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| E-WAY BILL |
What is E-Way Bill ?
Under GST regime, for quick and
easy movement of goods across India without any hindrance, all the check posts
across the country are abolished.
However, in order to monitor the movement of goods for controlling any tax
evasion, e-way bill system has been
introduced for inter-State movement of goods with effect from 01.04.2018 and for intra-State movement of goods
in a phased manner.
Under
this system, a taxpayer prior to movement
of goods via a conveyance would inform each transaction’s details to the
tax department, obtain an acknowledgement
number for having thus informed, and then use this acknowledgement number
as a valid document accompanying the conveyance carrying goods. The idea is
that the taxpayer be made to upload the details of each transaction to a common portal through the Internet, and
once uploaded, the common portal would automatically generate a document
which can be tracked and verified easily by any stakeholder.
Electronic Way
Bill (E-Way Bill)
is a compliance mechanism wherein by way of a digital interface the
person causing the movement of goods uploads the relevant information prior
to the commencement of movement of goods and generates e-way bill on the
GST portal. In other words, E-way
bill is an electronic document
generated on the GST portal evidencing movement
of goods.
What
are the Benefits of E-way Bill ?
Following
benefits are expected from e-way bill mechanism:
- Physical interface to pave way for digital interface resulting in elimination of state boundary check-posts.
- It will facilitate faster movement of goods.
- It will improve the turnaround time of trucks and help the logistics industry by increasing the average distances travelled, reducing the travel time as well as costs.
E-way Bill is generated electronically
in Form GST EWB 01 on the common
portal (https://ewaybillgst.gov.in).
The facility of generation, cancellation, updation and assignment
of e-way bill shall be made available through SMS to the supplier, recipient and the transporter,
as the case may be. E-way Bill can be generated through various modes like Web (Online), Android App, SMS, using Bulk
Upload Tool and API (Application
Program Interface) based site to site integration etc.
E-way Bill Provisions as contained in Section 68 read with rules
138, 138A, 138B, 138C and 138D Chapter XVI of the CGST Rules, 2017 are
elaborated as under:
When
is E-way Bill required to be Generated ? [Rule 138(1)]
Whenever
there is a movement of goods of
consignment value exceeding INR 50,000:
(1) in
relation to a supply; or
(2) for
reasons other than supply; or
(3) due
to inward supply from an unregistered person,
The
registered person who causes such movement of goods shall furnish the
information relating to the said goods as specified in Part-A of Form GST EWB-01 before the commencement of such movement.
In
many cases, goods transit through another State while moving from one area in a
State to another area in the same State. It is important to note that E-way
bill generation is not dependent on whether a supply is inter-State or not, but
on whether the movement of goods is inter-State or not. Therefore, if the goods
transit through a second State while moving from one place in a State to
another place in the same State, an e-way bill is required to be generated [Circular
No. 47/21/2018 GST dated 08.06.2018].
Special situations where e-way bill needs to be issued
even if the value of the consignment is less than INR 50,000:
Inter-State
transfer of goods by principal to job-worker:
Where
goods are sent by a principal located in one State or Union territory to a job
worker located in any other State or Union territory, the e-way bill shall be
generated either by the principal or the job worker, if registered,
irrespective of the value of the consignment [Third proviso to rule 138(1)].
Inter-State
transfer of handicraft goods by a person exempted from obtaining registration:
Where
handicraft goods are transported from one State or Union territory to another
State or Union territory by a person who has been exempted from the requirement
of obtaining registration [under clauses (i) and (ii) of section 24], the e-way
bill shall be generated by the said person irrespective of the value of the
consignment [Fourth proviso to rule 138].
E-way
Bill in case of ‘Bill To Ship To’ Model:
In
a “Bill To Ship To” model of supply,
there are three persons involved in a transaction, namely:
‘A’ is the person who
has ordered ‘B’ to send goods directly to ‘C’.
‘B’ is the person who
is sending goods directly to ‘C’ on behalf of ‘A’.
‘C’ is the recipient
of goods.
In
this complete scenario. Two supplies are involved and accordingly two tax invoices
are required to be issued:
Invoice -1: which would be
issued by ‘B’ to ‘A’.
Invoice -2: which would be
issued by ‘A’ to ‘C’.
