Way bill is a physical or electronic document that allows movement of goods, which can be obtained either manually or online.
E-way bill is an electronic way bill for movement of goods, which has to be generated on the GST (Common Portal). For movement of goods worth exceeding Rs. 50000, E-way bill is mandatory. The E-way bill generated on GST Portal will be valid for 1-15 days, depending upon the distance to be travelled.
The Rules for implementation of nationwide e-way bill system for inter-state movement of goods will be notified w.e.f 1st February, 2018. 'But in any case uniform system of e-way bill for inter-state as well as an intra-state movement will be implemented across the country by 1st June, 2018,' a ministry of finance press release said after the 24th meeting of GST Council held through video conference.
The nationwide e-way bill system will be ready to be rolled out on a trial basis latest by January 16, 2018. While the system for both inter-state and intra-state e-way bill generation will be ready January 16, 2018, the states may choose their own timings for implementation of e-way bill for intra-state movement of goods on any date before June 1, 2018.
As the total revenue collected under GST fell by around 10 percent to Rs. 83,346 crore for the month of October from over Rs. 92000 crore in September, the government felt since the implementation of some of the main features of GST such as matching of returns, e-way bill as well as reverse charge mechanism have been postponed, the tax compliance was not up to the mark.
Information to be furnished prior to the commencement of movement of goods and generation of e-way bill:
• E-way bill shall be generated by
• The information needs to be furnished before movement of goods, by a registered person who causes such movement.
• The details furnished under e-way bill will be communicated to the registered recipient for his acceptance or rejection of the consignment. The e-way bill shall be deemed accepted after 72 hours by the recipient unless rejected within the time span.
• Upon generation of e-way bill on the common portal, a unique e-way bill number (EBN) will be made available to the supplier, recipient and to the transporter on the common portal.
• The registered person or transporter may at its option, generate and carry the e-way bill even if the value of consignment is less than Rs. 50000.
Transfer of goods from one conveyance to another during transit:
In such a case, before such transfer and further movement of goods, transporter shall generate a new e-way bill, specifying the mode of transport.
Transportation of multiple consignments in one conveyance:
The transporter shall indicate the serial number of e-way bills generated in respect of each consignment and a consolidated e-way bill shall be generated before the movement of goods.
Where the consignor has not generated e-way bill as the value of goods or consignment did not exceed the limit of Rs. 50000, the transporter shall generate the same and also generate the consolidated e-way bill before the movement of goods.
For Example:
If the individual consignment made by a supplier A is of value Rs. 42,000 and Supplier B is of value Rs. 15,000. Then they are not required to generate the e-way bill. But, if the aggregate value of all the goods carried in the conveyance is more than Rs. 50,000 then the transporter shall generate e-way bill on the basis of Invoices/ Bill of Supply/ Delivery challan before the movement of goods. So in this Case, if the transporter carries the goods of both Supplier A and Supplier B, then the transporter needs to generate e-way bill and also to generate a consolidated e-way bill on the common portal prior to the movement of goods.
Cancellation of E-way bill:
If the e-way bill has been generated, but, goods are either not being transported or not being transported as per the details furnished, the e-way bill may be cancelled within 24 hours of its generation. However such e-way bill cannot be cancelled if it has been verified in transit.
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