Brief Note on E- Way Bill

By:
Pranav Sharma
E-WAY BILL
Introduction:
Transport and logistics industry is important for the movement of goods across the country.
With a 10% annual growth every year, the sector has reaped the benefits of rapid expansion
in the automobile industry, changes in taxation, and the boom of the e-com sector which
relies on logistics for pan-India service.

Earlier in VAT regime waybill is used. A waybill is a receipt or a document issued by a

carrier giving details and instructions relating to the shipment of a consignment of goods and
the details include name of consignor, consignee, and the point of origin of the consignment,
its destination, and route. Under GST regime, government has decided to implement E- WAY
bill, for inter-state it will commence from February 2018 and for intra-state from June 2018

What is E-WAY BILL?

A pre-signed order for transport of goods that is obtained electronically through the GSTN
(Goods and Services Tax Network). A consignment, which is worth Rs. 50,000 in value and
for minimum 10 km, cannot be transported without an e-way bill. The e-way bill has to be
generated before the goods are transported. The bill can be generated from the GSTN portal
and every registered taxpayer must require this e-way bill along with the goods transferred.
When an e-way is generated, a unique e-way bill number (EBN) is allocated and is available
to the supplier, recipient, and the transporter. E-way bill will also be allowed to be generated
or cancelled through SMS.

Objectives to issue E-WAY Bill :

 Single e-Way Bill for movement of the goods throughout the country.
 To prevent the evasion of tax.
 Hassle free movement of goods across India.
 Tracking the movement of goods with e-Way Bill number.
 Easier verification of the e-Way Bill by officers with previous verification records.

When should an e-way bill be generated?

E-way bill will be generated when there is movement of goods –

 In relation to a ‘supply’.
 For reasons other than a ‘supply’ (a return).
 Due to inward ‘supply’ from an unregistered person.
The term ‘supply’ usually means:

1. Sale – sale of goods and payment made

2. Transfer – branch transfers for instance

3. Barter/Exchange – where the payment is by goods instead of in money

Therefore, e-way bills must be generated on the common portal for all these types of
movements.

Methods of Generating E-Way Bill

E-way bill must be generated when there is a movement of goods of more than Rs 50,000 in
value to or from a Registered Person. A Registered person or the transporter may choose to
generate and carry e-way bill even if the value of goods is less than Rs 50,000.

Unregistered persons or their transporters may also choose to generate an e-way bill. This
means that an e-way bill can be generated by both registered and unregistered persons.
However, where a supply is made by an unregistered person to a registered person, the
receiver will have to ensure all the compliances are met as if they were the supplier.

An e-way bill contains two parts- Part A to be furnished by the person who is causing
movement of goods of consignment value exceeding Rs.50,000/- and part B (transport
details) to be furnished by the person who is transporting the goods.

People who can generate E-way bill

Who Time Annexure Part Form

Registered person in GST Ahead of Goods Complete Part A Form

Movement GST
INS-1

Registered person is consignee or Ahead of Goods Complete Part B Form

consignor Movement GST
INS-1

Registered person is consignor or Ahead of Goods Complete Part A & Form

consignee and goods are transferred Movement B GST
over to the transporter of goods INS-1
Transporter of Goods Ahead of Goods Complete Form GST –
Movement INS-1 if consignor
does not

Recipient is registered to the Recipient Undertakes – –

unregistered person compliance assuming
as supplier

Acceptance of GST E-way Bill

The generated e-way bill gets acceptance in the following cases:

 The consignment of available e-way bill is accepted by the recipient who is registered
on common portal
 If in case the recipient doesn’t respond to the available E-way bill details within 72
hours, then it is considered that the e-way bill is accepted by the recipient.

The E-way bill does not need consent in the following case and considered to be accepted:

 If the goods transportation comes under Annexure of Rule 138(14)

 When the mode of transfer is non-motorized conveyance
  If the goods are transported to inland container port or a freight station for customs
clearance from the airport, air cargo complex, and the port
 If the movement of Goods is to the concerned areas of the states covered under
clause(d) of sub-rule (14) of rule 138 of GST.

Cancellation of E-Way Bill

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 maybe 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-waybill. However, an e-way bill
cannot be cancelled if it has been verified in transit in accordance with the provisions of rule.

Validity of E-Way Bill

The validity of e-way bill depends on the distance to be travelled by the goods. For a distance
of less than 100 Km thee-way bill will be valid for a day from the relevant date. For every
100 Km thereafter, the validity will be additional one day from the relevant date. The
“relevant date” shall mean the date on which the e-way bill has been generated and the period
of validity shall be counted from the time at which the e-way bill has been generated and
each day shall be counted as twenty-four hours.

Purpose and Utility

 Reduce time taken in multiple check posts and make movement efficient.
 Better tracking of transported goods with mechanism like RFTG.
 Reduce India Logistic cost to GDP ratio currently very high compared to other
nations.
 Reduce tax evasions with proper invoicing.
 Digitization of the documentation process will ensure accountability and easier
verification.

Concern of E-way bill:

 Multiple E-way bills required for intra state and interstate trade, as state have their
separate format of E-way bill.
 Complicated the tax collection process. For instance if individual change their
transport system then they have to generate new e-way bill.
 There is fix time limit for e-way bill to be expired, hence the merchant have to ship
that consignment within those time period, else they have to generate new E-way bill.
 Create a problem for e-commerce farm. They have to generate e-way bill each time
they change the dealer for shipment. If the customer in the meantime, cancels the
order before it reaches him, another e-way bill will have to be generated.
  All these e-way bills will then also have to be matched with the invoices.

Conclusion:
Karnataka e-way bill successful implementation comes as a silver lining. However it
important for Government to pacify industry nervousness by simplifying rules for e-way bills
and ensuring robust IT backbone .The transition from pen and paper to online documentation
will have to be done in phases with ample scope for necessary changes. And most
importantly, the government will also have to factor in unavoidable delays (say due to natural
or man-made calamities) and list out the rules for expired e-way bills in such cases. If
implemented wisely, e-way bills have the potential to reshape the logistics industry and make
transport of goods easier and faster.