What is e way Bill?

What is e way Bill?

E-Way Bill is the short form of Electronic Way Bill. ... When e-Way Bill is generated, a unique e-Way Bill Number (EBN) is made available to the supplier, recipient and the transporter. The e-Way Bill replaces the Way Bill, which was a physical document and existed during the VAT regime for the movement of goods.

As per the update on 23rd Mar 2018, Generation of the e-Way Bill has been made compulsory from 1st April 2018. Inter-state implementation of e-way bill is notified to be implemented from 1st April 2018.

The implementation of Eway Bill to kick-off from 15th April 2018 in a phased manner. States to be divided into 4 lots to execute this phased rollout.

When e-Way Bill is generated, a unique e-Way Bill Number (EBN) is made available to the supplier, recipient and the transporter.

The e-Way Bill replaces the Way Bill, which was a physical document and existed during the VAT regime for the movement of goods.

Who should generate an E way bill

Let’s try to understand who needs to generate an e way bill during transportation.

GST Registered Person:

(a) When a registered person causes the movement of goods/ consignment, either in the capacity of a consignee (i.e., buyer) or consignor (i.e., seller) in his/her vehicle or hired vehicle or railways or by air or by ship, then either the registered person or the recipient should generate the e-Way Bill in Form GST EWB 01 electronically on the common portal by furnishing information in Part B.

(b) When a registered person causes the movement of goods and hands these over to the transporter for transportation by road, but the e-Way Bill has not been generated, then it is the transporter who needs to generate the bill. The registered person will first furnish the information relating to the transporter in Part B of Form GST EWB. After which, the transporter will generate the e-Way Bill by the information furnished by the registered person through Part A of Form GST EQB 01.

Unregistered Person:

(a) When an unregistered person causes the movement of goods, through his/her conveyance or hired conveyance or using the services of a transporter, then the e-Way Bill needs to be generated either by the unregistered person or by the transporter, by completing Form GST EWB-01.

(b) When an unregistered person supplies the goods to a registered person AND the registered person is known to the unregistered person at the time of the start of the movement of goods, then it will be considered that the registered person is moving the consignment. In this case, the registered person or transporter shall complete the formalities of the e-Way Bill.

When Should E-Way Bill Be Issued

Ideally, e-Way Bill should be generated before the commencement of movement of goods above the value of INR 50,000 (either individual invoice or consolidated invoice of multiple consignments). The movement of goods will be either about a supply/ reasons other than supply (like return)/ inward supply from an unregistered person.

For purposes of an e-Way Bill, supply is considered either a payment in the course of business/ a payment which may not be in the course of business/ no consideration of payment (in the case of barter/ exchange).

Latest update as on 23rd Mar 2018:

The transporters need not generate the Eway bill (as Form EWB-01 or EWB-02) where all the consignments in the conveyance :

Individually (single Document**) is less than or equal to Rs 50,000 BUT

In Aggregate (all documents** put together) exceeds Rs 50,000.

(**Document means Tax Invoice/Delivery challan/Bill of supply)

GST E-Way Bill Format

Below is the image of the e-Way Bill to be electronically generated after completing the Form GST EWB-01.

The bill comprises of 2 parts – Part A and Part B.

Part A of the form is to collect the details of the consignment, usually about the invoice.

• GSTIN of Recipient:  The recipient of the goods needs to provide the GST Identification N
• Place of Delivery: The Pin Code of the place where goods are to be delivered needs to be filled in.
• Invoice or Challan Number: The Invoice or Challan number of the supplied goods, needs to be filled in.
• Value of Goods: The total consignment value of the goods.
• HSN CODE: The HSN (Harmonized System of Nomenclature) code of the transported goods is required. If the turnover is up to INR 5 crores, then the first two digits need to be mentioned. For a turnover more than INR 5 crores, four digits of HSN code are required.
• Reason for Transportation: One needs to select the most appropriate option from the list of reasons which is pre-defined.
• Transport Document Number: One needs to enter the Goods Receipt Number/ Railway Receipt Number/ Airway Bill Number/ Bill of Loading Number.

In Part B of this form, one needs to fill in the vehicle number of the transported goods. The transporter will complete this information in the common portal.

How To Generate e-Way Bills

e-Way Bills are generated either via online E-way bill system or SMS. The bill needs to be generated before the start of the movement of goods about supply/ reasons other than supply/ inward supply from an unregistered person. [Supply being defined sale of goods and payment made/ branch transfer/ barter or exchange].

Here is a step by step guide to generate E-Way Bill Online or Via SMS (created by NIC).

The table below is aimed to provide a bird’s eye-view of ‘Who, When and How’ will generate the e-Way Bill and which part of the form needs to be completed:

Who	When	Which Part	Form
A person Registered under GST	Before movement of goods	Complete Part A	GST EWB-01
If Registered person is consignor or consignee (mode of transport may be owned or hired) OR is recipient of goods	Before movement of goods	Complete Part B	GST EWB-01
Registered person is consignor or consignee and goods are handed over to transporter of goods	Before movement of goods	Complete Part B	The registered person to furnish information about the transporter GST EWB-01
Transporter of goods	Before movement of goods		e-Way Bill will be created based on the information completed by the registered person in Part A of GST EWB-01
An unregistered person under GST and recipient is registered	Recipient is considered to be same as the Supplier		1) If it is an intrastate/intra-union territory transport of 10 km or less from a business place of the consignor to business place of the transporter with the intention of further transportation, the supplier or the transporter is not required to furnish the details of conveyance in Part B of FORM GST EWB-01. 2) If air/ship /railways make the supply, then consignor or recipient needs to complete Part A of FORM GST EWB-01.

Responsibilities Of The Transporter

Under GST regime, when goods are moved from one place to another, the transporter needs to ensure to carry an e-Way Bill. When a registered person causes the movement of goods and hands these over to the transporter for transportation by road, but the e-Way Bill has not been generated, then it is the transporter who needs to create the bill.

When an unregistered person causes the movement of goods, through his/her conveyance or hired vehicle or services of a transporter, then the e-Way Bill needs to be generated and can be done by the transporter.

In cases where there are multiple consignments, being sent through one conveyance, the transporter has the responsibility to ensure that the serial number of each individually generated e-way bill per each consignment is entered on the common platform and a consolidated e-Way Bill via the Form GST EWB 02 is created.