E-way bill: when you need one, how to generate it, and how long it lasts

Under Rule 138 of the CGST Rules, a registered person who causes the movement of goods with a consignment value above ₹50,000 must generate an e-way bill before the movement begins, whether the movement is a sale, a return, a stock transfer between branches, a dispatch for job work, or an inward supply from an unregistered person. Consignment value is the invoice value including GST, and excludes the value of exempt goods billed on the same invoice.

The ₹50,000 limit is national for movement between states. For movement within a state, several states have notified a higher limit, commonly ₹1 lakh, and a few exempt certain goods or distances; check your state’s notification. Two cases need an e-way bill whatever the value: inter-state movement for job work, and inter-state movement of handicraft goods by persons exempt from registration.

Part A carries the GSTINs, the place of dispatch and delivery, the document number and date, value, HSN and reason for transport. Part B carries the vehicle number, or the transport document number for rail, air or ship. Part B may be left blank where goods move less than 50 km within the state between the consignor or consignee and the transporter’s place. For businesses on e-invoicing, Part A is auto-populated from the invoice.

1. Log in to the e-way bill portal at ewaybillgst.gov.in with your credentials and the one-time password; two-factor authentication is now mandatory for all taxpayers.
2. Choose Generate New under the E-Waybill menu.
3. Select the transaction type (outward or inward), sub-type (supply, export, job work, and so on), the document type and its number and date.
4. Enter the consignor and consignee details, the items with HSN, quantity, taxable value and tax rates.
5. Enter the transporter ID or the vehicle number and the approximate distance; the portal computes it from the PIN codes and allows a 10 percent variation.
6. Submit. A 12-digit e-way bill number is generated; it can also be created by SMS, the mobile app, bulk upload, or an API from your billing software.

Validity starts when Part B is first entered and each day ends at midnight of the following day. It can be extended within eight hours before or after expiry, with the reason and the current location. Two limits introduced on 1 January 2025 now apply: an e-way bill cannot be generated for a document dated more than 180 days earlier, and extensions cannot carry validity beyond 360 days from the original generation.

An e-way bill can be cancelled within 24 hours if the goods do not move and it has not been verified in transit. The recipient can reject one generated against their GSTIN within 72 hours; after that it is deemed accepted.

• Goods listed in the annexure to Rule 138: household LPG, kerosene under the public distribution system, postal baggage, natural or cultured pearls, precious stones, jewellery, currency, used personal and household effects, and coral.
• Goods moved by non-motorised conveyance.
• Goods moving from a port, airport or land customs station to an inland container depot or freight station for clearance.
• Exempt goods, other than de-oiled cake.
• Alcohol for human consumption and the petroleum products outside GST.
• Empty cargo containers, and goods moved under customs bond or seal.

Some states run a separate e-way bill for gold and precious stones moved within the state.

A taxpayer who has not filed GSTR-3B for two consecutive months, or CMP-08 for two quarters, is blocked from generating e-way bills until the returns are filed; suppliers and recipients cannot generate against that GSTIN either.

Moving goods without a valid e-way bill attracts a penalty of ₹10,000 or the tax sought to be evaded, whichever is higher, under section 122. If the vehicle is intercepted, the goods and the conveyance can be detained under section 129 and released on payment of a penalty equal to 200 percent of the tax payable, or on the owner not coming forward, 50 percent of the value. Clerical errors such as a wrong PIN code or one wrong digit in the vehicle number are covered by a circular limiting the penalty to a nominal amount, but only for the listed minor errors.

The commonest causes are dull: the invoice dated after the e-way bill, Part B never updated when the vehicle changed, validity expired at a transhipment point. Our return filing service keeps the GSTR-3B current so the portal is never blocked, and notice replies cover detention orders.