E-WAY BILLS

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Explaining the eWay Bill and How it Works

Understanding the Key Rules and Generation Process

To legally move GST registered goods in a vehicle that have a value of more than 50,000 rupees (single invoice, bill, delivery challan, etc.), a driver must have a valid eWay bill.

You can visit the portal and create your own way-bill at ewaybillsgst.gov.in. Or use the specially designed Android app to create or manage your eWay bills via text message and site to site integration with API.

The eWay bill is a digital way-bill that shows authorisation for the transport of goods. It’s easy to generate an eWay bill because it’s created and stored in what’s known as the eWay Bill Portal. For every bill, there is a specific reference number, a unique id that links the bill, supplier, transporter and receiver. This code is called an eWay Bill Number or EBN.

Getting to Know the eWay Bill Rules and Regulations

An eWay bill is created every time the value of goods being transported in a vehicle exceeds 50,000 rupees (across one invoice or multiple invoices).

In some cases – usually the transport of controlled items – eWay bills are a legal requirement even if the value of the goods is below 50,000 rupees. Here are some examples:

  1. Interstate movement of handicraft goods by a trader currently excused from GST registration
  2. Interstate movement of commodities to a registered recipient from a registered principal.

The goods may be part of a supply chain. They may be moving to fulfill a different kind of contract such as a goods return. Or they may be a product of inward supply from an unregistered individual.

In legal terms, a ‘supply’ can take on various meanings:

  1. Goods supplied in return for payment (a product of business deals)
  2. Goods supplied in return for payment for reasons that may not be related to business
  3. Goods supplied without the expectation of payment.
  4. Sale – offer of ‘valuable’ commodities in return for payment
  5. Transfer – can refer to the sale of goods or financial transactions
  6. Exchange – a deal without money; like for like goods are traded instead

It should be noted that eWay bills are required for all these transactions. They must be requested and created on the portal at ewaybillsgst.gov.in.

Determining Who Is Responsible for the eWay Bill

  • Registered Individual : An eWay bill must be created when the value of goods being transported in a vehicle to or by a registered person exceeds 50,000 rupees. In this case, the transporter or the receiver can be responsible for managing the bill.
  • Unregistered Individual : If the trade or deal involves an unregistered individual, the registered party must be responsible for requesting and managing the eWay bill. Even if the only registered party is a receiver, they are still responsible for ensuring the bill covers both receipt and supply transactions.
  • Transporter : If the transporter is neither supplier or receiver, they may still have to request and manage the associated eWay bill. If neither party has taken responsibility for the process, the transporter may be legally liable.
    If you are transporter and need to create an eWay bill for an upcoming trip, visit the portal and request a unique Transporter ID. Once you have this ID, you can start logging and managing your eWay bills online.
Who When Part Form
Every registered person under GST Before the movement of goods Fill Part A Form GST EWB-01
Registered person is consignor or consignee (mode of transport may be owned or hired) OR is the recipient of goods Before the movement of goods Fill Part B Form GST EWB-01
Registered person is consignor or consignee and goods are handed over to transporter of goods Before the movement of goods Fill Part B The registered person shall furnish the information relating to the transporter in Part B of FORM GST EWB-01
Transporter of goods Before the movement of goods Generate e-way bill on the basis of information shared by the registered person in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01
An unregistered person under GST and recipient is registered Compliance to be done by the recipient as if he is the Supplier. 1. If the goods are transported for a distance of fifty kilometers or less, within the same State/Union territory from the place of business of the consignor to the place of business of the transporter for further transportation, the supplier or the transporter may not furnish the details of conveyance in Part B of FORM GST EWB-01.
2. If supply is made by air, ship or railways, then the information in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01 has to be filled in by the consignor or the recipient
  • An important point to remember : when a transporter moves more than one delivery as part of the same vehicle shipment, they are not required to start a new eWay bill application for each and every shipment. Instead, they can use the portal to get a GST EWB-02 application and generate a combination bill. That way, there’s only one bill with multiple shipment numbers rather than a confusing amount of eWay bills.

Circumstances When Transport without an eWay Bill is Authorised

In some cases – particularly when the transport distance is below 50km – a partial eWay bill may be enough to authenticate the goods. However, regardless of the distance, this rule only applies when the shipment doesn’t cross state lines.

