Is e way bill required for purchase return?

Is e way bill required for purchase return?

Under such circumstance, the transporter can get one more e-way bill generated with the help of supplier or recipient by indicating supply as 'Sales Return' and with relevant document details, goods can be returned to supplier as per his agreement with him.

Q.1 Where multiple invoices are generated on the same customer to be supplied through a same truck. Whether multiple E-way bills must be generated or one e-way bill shall suffice?

Ans: Each invoice/delivery challan shall be considered as one consignment and therefore for each invoice one e-way bill has to be generated irrespective of same or different consignors or consignees.

Q.2 Can multiple invoices be clubbed to generate one e-way bill?

Ans: No, Multiple invoices/delivery challan cannot be clubbed to generate one e-way bill. As provided above each invoice shall be considered as one consignment for the purpose of generating e-way bills. However, after generating all these EWBs, one Consolidated EWB may be prepared by transporter for transportation purpose, if all such goods are going in one vehicle.

Q.3 If goods are supplied in same truck, whether e-way bill would have to be generated even if value of each invoice individually is less than the threshold limit of Rs.50,000/- but overall it crosses Rs.50,000/-?

Ans: Sub Rule (1) of Rule 138 of the CGST Rules require that every registered person who causes movement of goods of consignment value exceeding fifty thousand Rupees is required to generate E-Way bill. Hence, as per this rule, the e-way bill may not be required to be generated if the value of consignment is less than Rs. 50,000/-

Further, sub-rule 7 provides that where consignor or consignee has not generated E-way bill in accordance with provisions of sub-rule (1) and the value of goods carried in the conveyance is more than Rs. 50,000 Thousand Rupees, the transporter shall generate E-Way bill based on the invoice/delivery challan/bill of supply. A plain reading of this sub-rule gives an indication that the E-Way bill is required in case value of consignment in the conveyance exceeds Rs. 50000, even though individual values may be less than Rs. 50,000/-.

However, if one carefully analyse sub-rule 7, it gets attracted only when a consignor/consignee who was required to generate the E-way bill having a value of consignment exceeding Rs. 50,000/- but has not generated (fails to generate) the same. If this view is taken, the e-way bill may not be required for consignment value less than Rs. 50,000/- even if the total value of goods in the conveyance exceeds Rs. 50,000/-.

e.g. if there are 51 consignments of Rs. 1,000 each by different consignors in a truck, the value of all individual consignments is less than Rs. 50,000/- then as per Sub Rule (1) – there is no need to generate E-way bill. If sub-rule 7 is interpreted in such manner that total value of all consignments to be considered, then transporter has to generate the e-way bill for all consignments (of the very small value of Rs. 1,000 each) which may not be the intention of the legislator. It is expected that suitable clarification will be issued by the government to clarify the same to ensure consistent practice across the country.

Q.4 How to generate the e-way bill, if the goods of one invoice are being moved in multiple vehicles simultaneously?

Ans: Where goods pertaining to one invoice are transported in multiple vehicles. For example, Goods transported in semi-knocked down or completely knocked down condition, the e-way bill shall be generated for each of such vehicles based on the delivery challans issued for that portion of the consignment and:

a) the supplier shall issue the complete invoice before dispatch of the first consignment;

b) the supplier shall issue a delivery challan for each of the subsequent consignments, giving reference to the invoice;

c) each consignment shall be accompanied by copies of the corresponding delivery challan along with a duly certified copy of the invoice; and

d) the original copy of the invoice shall be sent along with the last consignment.

Above methodology could be applicable in case of imports also where goods imported in the large container is transported through multiple trucks from the port to the factory.

Q.5 Whether E-way bills are required to be generated for movement of goods billed as services such as works contract, the composite supply of service, job-work charges etc.

Ans: Yes, an e-way bill is required to be generated in relation to supply and even for the purpose other than supply, therefore wherever there is any movement of goods of the consignment value exceeding Rs.50,000/- even as a part of services, the e-way bill would be required to be generated. In case, invoicing is later done as services, then the movement of such goods can take place under the cover of the delivery challan.

Q.6 How to determine the consignment value and Rs.50,000/- benchmark in case of goods removed other than that of supply i.e. sample issues, removal for trial, warranty removals, intra-state stock transfers etc.?

Ans: The term “Consignment Value” is neither defined under this law nor in e-way bill rules. However, where goods are transported for the purpose other than supply, where the invoice cannot be issued, the e-way bill can be raised against any other document like delivery challan, bill of supply etc. The value of such goods may have to be determined as per valuation provisions under GST.

Q.7 Is e-way bills system applicable even for movement of goods as a courier?

Ans: Yes, for the purpose of movement of goods, courier agencies may be regarded as the transporter of the goods. Therefore, an e-way bill would be applicable even for movement of goods as courier provided consignment value exceeds Rs. 50,000/-. There could be different business practices followed in case of courier industries which needs to be suitably considered for generating an e-way bill.

Q.8 In case of multimodal transport, where for first mile it is required to generate an e-way bill for road, second, mile by train and last mile by road. These transporters could be same service providers or different service providers. How to generate an e-way bill in this situation?

