GST Eway Bill
E-waybill or Electronic waybill is a document that needs to be generated on the official e-Waybill portal at a time when goods are transported from one location to another which is almost 20 Km. Under the current GST Act rules, business or person registered under GST are not allowed to transport goods by road or air without an e-Waybill, if the total value of goods and services being transported exceeds Rs 50,000.
A valid GST e-Waybill is generated on the official e-Waybill portal or through the SMS/ e-Waybill Android App. After it has been generated, the system automatically allocates or generate an e-Waybill number that is available to the recipient, supplier or transporter of the goods. The e-Waybill is a replacement of the older “waybill”. It was prevalent in the older VAT regime.
Who generates an e-Waybill?
A GST E-Way bill may be generated by:
- GST registered businesses/persons
- Unregistered businesses/persons or a transporter
Key facts to remember about the generation of an e-Waybill
- GST registered businesses or persons can generate an e-Waybill in case goods are being transported to or from a registered person.
- Creation or carrying an e-Waybill is optional when the value of goods being transported is less than Rs 50,000. To carry E-Waybill is mandatory if the value of goods being transported exceeds Rs 50,000.
- Business registered under the Composition scheme is also required to generate e-Waybill and rules for the generation of the amount are the same as in the case of a GST registered person.
- In case the supply of goods is coming from an unregistered person to a GST registered person or business, then the GST registered business or person is required to ensure that all required compliance under the GST Act are met.
- Transporters are required to generate e-Waybill in case the supply of goods is taking place by railways, road or air, etc. and the supplier does carry any e-waybill. To generate a GST compliant e-Waybill, transporters are first required to register for a Transporter ID.
When to Issue an e-Waybill
As per the existing rules, the creation of a GST eWay bill is mandatory when the value of goods transported exceeds Rs 50,000. This value may come either through a single invoice or consolidate invoice comprising multiple consignments. The transport of goods occurs either as a result of inward supply originating from an unregistered business or person or through the supply of goods as a part of business operations or a return of goods that had been supplied earlier.
For purposes of the GST Act, the supply of goods may occur in the following cases:
- Sale of goods instead of monetary payment
- Transfers such as in case of inter-branch transfer within the same organization
- Exchange/Barter in which case payment is through goods instead of money
However, there are few key exceptions that an e-Waybill is required even if the value of goods being transported is less than Rs 50, 000 in the following cases:
- Interstate transport of handicraft goods by a dealer who is not registered under GST.
- Interstate goods movement of goods by a principal/registered principal job worker to another job worker.
The following table illustrates some key facts about e-Waybill generation under the GST Act:
| Who needs to generate eWay bill | When to generate eWay bill |
Any GST Registered Person/Business
| Before goods have been transported
|
GST registered business/ person is a recipient of goods/ consignor or consignee
| Before goods have been transported
|
GST registered business hand over good to a third-party transporter in the capacity of consignor or consignee.
| Before goods have been transported
|
Goods Transporter
| Before goods have been transported
|
Incoming assignment to a GST registered business or individual from an unregistered business or a person.
| Before goods have been transported
Note: GST compliance will be the sole responsibility of the GST registered person or business.
|
E-Waybill Exemptions
- When the transportation of goods takes place from a container freight station (CFS) or inland container depot (ICD) from a land customs station, air cargo complex, custom port or airport.
- Goods get an exemption from e-waybill requirements under the GST rules of respective state or union territories.
- Goods being transported under Customs seal/supervision or Customs bond.
- Cargo transported from/to Nepal or Bhutan.
- Goods transported with the Ministry of Defence as consignor or consignee.
- Rail transport of goods with Central Government, State Government or local authority as the consignor.
*This list of exemptions is designed as illustrative examples only and is not a comprehensive list:
GST E-Waybill portal: Factors to keep in mind for using the portal
As per the recent GST rules, eWay Bill needs to be generated on the Official Goods and Services Tax E-Way Bill System website.
You need to register on the GST eWay Bill Portal using your GSTIN (Goods and Services Tax Identification Number). The following is a snapshot of the registration page:
A separate GST eWay Bill Registration page for transporters is also available. The page looks as follows:
GST e-Waybill Login
Once you have registered on the official GST eWay Bill Portal, you can log into your eWay Bill Account using the credentials generated as part of the e-Way Bill registration process.
Process to create e-Waybill
The creation of eWay Bill is completely online and no offline process is currently available. The following are the key steps in the process of e-Way Bill creation:
Step1. Log on to the e-Waybill System using your credentials as provided after the registration on the official GST e-Waybill Portal.
Step 2
Once you have logged into the e-Way Bill System, you will see the following page:
Step 3
The details of new e-Waybill are to be provided on the following page:
The fields on this page are the same as required for creating a GST invoice.
Make sure you double-check all the data that is entered as there is no way to alter the tax details of an e-Way Bill once it is created. In case you need to change some key data of an E-way Bill, you must cancel the incorrect eWay Bill and create a new one. Once the new GST eWay Bill has been created, the eWay Bill is displayed as follows:
The above is a typical e-Way Bill which is generated with key fields such as the unique eWay Bill Number, E-Way Bill Date, Generated by, GSTIN of Recipients, etc. The e-Way Bill also contains a QR Code designed to provide easy verification of the authenticity of transportation documents.
The above is a typical e-Way Bill which is generated with key fields such as the unique eWay Bill Number, E-Way Bill Date, Generated by, GSTIN of Recipients, etc. The e-Way Bill also contains a QR Code designed to provide easy verification of the authenticity of transportation documents.
