How To Generate an E-Way Bill
The implementation of GST in India has brought significant changes to the taxation system, one of which is the introduction of e-way bills when transporting goods inter or intra-state. In this complete guide to e-way bills, we will discuss the key aspects of e-way bills, including the following:
- What is an E-Way Bill?
- Format of an E-Way Bill
- When to generate an E-way bill?
- How to generate an E-way bill?
- Who should generate an E-way bill?
- Documents required to generate an E-way bill
- Validity of an E-way bill
- Situations when an E-way bill is exempted
- Implementation of E-way bill across India
What is an E-Way Bill?
An E-Way Bill is a mandatory document that all transporters need to carry when they are transporting goods with a value greater than ₹50,000. The transport can be inter-state or intra-state. E-Way bills contain details of the goods being transported, the consignor, the recipient as well as the transporter.
Certain updates have been made to the above rules, as follows:
- For intra-state transport within the states of Delhi, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, E-Way bills are required only when the value of the goods being transported is more than ₹1 lakh.
- Additionally in Delhi, an E-Way bill is not required when the seller of the goods is a GST registered person but the buyer is not, as long as both parties are in Delhi.
Format of an E-Way Bill
An E-Way Bill is divided into 2 parts – Part A and Part B. Both these parts contain information that needs to be entered by the person generating the E-way bill.
The following details are required in Part A:
- GSTIN of Recipient
- Place of Delivery
- Invoice or Challan Number
- Invoice or Challan Date
- Value of the Goods
- HSN Code
- Reason for transportation
- Transport Number and Name
- Transport Document Number and Date
Part B only contains the registration number of the vehicle transporting the goods.
Apart from the above, there is also information that is auto-generated at the time of generating e-way bills. These details are:
- E-Way Bill Number
- E-Way Bill Date
- Name of the Party Who Generated the E-Way Bill
When to Generate an E-way Bill?
A valid E-Way bill with all the required details mentioned above must be generated for the following events:
- When goods are being supplied
- When goods are being transacted on a non-supply basis, for example:
- Import/export
- Goods being returned
- Job Work
- Line Sales
- Sale based on approval
- Goods being supplied in a semi knocked down or completely knocked down state
- Goods being supplied for trade exhibitions, fairs etc.
- Goods being used for personal consumption
Who Needs to Generate an E-way bill?
The following situations necessitate the generation of an E-way bill by a person who has a GST registration and is undertaking the transportation of goods:
- One of the consignor, the consignee, the recipient or the transporter should generate an e-way bill, if the transport is being done through their own or hired means.
- In cases where an unregistered seller is supplying goods to a registered buyer, the buyer is responsible for ensuring that all requirements are met.
- If both, the supplier and the buyer, have failed to generate an e-way bill, the transporter must do so to move the products by land, rail, water and air.
In the two cases mentioned below, an e-way bill is required even if the consignment value does not exceed ₹50,000:
- An intra-state transport of goods from from a Principal to a Job Worker
- An inter-state transfer of handicraft goods by a supplier who has been granted exemption from GST registration.
How to Generate an E-way Bill?
The following methods are available to the supplier or the carrier for creating the E-way bill:
- Generating E-Way Bills on the GSTN
- Generating E-Way Bills through SMS
- Generating E-Way Bills through E-Invoicing
- Generating E-Way Bills automatically using an E-Way Bill Software
The GST E-Way Portal allows for the creation of e-way bills. You must be registered as a transporter and under GST to utilise the platform.
Once the e-way bill is generated, the e-way bill number is provided to all parties: the recipient, the supplier and the transporter.
Form GST EWB-01
Form GST EWB-01 is the document that needs to be carried by the transporter moving goods worth more than ₹50,000. Information regarding who needs to fill the form and when are provided below:
| No. | Who needs to fill? | When to fill? | Which part to fill? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Registered Person | Before transfer of goods | Part A |
| 2 | Registered Person i.e. supplier or recipient. The transport vehicle can be either owned or hired. | Before transfer of goods | Part B |
| 3 | Registered Person i.e. supplier or recipient when the goods are handed over to the transporter | Before transfer of goods | Part B |
| 4 | Transporter of goods | Before transfer of goods | Part A |
| 5 | Unregistered Person if the recipient is GST registered | If transport is by air, sea or rail | Part A |
To know more, you can read our detailed guide to how to generate an e-way bill .