It
is clarified that as per the CGST Rules, 2017, either A or B can generate the
e-Way Bill but it may be noted that Only
one e-Way Bill is required to be generated [Press Release dated 23.04.2018]
Information
to be Furnished in E-way Bill
An
e-way bill Form GST EWB-01 contains
two parts:
Part A [Comprising of details of GSTIN of supplier &
recipient, place of delivery (indicating PIN Code also), document (Tax invoice,
Bill of Supply, Delivery Challan or Bill of Entry) number and date, value of
goods, HSN code, and reasons for transportation, etc.] to be furnished by the registered person who is causing
movement of goods of consignment value exceeding INR 50,000/- and
Part B (Transport details) [Transporter document number (Goods
Receipt Number or Railway Receipt Number or Airway Bill Number or Bill of
Lading Number) and Vehicle number, in case of transport by road]: to be
furnished by the person who is
transporting goods.
- by the transporter, on an authorization received from such registered person [First proviso to rule 138(1)]; or
- by the e-commerce operator or courier agency, where the goods to be transported are supplied through such e-commerce operator or a courier agency, on an authorization received from the consignor [Second proviso to rule 138(1)].
Who
is Mandatorily Required to Generate E-way Bill ? [Rule 138(2)]
Where
the goods are transported by a registered person - whether as consignor or recipient
as the consignee
Whether in his own conveyance or a hired one or a
public conveyance, by road, the said person shall have to generate the e-way
bill (by furnishing information in part B on the common portal) [Rule 138(2)].
Where
the e-way bill is not generated by the registered person and the goods are
handed over to the transporter, for transportation of goods by road
The registered
person shall furnish the information relating to the transporter in Part B on
the common portal and the e-way bill shall be generated by the transporter on
the said portal on the basis of the information furnished by the registered person
in Part A [Rule 138(3)].
Where
the goods are transported by railways or by air or vessel
The e-way bill
shall be generated by the registered person, being the supplier or the
recipient, who shall, either before or after the commencement of movement,
furnish, information in part B [viz transport document number (Goods Receipt
Number or Railway Receipt Number or Airway Bill Number or Bill of Lading
Number)] on the common portal [Rule 138(2A)].
Other
important points:
Where
the goods are transported by railways:
There is no requirement
to carry e-way bill along with the goods, but railways has to carry invoice or
delivery challan or bill of supply as the case may be along with goods.
Further, e-way bill generated for the movement is required to be produced at
the time of delivery of the goods. Railways shall not deliver goods unless the
e-way bill required under rules is produced at the time of delivery [Proviso to
rule 138(2A)].
The
registered person or, the transporter may, at his option:
Generate and
carry the e-way bill even if the value of the consignment is less than INR 50,000 [First proviso to rule
138(3)].
Where
the movement is caused by an unregistered person either in his own conveyance
or a hired one or through a transporter:
He or the
transporter may, at their option, generate the e-way bill [Second proviso to
rule 138(3)].
Where
the goods are supplied by an unregistered supplier to a recipient who is
registered:
The movement shall be said to be caused by such recipient if the recipient is
known at the time of commencement of the movement of goods [Explanation 1 to
rule 138(3)].
When
is it Not Mandatory to Furnish the Details of Conveyance in Part-B ?
Explanation
2 to rule 138(3) stipulates that e-way bill is valid for movement of goods by
road only when the information in Part-B is furnished. However, details of
conveyance may not be furnished in Part-B of the e-way bill where the goods are
transported for a distance of upto 50 km within the State/Union territory:
- from the place of business of the consignor to the place of business of the transporter for further transportation [Third proviso to rule 138(3)]; or
- from the place of business of the transporter finally to the place of business of the consignee [Proviso to rule 138(5)].
Situations
where E-way Bill is Not Required to be Generated
Notwithstanding
anything explained above, no e-way bill is required to be generated in the following
cases:
(A) Where the
goods being transported are the ones given below:
- Liquefied petroleum gas for supply to household and non-domestic exempted category (NDEC) customers.
- Kerosene oil sold under PDS.
- Postal baggage transported by the Department of Posts.
- Natural or cultured pearls and precious or semi-precious stones; precious metals and metals clad with precious metal.
- Jewellery, goldsmiths’ and silversmiths’ wares and other articles.
