Today, the term ‘E-way bill’ is used extensively. It refers to an electronically-generated document which is needed for the movement of goods whose value is more than Rs.50,000, from one place to another all over India, except Delhi. In the case of movement of goods within Delhi, an E-way bill needs to be created for goods whose value is more than Rs.1 Lakh. Further, this document needs to be generated online for moving goods, regardless of whether such transportation happens intra-state or inter-state. In fact, the E-way bill generated in any state is valid in every state as well as the Union Territory of India.

How long is an E-way Bill Valid?

An E-way bill is valid for a certain period as given below from the relevant date:-

Distance Covered	Period of Validity
Distance which is less than 100 km	1 Day
For each 100 km or part thereof	1 Added Day

Here the relevant date for calculating the validity of the E-way bill will be the date on which it has been generated. Further, the validity period starts from the time at which the E-way bill has been generated, and every day till the period of expiry shall be counted, which would end on the midnight of the next day of generation of E-way bill.

In exceptional cases where the goods could not be moved within the designated validity period stated in the E-way bill, the transporter needs to generate another E-way bill after updating the information in Part B of Form GST EWB 01. Further, in the case of certain goods, the commissioner may prolong the validity period of the E-way bill.

What is the Date of the Applicability of E-way Bill?

The applicability of E-way bill under the GST system is from 1st April 2018 for the transportation of goods from one state to another. Further, the E-way bill has been implemented in different stages during the period starting from 15^th April 2018 to 16^th June 2018. The stage-by-stage roll-out has been completed now and currently, the E-way bill is applicable in all of the states. With the introduction of E-way bill under the GST system, the way bill, a physical document which has been mandatory under the VAT regime for the purpose of transporting goods, is been replaced by the former.

Who All Are Required to Generate an E-way Bill?

The E-way bill under the GST system needs to be generated by

• Each registered individual who is responsible for the transportation of goods
• In connection with a supply (for example, sales); or
• For some other reasons than supply (for example, branch transfer, sales return, etc.); or
• Owing to inward supply received from an unregistered individual
• Each unregistered person who is responsible for the transportation of goods.

Generation of E-way Bill by a Registered Person

If the transportation of goods is done by a registered person as a consignor (that is, seller) or the recipient of supply is carried out as a consignee (that is, buyer) in his own vehicle, or a hired one, or by vessel, or by railroad, or by air, the registered person or the recipient would be able to generate the E-way bill in Form GST EWB 01 on the common portal, after filling in the necessary details in Part B of the Form GST EWB 01.

Suppose if a registered person sends the goods to the transporter for moving those by road, and if the E-way bill for the same has not been generated, the responsibility of generating the E-way bill would be on the transporter. The registered individual should provide the information concerning the transporter first in Part B of the Form GST EWB 01 on the portal, following which the E-way bill would be generated by the transporter as per the information provided by the registered individual in Part A of the Form GST EWB 01.

Generation of E-way Bill by an Unregistered Person

If the goods are moved by a person who is unregistered under the GST regime in his own conveyance, or by means of a hired one, or via a transporter, the E-way bill would have to be generated by the transporter or by the unregistered person himself in Form GST EWB 01 on the government portal. Further, if the goods are delivered by an unregistered person to a registered person, and the latter is aware of the time of the transportation of goods, the responsibility regarding the movement of goods falls on the registered person. In such circumstances, either the transporter or the registered person would have to complete the formalities regarding the generation of the E-way bill.

What are the Responsibilities of a Transporter?

• If the consignor (seller) or the consignee (buyer) has not generated the E-way bill and the total value of the consignment is greater than Rs.50,000, the transporter would have to generate Form GST EWB 01 as per the invoice, or delivery challan, or
  bill of supply
• A transporter who shifts goods from one conveyance to another during
  a transit is required to modify the details of the conveyance in the E-way bill on the government portal before such transfer is made and also before he proceeds further with the movement of goods
• If there are several consignments to be transported in a conveyance, the transporter should provide the serial number of each E-way bill generated individually with regard to every consignment on the common portal, and a consolidated E-way bill should be generated in the Form GST EWB 02 on the GST portal before moving the goods.

The Situations Where E-way Bills are not required

It is not needed to generate E-way bills in the below-mentioned circumstances:

• The goods are moved to a distance less than 10 km within a certain state, from the business location of the consignor to that of the transporter for moving it further
• The goods are moved to a distance less than 10 km within a particular state, from the business location of the transporter to that of the consignee
• The goods are conveyed from the airport, port, land customs station, and air cargo complex to a domestic container yard or a freight station for the purpose of clearance by the Customs department
• The goods are conveyed by a non-motorized conveyance
• The transportation of goods within those areas mentioned under clause (d) of sub-rule (14) of rule 138 of the GST Rules governing the concerned state
• For some goods like jewelry, personal and household stuff, etc.

Note: For transporting goods to a distance greater than 10 km but lesser than 50 km, the generation of E-way bill is compulsory. However, it is not required to provide the transportation details in the concerned E-way bill.

The Documents Which Are to be carried by those in Charge of Transportation

The person in charge of transportation need to carry:

• The invoice, or delivery challan, or bill of supply, and
• A copy of the E-way bill or the E-way bill number, either physically or connected to a Radio Frequency Identification Device which is implanted on to the conveyance in a manner which is notified by the commissioner.

To sum it up, here the rules and regulations concerning the E-way bills are discussed in detail to provide an insight into the entire procedure.