E-Way Bill Requirement for Transportation of Goods

As per the provisions of GST laws, any movement of goods from one place to another in India requires the generation of an e-way bill. An Electronic Way Bill is a legal document permitting inter-state and intra-state transportation of goods.

To generate e-way bills registered under GST, an individual has to provide documents related to the goods and vehicles used in the transportation.

Read along to know more about e-way bill requirements and other details related to it.

To maintain an E-Way Bill, there are a few rules that fall under the ambit of Section 68 of the CGST Act & Rule 138 of the CGST Rules, 2017:

• Every individual registered under GST, moving goods above ₹50000, needs to furnish an e-way bill with the details of goods. It has to be done before the transportation.

However, an e-way bill is compulsory even if the consignment value is below ₹50000 under certain circumstances. These include:

• Interstate Transfer of Goods to a Job Worker: If the principal sends goods to a job worker from other states, the principal or registered job worker has to generate an e-way bill.
• Interstate Transfer of Goods by an Exempted Dealer: If an unregistered dealer who is exempted from getting a registration transfers handicraft goods to a registered individual from other states, an e-way bill is necessary. The consignee must ensure all the compliances are fulfilled during this interstate transfer.

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A person in charge of a conveyance needs to carry a few necessary documents along with the goods. Here is a list of documents required for e-way bill generation during the transportation of goods, categorised into two vital parts:

1. Part-A

This part comprises details related to the consignor and consignee of the goods such as:

• Tax invoice/Bill of Supply/ Delivery Challan Number and date
• Bill of Entry
• Recipient GSTIN Number
• HSN Code
• Goods Receipt Number
• PIN Code of the place of delivery
• Place of delivery
• Value of goods
• Reason for transportation

2. Part-B

This part comprises details related to the vehicle used for transportation of the consignment such as:

• Vehicle Number

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Listed below are some of the important points one should consider for the transportation of goods through the road to ensure compliance with the regulations of the GST Council.

• An e-way bill is valid in all states and union territories of India.

• A supplier must provide details of Part-A requirements to a transporter for generating e-way bills.

• A transporter generates an e-way bill by providing details as per Part-B requirements.

• One must provide the vehicle number along with the transporter ID while generating an e-way bill.

• Generation of e-way bill number requires a transporter to provide the vehicle number and other necessary details about the transportation.

• A transporter has to update the details of conveyance in Part B in case a vehicle is changed during transit.

• The validity period of an e-way bill is 1 day for covering a distance of 200 km. For covering every additional 200 km, its validity will extend to an additional day.

• Transportation of goods from a supplier to a transporter/recipient covering a distance of less than 50 km within a state requires Part-A details.

• If an e-way bill expires before the transportation of goods, an individual can generate a new e-way bill.

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Let's discuss some of the recent developments on the e-way bill requirements made by the GST Council.

• As on 11 October 2022: Starting from 1 August 2023, the next phase of e-invoicing will apply to businesses with an annual turnover of more than ₹5 crores. [Source]
• As on 1 August 2022: From 1 October 2022, the e-invoicing system will be implemented on B2B transactions of businesses having an annual aggregate turnover between ₹10 crores and ₹20 crores.
• As on 24 February 2022: From 1 April 2022, the GST Council will implement an e-invoicing system on businesses recording an aggregate turnover between ₹20 crores and ₹50 crores annually.
• As on 4 August 2021: The government will resume blocking the e-way bill generation facility from 15 August 2021 for taxpayers upon non-filing of Form GSTR-3B.