Validity of e-way bill narrowed by increasing distance from 100 km. to 200 km. per day

The CBIC vide Notification No. 94/2020-Central Tax, dated December 22, 2020, has issued Central Goods and Services Tax Rules (Fourteenth Amendment), 2020, inter alia, amending Rule 138 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 ("CGST Rules"), w.e.f. January 1, 2021, in the following manner:

• The validity of e-way bill under Rule 138(10) of the CGST Rules has been amended, according to which the e-way bill will now be valid for 1 day for every 200 km of travel, as against 100 km earlier, in cases other than Over Dimensional Cargo or multimodal shipment in which at least one leg involves transport by ship.

• For every 200 km. or part thereof thereafter, one additional day will be allowed.

Rule 138(10) of the CGST Rules effective from January 1, 2021, will read as under:

"(10) An e-way bill or a consolidated e-way bill generated under this rule shall be valid for the period as mentioned in column (3) of the Table below from the relevant date, for the distance, within the country, the goods have to be transported, as mentioned in column (2) of the said Table:-

Provided that the Commissioner may, on the recommendations of the Council, by notification, extend the validity period of an e-way bill for certain categories of goods as may be specified therein:

Provided further that where, under circumstances of an exceptional nature, including trans-shipment, the goods cannot be transported within the validity period of the e-way bill, the transporter may extend the validity period after updating the details in Part B of FORM GST EWB-01, if required.

Provided also that the validity of the e-way bill may be extended within eight hours from the time of its expiry.

Explanation 1.- For the purposes of this rule, 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 the period expiring at midnight of the day immediately following the date of generation of e-way bill.

Explanation 2.- For the purposes of this rule, the expression "Over Dimensional Cargo" shall mean a cargo carried as a single indivisible unit and which exceeds the dimensional limits prescribed in rule 93 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, made under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988)."

The Notification can be accessed here

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