Ans: Where the e-way bill is generated and goods are to be transported from one conveyance to the other in course of transit, the transporter causing further movement of goods shall be required to update its details in Part – B of the e-way bill before the movement of such goods commences. Therefore, even in case of multi-modal transport initially, e-way bill must be generated giving the details of the vehicle carrying the goods by road. Once the goods are unloaded from this vehicle and loaded in the train, part B of E-way bill needs to be updated. Upon final transit of goods from rail to truck at last mile, part B must be further updated with the details of the vehicle carrying the goods for final delivery.

Q.9 How shall one calculate the distance and validity of goods in case of supply through multi-modal transport?

Ans: The distance and the validity of e-Way Bill shall remain the same even if the goods are supplied through a multi-modal transport. In order to calculate the validity of the e-way bill, the distance to be covered by all the modes combined together must be taken into consideration. The validity provided in the rules is as under:

Distance	Validity
For a distance up to 100km	One day
For every 100km or part thereof thereafter	One additional day

Q.10 Who is cast with the ultimate responsibility of generating e-way bills? Consignor, consignee or the transporter?

Ans: The responsibility is cast on the registered person who causes the movement of goods. Hence, primary liability to raise E-way bill is on consignor. However, if consignor fails to generate the e-way bill, it may be generated by transporter also.

In case of supply of goods by an unregistered person to registered person, the liability to generate e–way bill is on the recipient.

Q.11 How to generate the e-way bill in case goods are to be moved to a weighbridge situated outside the factory and invoice cannot be issued unless goods are weighed?

Ans: E-way bill is required to be generated for any movement of goods. In this situation, a factory may send the goods to weighbridge by raising delivery challan on self and the e-way bill needs to be generated for such movement. Once the movement is terminated and goods are received back in the factory, then invoice can be raised and another e-way bill needs to be generated for movement of goods for sale to the customer. Considering practical difficulties, the government should consider giving relaxation in such cases.   

Q.12 Whether an e-way bill is required to be generated for movement of goods from one unit of the company to another unit through own vehicle located within 10 km?

Ans: Yes, e-way bill is required to be generated even in case of movement of goods within 10 km. The relaxation updating part B (vehicle details) is given only in cases of movement of goods from the place of business of consignor to the business of transporter for further movement of such goods, Therefore, in all other cases, e-way bill needs to be generated even if the distance to be covered is less than 10 km.

Q.13 What is meaning of the term consignment value to determine the threshold of Rs.50,000/- and whether the same needs to be computed with taxes or without taxes?

Ans: The term “consignment value” is neither defined in the GST act nor in the e-way bill rules provided therein. However, since it is specifically provided in the FAQ issued by department that one invoice shall be considered as one consignment, therefore taking this analogy one can state that the value provided in one invoice shall be considered as the consignment value. Further, this value must be computed inclusive of taxes in order to determine the threshold of Rs.50,000/- for generation of the e-way bill.

Q.14 Whether E-way bill is required to be generated for movement of exempted goods also?

Ans: There is no provision in the E-way bill rule which provides that it is not required to be generated in case of goods exempted from levy of GST. Hence, it has to be generated in movement of all goods. However, Annexure to Rule 138 covers 154 items. If the goods covered under consignment fall within the list of these 154 items, there is no need to generate e-way bills.

Q.15 What if the same invoice contains both categories of goods i.e. ones exempted for the purpose of e-way bills and taxable, then whether e-way bill needs to be generated?

Ans: In relation to this query, we may refer to the Rule 138 of CGST Act which provides that:

• Every registered person who causes movement of goods of consignment value exceeding fifty thousand rupees shall before commencement of movement of goods raise an e-way bill.
• Further, it is provided that a person is not required to generate an e-way bill if such movement is in regards to the goods specified in the Annexure to this Rule.

In view of the above, if the invoice covers the consignment which is not covered under list of 154 items, E-way has to be generated.

Q.16 How e-way bill needs to be generated in case of supply of goods by an unregistered person to a registered person?

Ans: Where the supply of goods is made by an unregistered person to a registered person, the e-way bill shall be generated by the recipient of such goods, as for the purpose of supply he can be said to be the person causing the movement of goods. Therefore, recipient, in this case, would generate e-way bill by furnishing details in Part-A of FORM GST EWB – 01.

Q.17 Can information submit for e-way bill be directly pushed for filing GST Returns?

Ans: The information furnished in the e-way bill will be available to the registered supplier on the common portal who may utilize the same for furnishing details in GSTR-1. The purpose is to facilitate the suppliers so that once information is furnished in the E-Way bill format, this is available to him for use in filing GSTR-1.

Q.18 What has to be done to the e-way bill, if the vehicle breaks down?

Ans: If the vehicle breaks down while in transit when the goods are being carried with e-way bill, then the transporter can cause to repair the vehicle and continue the journey. Where the goods are shifted to different vehicle, then the details of new vehicle must be updated in Part B and of e-way bill and continue the journey with new vehicle.

Q.19 How many times can Part-B or Vehicle number be updated for an e-way bill?

