E-Way rules under GST

Introduction: This article discusses in detail about E-way rules prescribed under GST.

List of  forms prescribed under E-way rules

Rule - 138 - Information to be furnished prior to commencement of movement of goods and generation of e-way bill.

1. Every registered person who causes movement of goods of consignment value exceeding Rs. 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

Shall, before commencement of such movement, furnish information relating to the said goods in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01, electronically, on the common portal.

2. Where the goods are transported by the registered person as a consignor or the recipient of supply as the consignee, whether:

1. in his own conveyance, or
2. in a hired one, or
3. by railways, or
4. by air, or
5. by vessel.

The said person or the recipient may generate the e-way bill in FORM GST EWB-01 electronically on the common portal after furnishing information in Part B of FORM GST EWB-01.

3. Where the e-way bill is not generated as above and the goods are handed over to a transporter for transportation by road, the registered person shall furnish the information relating to the transporter in Part B of FORM GST EWB-01 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 of FORM GST EWB-01.

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 Rs. 50,000/-.

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 in FORM GST EWB-01 on the common portal in the manner specified in this rule.

Where the goods are transported for a distance of less than 10 KMs within the State or 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.

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.

The information in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01 shall be furnished by the consignor or the recipient of the supply as consignee where the goods are transported by railways or by air or by vessel.

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.

5. Any transporter transferring goods from one conveyance to another in the course of transit shall, before such transfer and further movement of goods, update the details of conveyance in the e-way bill on the common portal in FORM GST EWB-01.

Where the goods are transported for a distance of less than 10 kms within the State or Union territory from the place of business of the transporter finally to the place of business of the consignee, the details of conveyance may not be updated in the e-way bill.

6. Consolidated E-way Bill

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 maybe generated by him on the said common portal prior to the movement of goods

7.  Where the consignor or the consignee has not generated FORM GST EWB-01 in accordance with the provisions of sub-rule (1) and the value of goods carried in the conveyance is more than Rs.50,000/-, the transporter shall generate FORM GST EWB-01 on the basis of invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan, as the case may be, and may also generate a consolidated e-way bill in FORM GST EWB-02 on the common portal prior to the movement of goods.

8.  The information furnished in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01 shall be made available to the registered supplier on the common portal who may utilize the same for furnishing details in FORM GSTR-1.

When the information has been furnished by an unregistered supplier in FORM GST EWB-01, he shall be informed electronically, if the mobile number or the e- mail is available.

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, either directly or through a Facilitation Centre notified by the Commissioner, within 24 hours of generation of the e-way bill.

But, an e-way bill cannot be cancelled if it has been verified in transit in accordance with the provisions of rule 138B.

10. An e-way bill or a consolidated e-way bill generated shall be valid for the period as mentioned in the table below from the date on which E-way Bill was generated, for the distance the goods have to be transported, as mentioned:

The Commissioner may, by notification, extend the validity period of e- way bill for certain categories of goods.

Where, under circumstances of an exceptional nature, the goods cannot be transported within the validity period of the e-way bill, the transporter may generate another e-way bill after updating the details in Part B of FORM GST EWB-01.

11. The details of e-way bill generated under shall be made available to the recipient, if registered, on the common portal, who shall communicate his acceptance or rejection of the consignment covered by the e-way bill.

12. Where the recipient referred to in does not communicate his acceptance or rejection within seventy two hours of the details being made available to him on the common portal, it shall be deemed that he has accepted the said details.

13.  The e-way bill generated under this rule or under rule 138 of the Goods and Services Tax Rules of any State shall be valid in every State and Union territory.

14. No e-way bill is required to be generated --

• where the goods being transported are specified in Annexure to rule 138(14);
• where the goods are being transported by a non-motorized conveyance;
• where the goods are being transported from the port, airport, air cargo complex and land customs station to an inland container depot or a container freight station for clearance by Customs; and
• in respect of movement of goods within such areas as are notified under clause (d) of sub-rule (14) of rule 138 of the Goods and Services Tax Rules of the concerned State.

The facility of generation and cancellation of e-way bill may also be made available through SMS.

Rule 138A - Documents and devices to be carried by a person-in-charge of a conveyance

1. The person in charge of a conveyance shall carry -

1. the invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan, as the case may be; and
2. a copy of the e-way bill or the e-way bill number, either physically or mapped to a Radio Frequency Identification Device embedded on to the conveyance in such manner as may be notified by the Commissioner.

2. A registered person may obtain an Invoice Reference Number from the common portal by uploading, on the said portal, a tax invoice issued by him in FORM GST INV-1 and produce the same for verification by the proper officer in lieu of the tax invoice and such number shall be valid for a period of thirty days from the date of uploading.

3. Where the registered person uploads the invoice under sub-rule (2), the information in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01 shall be auto-populated by the common portal on the basis of the information furnished in FORM GST INV-1.

4. The Commissioner may, by notification, require a class of transporters to obtain a unique Radio Frequency Identification Device and get the said device embedded on to the conveyance and map the e-way bill to the Radio Frequency Identification Device prior to the movement of goods.

5. Where circumstances so warrant, the Commissioner may, by notification, require the person-in-charge of the conveyance to carry the following documents instead of the e-way bill-

1. tax invoice or bill of supply or bill of entry; or
2. a delivery challan, where the goods are transported for reasons other than by way of supply.

138B - Verification of documents and conveyances.

1. The Commissioner or an officer empowered by him in this behalf may authorize the proper officer to intercept any conveyance to verify the e-way bill or the e-way bill number in physical form for all inter-State and intra- State movement of goods.

2. The Commissioner shall get Radio Frequency Identification Device readers installed at places where the verification of movement of goods is required to be carried out and verification of movement of vehicles shall be done through such device readers where the e- way bill has been mapped with the said device.

3. The physical verification of conveyances shall be carried out by the proper officer as authorized by the Commissioner or an officer empowered by him in this behalf or on receipt of specific information on evasion of tax, physical verification of a specific conveyance can also be carried out by any officer after obtaining necessary approval of the Commissioner or an officer authorized by him in this behalf.

138C - Inspection and verification of goods

1. A summary report of every inspection of goods in transit shall be recorded online by the proper officer in Part A of FORM GST EWB-03 within twenty four hours of inspection and the final report in Part B of FORM GST EWB-03 shall be recorded within three days of such inspection.

2. Where the physical verification of goods being transported on any conveyance has been done during transit at one place within the State or in any other State, no further physical verification of the said conveyance shall be carried out again in the State, unless a specific information relating to evasion of tax is made available subsequently.

138D - Facility for uploading information regarding detention of vehicle

Where a vehicle has been intercepted and detained for a period exceeding thirty minutes, the transporter may upload the said information in FORM GST EWB-04 on the common portal.

The author is a practicing CA based in Delhi and is registered Insolvency Professional. He can also be reached at cavinodchaurasia@gmail.com 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are strictly personal. The content of this document are solely for informational purpose. It doesn’t constitute professional advice or recommendation. The Author does not accept any liabilities for any loss or damage of any kind arising out of information in this article and for any actions taken in reliance thereon.