- Currency.
- Used personal and household effects.
- Coral, unworked (0508) and worked coral (9601).
(B) Where the goods
are being transported by a non-motorised conveyance.
(C) Where the goods
are being transported from the customs port, airport, air cargo complex and
land customs station to an inland container depot or a container freight
station for clearance by Customs.
(D) In respect of
movement of goods within such areas as are notified under of rule 138(14)(d) of
the State or Union territory GST Rules in that particular State or Union
territory.
(E) Where the goods
[other than de-oiled cake], being transported, are exempt from tax vide
Notification No. 2/2017 CT(R) dated 28.06.2017
(F) Where the goods
being transported are alcoholic liquor for human consumption, petroleum crude,
high speed diesel, motor spirit (commonly known as petrol), natural gas or
aviation turbine fuel.
(G) Where the supply
of goods being transported is treated as no supply under Schedule III of the
Act.
(H) Where the
goods are being transported:
- Under customs bond from an inland container depot or a container freight station to a customs port, airport, air cargo complex and land customs station, or from one customs station or customs port to another customs station or customs port, or
- Under customs supervision or under customs seal.
(I) Where the goods
being transported are transit cargo from or to Nepal or Bhutan.
(J) Where the goods
being transported are exempt from tax under Notification No. 7/2017 CT (R)
28.06.2017 [Supply of goods by the CSD to the Unit Run Canteens or to the
authorized customers and supply of goods by the Unit Run Canteens to the
authorized customers] and Notification No. 26/2017 CT (R) 21.09.2017 [Supply of
heavy water and nuclear fuels by Department of Atomic Energy to Nuclear Power
Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL)]
(K) Any movement of
goods caused by defence formation under Ministry of defence as a consignor or
consignee.
(L) Where the
consignor of goods is the Central Government, Government of any State or a
local authority for transport of goods by rail.
(M) Where empty cargo
containers are being transported.
(N) Where the goods
are being transported upto a distance of 20 km from the place of the business
of the consignor to a weighbridge for weighment or from the weighbridge back to
the place of the business of the said consignor subject to the condition that
the movement of goods is accompanied by a delivery challan issued in accordance
with rule 55.
(O) Where empty
cylinders for packing of liquefied petroleum gas are being moved for reasons
other than supply.
Unique E-way Bill Number (EBN) [Rule 138(4)]
Upon
generation of the e-way bill on the common portal, a unique e-way bill number
(EBN) shall be made available to the supplier, the recipient and the
transporter on the common portal [Rule 138(4)].
Transfer
of Goods from One Conveyance to Another [Rule 138(5)]
Where
the goods are transferred from one conveyance to another, the consignor or the
recipient, who has provided information in Part
A, or the transporter shall, before such transfer and further movement of
goods, update the details of conveyance in Part
B of the e-way bill on the common portal [Rule 138(5)].
The
consignor/recipient, who has furnished the information in Part A, or the transporter, may assign the e-way bill number to
another registered/enrolled transporter for updating the information in Part B for further movement of the
consignment [Rule 138(5A)].
However, once the details of the conveyance have
been updated by the transporter in Part
B, the consignor or recipient, as the case may be, who has furnished the
information in Part A shall not be
allowed to assign the e-way bill number to another transporter [Proviso to rule
138(5A)].
Consolidated
E-way Bill [Rule 138(6)(7)]
After
e-way bill has been generated, where multiple consignments are intended to be
transported in one conveyance, the transporter may indicate the serial number
of e-way bills generated in respect of each such consignment electronically on
the common portal and a consolidated e-way bill in Form GST EWB-02 may be generated by him on the said common portal prior
to the movement of goods [Rule 138(6)].
Consolidated e-way
bill
is a document containing the multiple
e-way bills for multiple consignments being carried in one conveyance
(goods vehicle). That is, the transporter carrying multiple consignments of various
consignors and consignees in a single-vehicle can generate and carry a single
document - consolidated e-way bill instead of carrying the separate document for each
consignment in a conveyance.
Consolidated EWB is like a trip
sheet and it contains details of different e-way bills in respect of various
consignments being transported in one vehicle and these e-way bills will have
different validity periods. Hence, Consolidated EWB does not have any
independent validity period. Further, individual consignment specified in the
Consolidated EWB should reach the destination as per the validity period of the
individual EWB.