There are some circumstances in which it’s legal to transport commodities without an eWay bill. Here are some examples:

  • Goods are being transported in a non-road vehicle
  • Goods are under the management of a Container Freight Station (CFS), an Inland Container Depot (ICD), an airport, a customs port, an air cargo centre or a land customs centre and have previously been approved by customs
  • Goods are being transported by customs officers or with customs approval
  • Goods are being moved to a customs center from an ICD (or between customs centers) with the authorization of a Customs Bond
  • The transported goods are part of a shipment from or to Bhutan or Nepal
  • Goods are part of a shipment authorised by the Ministry of Defense
  • The only thing being moved is empty cargo containers
  • Goods are being moved (with the approval of a delivery challan) from the supplier to a weigh station up to 20kms away
  • Goods being moved by train for the purposes of the central government, a state government or a similar local authoriser
  • Goods are clearly excused from regular eWay bill rules and GTS requirements of the relevant region.
  • Transported goods are part of an authorised list of exempt commodities (Annexure to Rule 138).

If you’d like to know about a state’s exemptions, visit the commercial tax portal for the region in question.

Understanding the Role of eWay Bills Across India

The eWay bill system was first introduced in India in April of 2018. In the time since, it has proven to be a useful tool and increasing numbers of carriers are enjoying quick and easy bill generation via the portal.

From state to state, early compliance with the program has been promising. All union territories and states have expressed satisfaction with its processes and shown a willingness to enforce and adopt its rules. In a few cases, such a Tamil Nadu, it has been deemed more constructive to excuse the region from eWay bill rules. This is due to reduced financial thresholds; monetary limits mean transporters in the region may not need an eWay bill if shipments are valued below one lakh.

What Steps to Take to Get an eWay Bill for Your Shipment

  • 1

    As explained, eWay bills are requested and created on the eWay Bill portal at ewaybillsgst.gov.in. You’ll first need to register and set up a unique portal login.

  • 2

    Depending on the nature of your goods and the distance of travel, your eWay bill may last one or two days. As soon as the eWay bill is created and received, it becomes valid and its ‘lifespan’ begins. Please be aware of the expiry date and time of your bill.

  • 3

    For over-dimensional cargo travelling less than 20km, the eWay bill expires after twenty-four hours. If travelling further than this, eWay bills last for one day (24hrs) per 20kms.

  • 4

    For shipments classified differently to over over-dimensional cargo, the rules are similar. However, one day eWay bill will get the goods up to 100km away. If the transporter wishes to travel further, they’ll get one day per 100kms.

  • 5

    Changes can be made to existing eWay bills (such as extending their lifespan) via the portal. However, do be aware that alterations are only valid within four hours before expiry or four hours after expiry. Changes cannot be made outside of these times.

Required Documents

Documents Required for E-WAY BILLS

Proof of Supply

Proof of supply (invoice, challan, etc). for the shipment

Transporter ID

Vehicle number or transporter ID for motor shipments

Transport Document Code

Transporter ID, transport document code (must be dated) for rail, air and boat shipments

AVAILABLE PACKAGES

BASIC

49
Includes all taxes

E-way Bill- Single

STANDARD

199
Includes all taxes

E-way - (Pack -5) - Monthly

PREMIUM

599
Includes all taxes

E-way - (Pack -15) - Monthly

E-way Registration

149
Includes all taxes

E-way Bill - Registration

Common Questions About E-WAY BILLS

Answer

Specifically, transporters moving commodities by air, rail or road must request an eWay bill if one has not already been created by the supplier. Even if the supplier hasn’t managed it for themselves, it must still be made in conjunction with them and any supply information (invoices, challans) that is relevant to them.

The potential consequence of failing to request and create an eWay bill for an applicable shipment is a 10,000 rupee fine or the repayment of unlawful tax benefits. In some cases, failure to comply may lead to the confiscation of shipments and vehicles.

Answer

It is important, however, to create individual delivery challans against the invoice based on differing transporter IDs if there’s any chance a sender might want to change the appointed transporters. If this is not done, they cannot add or drop previously assigned transporters.

If the senior transporter submits a request for a bill, they can add additional transporters by inputting their personal ID numbers.

Answer

The value of a shipment (and its applicability to eWay bill requirements) is assessed in the following way:

  1. Shipment is applicable if its singular invoice value is over 50,000 rupees
  2. Shipment is applicable if multiple invoices add up to a value of over 50,000 rupees.

In either of these cases, the shipment must have an associated eWay bill to be authorized.

Answer

In this case, applicability is dependent on whether the supplier is also the transporter of the goods. If so, this individual is expected to create an eWay bill that covers all of the shipment’s invoices. If they are not the mover, it is the job of the transporter to do this.

Answer

The term ‘line sales’ refers to vertical sales supplied by a singular source (department, centre, unit, etc.) to another source within the same company.

‘CKD/SKD’ refers to the transport of disassembled goods (also known as ‘semi knocked down’ or ‘completely knocked down’ goods). Ordinarily, shipments of this kind contain products being transported in disassembled pieces (such as a ceiling fan).