What is E-way bill? Documents Required, Rules and Validity

What is E-way bill?

E-way bill refers to electronic way bill that is issued for the movement of goods from one place to another across India. A registered user cannot transport goods valued at more than Rs 50,000 without an E-Way bill. The E-Way bill is a must to transport all the goods except those exempted.

A person generating an E-Way bill must be registered under the GST portal and the E-way bill portal. The bill is generated online through the E-way portal and is valid in States and Union Territories across India. Once the E-Way bill is issued, it cannot be modified or changed.

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What is E-way bill? Documents Required, Rules and Validity

E-way bill registration:

The suppliers and the transporters of goods must be registered under GST. The registered transporters and suppliers must generate an E-way bill for transportation of goods across India. Unregistered individuals who transport goods must generate E-way bill.

How to generate E-way bill?

A user can generate an E-Way bill on the GST E-Way portal. Given below are the steps to generate an E-way bill:

• Provide your Login ID and password to login to the GST E-Way portal. To use the portal, you will need GST registration and transporter registration.
• Click on “Generate New” option from the home page.
• An E-Way bill generation form appears.
• Fill the form accurately. The process is same as creating a GST invoice.
• The second half of the page requires you to fill product information. They are as follows:

1. Product Name and Description.
2. HSN Code for the Product must be entered. 
3. IGST/ CGST Rates applicable. IGST would be applicable for inter-state transport and SGST / CGST for intra-state transport.
4. Approximate distance of transport to determine the validity of the E-Way bill.

• Click on the “SUBMIT” button to generate the E-Way Bill.
• The E-Way bill gets displayed in the digital format containing the E- Way Bill number and the QR Code.

Documents required to generate E-way bill:

A person in charge of conveyance must carry the documents listed below:

• Invoice/ Bill of Supply/ Challan related to the consignment of goods.
• Transport by road – transporter ID or Vehicle number.
• Transport by rail, air, or ship – Transporter ID, Transport document number, and date on the document.
• A copy of the E-way bill number or E-way bill.

GST E-way bill format:

The E-way bill comprises of two parts: Part A and Part B.

Part A of the bill is to collect data on the consignment, usually on the invoice:

• GSTIN of recipient
• Place of delivery
• Invoice or challan number
• Value of goods
• HSN code
• Transport document number

Part B of the form contains the vehicle number where the transporter must mention the vehicle number of the transported goods.

E-way bill login:

• Go to the E-way bill portal.
• Go to the registration tab and click on E-way bill registration.
• Generate an OTP and enter the OTP.
• Create user ID and password.
• For subsequent use enter the user ID and password for logging in.

E-way bill app:

The E-way bill app is a smartphone application that can be downloaded from Google Play Store or apple app store. The copy of the E- way bill needs to be carried by the person in charge of the consignment. So, instead of carrying physical papers, you can download the app and login and access the document. All types of users can login to this app and the app includes all validations as per new E-way bill.

Who should generate E-way bill?

The E-Way bill can be generated by the following entities:

• A registered person: E-way bill can be generated when there is a movement of goods from the registered user and when there is a transportation of goods of value more than Rs 50,000. The documents like tax invoice or bill of sale or delivery challan and the transporter's ID must be available with the user while generating the E-way bill.
• An unregistered user: Unregistered people can also generate e-Way Bill by registering themselves on the GST Common Portal and generate the e-way bill for the movement of goods. However, where a supply is made by an unregistered person to a registered person, the receiver will have to ensure compliances are met. 
• Transporter: a transporter must generate an E-Way bill in case the supplier has not generated it while transporting goods by road, rail or air.

When E-way bill is not required?

It is not mandatory to generate a E-way bill for the following cases:

• For goods transported for less than 10 Kms within the same state.
• In case the transportation is made through a non-motorized vehicle.
• Goods transported from ships, airport, air cargo complex or land customs station to Inland Container Depot (ICD) or Container Freight Station (CFS) for clearance by Customs.
• In case the transportation of goods takes place under Customs supervision or under customs seal.
• Goods transported under Customs Bond from ICD to Customs port or from one custom station to another.
• Transit cargo transported to or from Nepal or Bhutan.
• Movement of goods under the Ministry of defence as a consignor or consignee.
• E-Way bill is not required for movement of empty Cargo containers.
• Goods being transported by rail where the Consignor of goods is the Central Government, State Governments or a local authority.
• For specific jewellery, personal and household items that are exempted from the E-way bill list.

E-way bill status of implementation across India:

From the time the E- way bill has been implemented, there has been a positive response. The inter-state movement of goods increased and the state and the union territory have actively joined the generation of E- way bill for movement of goods within the state.

For some states, relief has been offered by exempting them from generating E-way bill in case the money limit falls below the threshold limit or for certain specific items. For example, the threshold limit is Rs 1 lakh and any goods transported above this limit require the generation of E-way bill.

Validity of E-way bill:

The validity of an e-way bill depends on factors like distance and type of vehicle. In case of regular vehicle or transportation modes, the e-way bill is generated with a validity of one day for any distance up to 100 kilometers. The validity period expires at midnight at the end of the last day.

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