What are E-way Bills under GST?

An E-way bill is a legal document required for the transportation of goods between and within the states that are worth more than Rs 50,000. This permit contains details of the goods, consignor, recipient, transporter, and special economic zones. To know how to locate and track the goods read here. 

 

Under Section 68 of the CGST Act of 2017 and Rule 138 of the CGST Rules of 2017, an e-way bill must be generated before transporting goods. Registered taxpayers must generate the e-way bills from the GST portal or use an accounting software.

 

Busy is a simple-to-use software which does not require prior accounting knowledge. It is adaptable to the diverse needs of different organisations and includes built-in GSP tools to quickly generate important documents like e-invoices, e-way bills, GSTR-2A, etc. 

 

This article will lay out a roadmap for understanding E-way bills in more detail.

 

What are the Contents of an E-way bill?

The E-way bill form (EWB-01) is divided into Parts A and B. The information about consignment, often the invoice details, is gathered in Part A of the E-way bill. As a result, the following data must be provided:

 

Part A:

Part A of the EWB-01 Form contains the following:

1. GSTIN of the Supplier
2. Place of Dispatch
3. GSTIN of the Recipient
4. Place of Delivery
5. Document Number
6. Document Date
7. Value of Goods
8. HSN Code
9. Reason for Transportation

 

Part B:

Part B of the EWB-01 Form contains transporter details:

1. Vehicle Number for Road
2. Transport Document Number/Defence Vehicle Number/Temporary Vehicle Registration Number

 

Here's an illustration of the EWB-01 Form:

 

When to generate an E-way bill?

The E-way bills can be generated under the following situations:

If the value of the products is greater than or equivalent to 50,000/-, or voluntarily if the value is less than 50,000/-:

• In relation to a supply

• Other than to provide a supply (for instance, a return)

• Or by an inward supply from an unregistered person

A supply may refer to either of the following:

• A supply made in the course of business in consideration for money
• A supply made in consideration for money that might not be paid during the course of business
• A supply without consideration. 

Here the term "supply" usually refers to:

• Sale of goods and payments made
• Transfer
• Exchange - when the payments are by goods instead of money

Therefore, e-way bills must be generated on the common platform for all these different movements. Even if the value of the consignment of the specified goods is less than Rs. 50,000, the e-way bill must be generated in all the above cases, including:

• If the principal moves the items across state borders to the employee.
• If there is an interstate transfer of handcrafted goods.

 

Who should 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:

• Registered person: E-way bills are generated when products are moved to or from a registered individual for more than Rs. 50,000. If the value of the products is less than Rs. 50,000, the registered person can even produce an e-way bill.

• Unregistered person: A person who is not registered must additionally produce an E-way bill. The receiver is responsible for ensuring that all requirements are met when an unregistered person supplies goods or services to a registered person.

• Transporter: If the provider still needs to produce an e-way bill, the transporter must do so to move the products by land, air, rail, etc.

 

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.

 

How to generate an E-way bill?

The following methods are available to the supplier or the carrier for creating the E-way bill:

1. GST Accounting Software,

2. Web-based,

3. SMS,

4. The Android application,

5. Integration from Site to Site (through API).

 

The GST E-Way Portal allows for the creation of e-way bills. You must be registered as a transporter under GST to utilise the platform.

 

1. Go to https://ewaybill.nic.in/, access the E-way bill generation page, and enter your login information to access the platform.

2. Select "Generate New" from the E-way bill-Main menu page to produce a new E-Way bill.

3. A new form for creating EWB bills appears. If you are the supplier, choose outward; if you are the recipient, choose inward. Where applicable, include the GSTIN and the supplier and recipient's information. Other information is added to the blank fields in the form when a registered GSTIN is submitted.

4. Information to be filled out in the second half of the page is as follows:

   1. The product name and description.

   2. The product's HSN code. 

   3. Product quantity and unit.

   4. The cost of the goods and the tax rate.

   5. Rates of CGST or IGST are applicable. For intra-state transportation, SGST/CGST would apply, whereas IGST would apply for interstate transport.

   6. The approximate distance of the transport as well as the transporter's name and ID. This will establish whether the E-Way bill is valid.

5. After providing all the required information, click "SUBMIT" to produce the e-way bill. The E-way bill with the e-way bill number and the QR Code, including all the information in digital form, will be shown on the portal. The printed copy of the invoice should be given to the transporter, who will keep it with them the entire journey till they deliver it to the consignee.

6. Once it has been generated, an e-way bill can be updated. As long as the e-way bill is not past due, information on the transporter, consignment, consignor and GSTIN of both parties may be updated.

 

To know more about how to generate an e-way bill, you can read our detailed guide to how to generate an e-way bill through the GST portal.

 

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-motorised 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.

 

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:

1. If the type of conveyance is other than over-dimensional cargo and the distance is-

   1. Less than 200 km, the e-way bill will be valid for one day

   2. For every additional 200 km or part there forth, the e-way bill will be valid for an additional one day.

2. If the type of conveyance is for over-dimensional cargo and the distance is-

   1. Less than 20 km, the e-way bill will be valid for one day

   2. 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.

Conclusion

Thus, e-way bills are a technique to track the flow of products, 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 more streamlined. To know more about e-way bills read here. 

 

Other related articles under E-way Bills

GST EWB-01 Form

How to Update, Reject, and Cancel E-way bills

What are Masters and how to manage them under E-way bills

How to generate an E-way bill

Bulk generation facility on the E-way bill portal

Generating E-way bills through SMS

E-way bills for imports and exports

Changes in the e-way bill after e-invoicing

How to create and freeze sub-user?

What is Transporter ID and its enrolment procedure?

Factors to choose an E-way bill software

Generating consolidated e-way bills

GST EWB-02 Form

How to register on the e-way bill portal?

Compliance with “Bill to” and “Ship to” in the E-way bill

Compliance requirements for E-way bills by Manufacturers

Impact of E-way bill on e-commerce operators

E-way bills Rules Compliance & its Impact on Transporters & Logistics Operators

State-wise threshold limits for E-way bills

Process of E-way bill with multiple vehicles

E-way bill under GST in Jharkhand

E-way bill under GST in Andhra Pradesh

E-way bill under GST in Haryana

E-way bills under various methods of delivery

E-way bill under GST in Gujarat

Impact of E-way bill on the FMCG sector

E-way bill under GST in Kerala

E-way bill under GST in Karnataka

Computing Distance covered, Determining Eway Bill Validity & its Extension

Integration of E-way bill with VAHAN portal

E-way Bill: Changes Introduced In The New Return System Under GST

E-way bill requirements- Transportation of goods by airways

E-way bill under GST in Uttar Pradesh

EWay Bill requirements for the transport of Goods in Knocked down conditions( CKD or SKD)

How to import invoices from the e-way bill site to GSTR-1

Blocking and unblocking of e-way bills

RFID Tag mapping on the e-way bills