However,
where the goods to be transported are supplied through an e-commerce operator or a
courier agency, the information in Part
A of Form GST EWB-01 may be furnished by such e-commerce operator or
courier agency [Proviso to rule 138(7)].
Information Submitted for E-way Bill can be used for Filing GST Returns [Rule 138(8)]
The
information furnished in Part A of
the e-way bill shall be made available to the registered supplier on the common
portal who may utilize the same for furnishing the details in Form GSTR-1 [Rule 138(8)].
However,
when the information has been furnished by an unregistered supplier/unregistered recipient, he shall be informed electronically, if the
mobile number or the e-mail is available [Proviso to rule 138(8)].
Cancellation
of E-way Bill [Rule 138(9)]
Where
an e-way bill has been generated, but goods are either not transported or are
not transported as per the details furnished in the e-way bill, the e-way bill
may be cancelled electronically on the common portal within 24 hours of generation of the e-way bill [Rule 138(9)].
However,
an e-way bill cannot be cancelled if it has been verified in transit in
accordance with the provisions of rule 138B [First proviso to rule 138(9)].
Further,
unique EWB number generated is valid for a period of 15 days for updation of
Part B [Second proviso to rule 138(9)].
Validity Period of E-way Bill / Consolidated E-way Bill [Rule 138(10)]
An e-way bill is valid for periods as
listed below, which is based on the distance travelled by the goods. Validity
is calculated from the date and time of generation of e-way bill-
Type of Conveyance
|
Distance within Country
|
Validity of EWB period from Relevant date*
|
Other
than Over Dimensional Cargo
|
Upto
100 km
|
One
day
|
For
every 100 km or part there of thereafter
|
One
additional day
|
|
Over
Dimensional Cargo
|
Upto
20 km
|
One
day
|
For
every 20 km or part there of thereafter
|
One
additional day
|
Validity of the E-way bill can be extended
also. The generator of such Eway bill has to either four hours before expiry or
within four hours after its expiry can extend E-way bill validity.
*Relevant date means
the date on which the e-way bill has been generated and the period of validity
shall be counted from the time at which the e-way bill has been generated and
each day shall be counted as the period expiring at midnight of the day
immediately following the date of generation of e-way bill.
This can be explained by following examples –
(i) Suppose
an e-way bill is generated at 00:04 hrs. on 14th March. Then first day would
end on 12:00 midnight of 15 -16 March. Second day will end on 12:00 midnight of
16 -17 March and so on.
(ii) Suppose
an e-way bill is generated at 23:58 hrs. on 14th March. Then first day would
end on 12:00 midnight of 15 -16 March. Second day will end on 12:00 midnight of 16 -17 March and so on.
Acceptance
of E-way Bill [Rule 138(11)]
The details of the e-way bill generated shall be made
available to the –
- Supplier, if registered, where the information in Part A has been furnished by the recipient/transporter; or
- Recipient, if registered, where the information in Part A has been furnished by the supplier/transporter,
On the common portal, and the
supplier/recipient, as the case may be, shall communicate his acceptance or
rejection of the consignment covered by the e-way bill [Rule 138(11)].
In case, the person to whom the information in Part-A is made available, does not
communicate his acceptance or rejection within the specified time, it shall be
deemed that he has accepted the said details.
The time-limit specified for this
purpose is 72 hours of the details being made
available to him on the common portal; or the time of delivery of goods, whichever
is earlier.
Documents
and Devices to be carried by a Person-in-Charge of a Conveyance
The
person-in-charge of a conveyance
shall carry -
- The invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan, as the case, may be; and
- A copy of the e-way bill in physical form or the e-way bill number in electronic form or mapped to a RFID** embedded on to the conveyance [except in case of movement of goods by rail or by air or vessel] in such manner as may be notified by the Commissioner [Rule 138A(1)].
**RFIDs are Radio
Frequency Identification Device used for identification.
However,
in case of imported goods, the person-in-charge of a conveyance shall also carry
a copy of the bill of entry filed by the importer of such goods and shall
indicate date & no. of bill of entry in Part A of Form GST EWB 01.
............................................................................................................................................................................................
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