Ans: The user can update Part-B (Vehicle details) for each change in the vehicle used in the course of movement of consignment up to the destination point. However, the updating should be done within overall validity period of E-way bill.

Q.20 What has to be done, if the vehicle number has to be changed for the consolidated e-way bill?

Ans: There is an option available under the ‘Consolidated EWB’ menu as ‘regenerate CEWB’. This option allows changing the vehicle number to existing Consolidated EWB, without changing the EWBs and generates the new CEWB, which has to be carried with new vehicle. Old will become invalid for use.

Q.21 Can the ‘consolidated e-way bill’ (CEWB) have the goods / e-way bills which are going to be delivered before reaching the defined destination defined for CEWB?

Ans: Yes, the consolidated e-way bill can have the goods or e-way bills which will be delivered on the way of the consolidated e-way bill destination. That is, if the CEWB is generated with 10 EWBs to move to destination X, then on the way the transporter can deliver 3 consignments concerned to 3 EWBs out of these 10 and move with remaining 7 to the destination X.

Q.22 For the purpose of calculation of distance and validity, does it needs to be checked from the date and time of generation of individual e-way bill or whether the same needs to be calculated from the time of generation of consolidated e-way bill?

Ans: Consolidated e-way bill is like a trip sheet and it contains details of different e-way bill which are moving towards one direction, and these e-way bills will have different validity periods. Hence, consolidated e-way bill is not having any independent validity period. However, individual e-way bills in the consolidated e-way bill should reach the destination as per its validity period.

It is also worth noting that the date of invoice/delivery challan is not relevant for determining the beginning time of E-way bill.

Q.23 How does transporter come to know that particular e-way bill is assigned to him?

Ans: The transporter comes to know the EWBs assigned to him by the taxpayers for transportation, in one of the following ways:

• The transporter can go to reports section and select ‘EWB assigned to me for trans’ and see the list.
• The transporter can go to ‘Update Vehicle No’ and select ‘Generator GSTIN’ option and enter taxpayer GSTIN, who has assigned or likely to assign the EWBs to him.
• The taxpayer can contact and inform the transporter that the particular EWB is assigned to him.

Q.24 Can Part-B entry be assigned to another transporter by authorized transporter?

Ans: Part-B can be entered by the transporter assigned in the EWB or generator himself. But the assigned transporter cannot re-assign to some other transporter to update Part-B on the EWB system. Hence, where goods are shifted in the course of movement from one vehicle to another vehicle, part B may be updated by the first transporter only not by subsequent transporters. This could create practical difficulties when multiple vehicles are used in the course of completion of movement.

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Q.25 It may be possible that the authorized transporter is getting the goods transported through another transporter who has given the vehicle on hire basis. Can Part-B be updated by such other transporter who is merely plying the vehicle on hire basis?

Ans: No, Part-B can be entered only by the transporter assigned to the e-way bills or generator himself. But the authorized transporter cannot re-assign the right to update the e-way bill to some other transporter to update Part-B. Therefore, in practical circumstances, it is the transporter who issues the consignment note would be the one who shall be issuing the e-way bill.

Q.26 In case any information is wrongly submitted in e-way bill. Can the e-way bill be modified or edited?

Ans: The e-way bill once generated cannot be edited or modified. Only Part-B can be updated to it. Further, even if Part A is wrongly entered and submitted, even then the same cannot be later edited. In such a situation, e-way bill generated with wrong information has to be cancelled and generated afresh again. The cancellation is required to be done within twenty-four hours from the time of generation.

Q.27 Can the e-way bill be deleted?

Ans: The e-way bill once generated cannot be deleted. However, it can be cancelled by the generator within 24 hours of generation. If it has been verified by any proper officer within 24 hours, then it cannot be cancelled. Further, e-way bill can be cancelled if either goods are not transported or are not transported as per the details furnished in the e-way bill.

A recipient has right to cancel the e-way bill within 72 hours of its generation.

Q.28 Form for filling Part A asks for transporter document number i.e. Railway receipt no or bill of lading etc. However, how one can enter these details before movement of goods as the same is available only after submitting goods to the concerned authority?

Ans: E-way bill has to be updated with transport document details within one hour of submission and collection of transport document from rail/air/ship authority. Ideally, Part-B has to be updated before movement of goods from the place to submit. Although, this aspect is not provided in the law but the mechanism is provided in the FAQ issued by department dated 06.12.2017.

Q.29 Whether e-way bill needs to be generated for sales returns, rejection etc.?

Ans: Yes, e-way bill needs to be generated for any movement of goods. Therefore, even in case of sales returns, the e-way bill needs to be generated and in this situation, e-way bill needs to be generated by that person who is causing movement of such sales return or the transporter who is actually moving the goods.

Q.30 What should be done by the transporter if consignee refuses to take goods or rejects the goods for quality reason?

Ans: There is possibility that consignee or recipient may decline to take the delivery of consignment due to various reasons. Under such circumstance, the transporter can get one more e-way bill generated with the help of supplier or recipient by indicating supply as ‘Sales Return’ and with relevant document details, goods can be returned to supplier as per his agreement with him.