CBEC on 14th April, 2017 released Electronic
Way (E-Way) Bill Rules. These rules require furnishing of information regarding
any movement of goods in an online manner by generating an E-Way Bill.
Some of the Major
features of E-way Bill Rules 2017 are as follows:
Meaning of E-Way
Bill: - E-way bill is an electronic way bill
for movement of goods which can be generated on the GSTN (common portal). A ‘movement’ of goods
of more than Rs 50,000 in value cannot be made by a registered person without
an e-way bill.
1. Information
to be furnished before movement & transportation of goods by way of generation of an E-Way Bill if the
Value of consignment exceeds INR. 50,000.
An E-Way bill
shall be generated when there is :
- In relation to a
‘supply’
- For reasons other
than a ‘supply’ i.e. returns etc.
- Due to inward
‘supply’ from an unregistered person.
Basically
supply means –
a.
Sale
– sale of goods and payment made
b.
Transfer
– say branch transfers
c.
Barter/Exchange
– Payment by goods instead of money.
Therefore,
e-way bills must be generated on the common portal for all types of movement of
goods.
2. Person
Responsible for Generation of E-Way Bills & Forms for E-way bill Generation.
a. Registered
Person : When goods are transported by Registered persons only.
When
goods are transported by consignor or consignee E-way bill shall be generated
by Consignor/consignee electronically
after filling information in Part B of
Form GST INS-01.
In
this case it is not necessary that Goods are transported by consignor/consignee
in his own vehicle. Goods may be transported in hired vehicles also.
b. Transporter
: When goods are handed over to transporter.
The
registered person whether consignor or consignee shall furnish the information
relating to transporter in Part B of
Form GST INS-01 & E-Way bill
shall be generated by transporter on the basis of information filled by
registered person in Part A of Form GST INS-01.
Further,
An E-Way bill has to be generated by transporter where an E-Way bill has not
been generated by consigner as per provisions of Sub Rule (1) & value of
consignment exceeds INR 50,000.
3. Generation of
Unique E-Way bill Number (EBN)
On generation
of the e-way bill on the common portal, a Unique E-Way Bill Number (EBN) shall
be made available to the supplier, the recipient and the transporter on the
common portal.
4. Option to
generate E-Way Bill even if value of consignment does not exceed INR 50,000.
A registered person or the transporter
may, at his option, generate and carry the e-way bill even if the value of the
consignment is less than fifty thousand rupees.
5. Consolidated
E-Way Bill in respect of multiple consignments transported in a same carriage
The
registered person shall enter the details of E-Way bills generated on the
electronic portal & generate a
Consolidated E-Way bill in respect of such multiple consignments.
6. Transfer of
goods from one conveyance to another by the Transporter.
Any
transporter transferring goods from one conveyance to another in the course of
transit shall, before such transfer and further movement of goods, a new E-Way
bill shall be generated on the common portal in FORM GST INS-01 specifying
therein the further mode of transport.
This clause
covers situation where goods are transported by one or more modes of transport
including Rail or Road or Airways or in case of accidents requiring shifting of
goods from one carriage top another.
7. Cancellation
of E-Way Bill
An E-Way bill shall be cancelled within 24 hours of its generation if :
a. if goods are not being transported at all.
b. if goods are not being transported as per the
specifications of E-Way bill
The E-Way bill may be cancelled electronically
on the common portal or through a facilitation centre notified by the
Commissioner.
8. Period of
Validity of E-Way Bill.
Validity of an E-way bill depends upon the distance to be travelled by the goods. An
E-way bill shall remain valid for period of time as mentioned below.
|
Distance travelled by Goods
|
Valid from
|
Validity
|
|
Less than 100 km
|
Time
at which e-way bill is generated
|
1 day
|
|
100 km to 300 km
|
3 days
|
|
|
300 km to 500 km
|
5 days
|
|
|
500 km to 1000 km
|
10 days
|
|
|
1000 km or more
|
15 days
|
9. Documents
& Devices to be carried by a Person In Charge of Conveyance.
The person in charge of a conveyance shall carry —
(a) the invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan, as the case may
be; and
b) a copy of the e-way bill or the e-way bill number, either physically
or mapped to RFID embedded on to the conveyance.
Invoice Reference Number may be produced in lieu of
Tax Invoice.
A registered
person may obtain an Invoice Reference Number from the common portal by
uploading on the portal , tax invoice issued by him in FORM GST INV-1,
and produce the same for verification by the proper officer in lieu of the tax
invoice and such number shall be valid for a period of thirty days from the
date of uploading
10. Embedded
RFID with conveyance necessary for certain transporters.
The
Commissioner may, by notification, require a class of transporters to obtain a
unique RFID and get the said device embedded on to the conveyance and map the
e-way bill to the RFID before movement of goods.
11. Verification
of Documents & Conveyances.
In case of all Inter State or Intra State movement of goods, any
conveyance may be intercepted by the Commissioner or any other officer authorized
by him to verify the E-Way bill or E-way Bill no in physical form.
11(a). Commissioner shall get RFID reader installed at places where
verification of movement of goods is to be carried out.
11(b). Verification on Receipt of
specific information relating to Tax Evasion.
In such cases, physical verification of conveyance can be conducted by
any officer after obtaining approval of Commissioner or any other authorized by
him in this behalf.
11(c). Physical Verification shall be
conducted only once if any, during the
course of transit.
Where physical verification of a consignment being transported in a
conveyance has taken place in a state, then such consignment shall not be
stopped for physical verification at any place in same state unless any
specific information regarding tax evasion is made available subsequently.
12. Detention of
vehicle exceeding 30 minutes.
Reporting in Form GST INS -04: If a
vehicle has been intercepted for inspection of consignment, for a period
exceeding 30 minutes, the transporter
may upload the information about such detention in Form GST INS-04.
Such reporting facility regarding
detention & stoppage of vehicle is a welcome provision in GST
Rules & shall imply more
accountability for tax officials & a moral check on unnecessary harassment
of transport operators & traders.
Synopsis: As per GST Rules, Information regarding
transportation or movement of goods from whether Inter-State or Intra State
shall be furnished to Tax authorities by generation of E-way Bills. This will
lead to a complete shift in the methods of how goods are move or transported
across India. However, such reporting
requirements will definitely take a toll on small traders who are less
acquainted with digital mode of working & will lead to their harassment at
the hands of tax officials.
The proposed E-way rules also empower the tax officials to stop &
verify any consignment at any time under authorization from the Commissioner.
Any discrepancy in E-way bill may lead to detention of entire consignment.
Therefore, an increased burden of compliance has been imposed on traders to
exercise & follow such rules. However, provisions like verification of
consignment only once in a state &
facility to report detention of vehicle on the online portal has definitely
been incorporated keeping in mind the ease & hassle free operation of
traders.
Contributed by Tanveer Alam at Sandeep Ahuja & Co
