Part B has to be amended with the RR number for the rail transit since an E-way bill would have already been generated for that. Consequently, the involved person/agent/supplier is responsible for acquiring this information. An E-way bill for railways can only be generated after obtaining the RR number.

Part B of the E-way bill for goods moving by rail can be amended before or after the transportation takes place. However, if the required e-way bill is not presented when the goods are delivered, the railways will not deliver the goods. The development and transportation of an e-way bill have been waived for Indian Railways, although it is still necessary to carry invoices, delivery challans, etc.

You can generate e-way bills automatically with the help of Busy’s auto-generation of e-way bills feature.