Documents Required to Generate an E-way Bill
Documents needed to generate an e-way bill are:
- Relevant invoice, bill of supply, or challan for the shipment of goods.
- If a mode of road transport is involved, the vehicle number or the transporter ID .
- Transporter ID, Transport document number, and date—whether by ship, rail, or air.
Validity of an E-way bill
An e-way bill’s validity is determined by its generated date and time. Based on the distance the items have travelled, an e-way bill is valid for the duration specified below:
- If the type of conveyance is other than over-dimensional cargo and the distance is-
- Less than 200 km, the e-way bill will be valid for one day
- For every additional 200 km or part there forth, the e-way bill will be valid for one additional day.
- If the type of conveyance is for over-dimensional cargo and the distance is-
- Less than 20 km, the e-way bill will be valid for one day
- For every additional 20 km or part there forth, the e-way bill will be valid for an additional one day.
The validity of an e-way bill may also be extended. To extend the validity of an e-way bill, the generator must do so either eight hours before or eight hours after the bill’s expiration.
Situations When an E-way Bill is Exempted
An e-way bill is not required in the following situations:
- Petroleum gas that has been liquefied for delivery to consumers who fall under the NDEC’s non-domestic exempted category;
- Kerosene sold with a PDS;
- Postal luggage moved by the Postal Service;
- Precious or semi-valuable stones, natural or cultured pearls, precious metals, and metals plated with precious metals;
- Jewellery, goods made of gold or silver, and other items;
- Currency;
- Used domestic and personal items;
- Coral, both worked and unworked
- E-way bills are not necessary for transporting goods to an inland container depot or a container freight station for customs clearance from a customs port, airport, air cargo complex, or land customs station.
- E-way bill generation is unnecessary when goods are transported by non-motorized transportation.
- Alcohol intended for human consumption, petroleum crude, high-speed diesel, petrol, fuel for an aircraft turbine;
- Under customs bond from an inland container depot or container freight station to a customs port, airport, air cargo complex, and land customs station, or one customs station or customs port to another customs station or customs port;
- Where certain notifications exempt the transported items from paying taxes;
- No E-way bill is necessary when the Central Government, State Government, or local government acting as a consignor transports goods by rail.
- There is no need for an E-way bill where a defence formation acting on behalf of the Ministry of Defence is the consignor or consignee.
- In the case of transporting empty freight containers, an E-way bill is not necessary.
- E-way bill generation is unnecessary when items are being transported for weighing, and the distance between the consignor’s business and the weighbridge is less than 20 km. However, a delivery challan is required to be present while moving items.
- Other than for the transportation of de-oiled cake, the items listed in the schedule annexe to Notification No. 2/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017 do not require the generation of an e-way bill.
Implementation of E-way Bill Across India
Since its implementation started on 1 April 2018, there has been an increase in the production of e-way bills for interstate-transit commodities. With all States and Union Territories joining the league in the generation of e-way bills for the movement of products inside the State/UT, the state-by-state deployment of the e-way bill system has had a good response.
However, several states have given their citizens respite by exempting them from the creation of e-way bills if their financial constraints fall below a threshold amount or in the case of specific designated things. For instance, Tamil Nadu has exempted its residents from generating e-way bills if the item’s price is less than Rs. 1 lakh.
Conclusion
E-way bill is a document used to track the movement of goods, prevent tax evasion, and guarantee that commodities being transported adhere to the GST Law. Since the advent of e-way bills, documenting transactions has become much more streamlined.
There are multiple ways to generate e-way bills, but the fastest and most convenient way is to use an e-way bill generation software like BUSY. After a quick one-time setup, you can auto-generate e-way bills in just a few clicks, even when you need to generate them in bulk.
