What is an e-way bill? Limit, validity and rules

Rule 138 of the CGST Rules requires a registered person to generate an e-way bill before moving goods with a consignment value of more than ₹50,000. This applies to movement for a sale, for reasons other than a sale such as a branch transfer, and for goods bought from an unregistered person. Consignment value is the value on the invoice, bill of supply or delivery challan including GST, leaving out any exempt goods on the same document.

Some movements need an e-way bill at any value, such as goods sent to a job worker in another state. Some goods and some movements are exempt, such as goods carried on a non-motorised conveyance. A few states use a different limit for movement within the state, so check the e-way bill portal for yours.

An e-way bill has two parts. Part A carries the details from the invoice or challan, such as the GSTINs, place of delivery, document number, value, HSN code and reason for transport. Part B carries the vehicle number or transport document. Once both are filled in, the portal gives an e-way bill number (EBN) that travels with the goods.

The usual mistakes are checking the value before GST instead of after it, a wrong vehicle number in Part B, not updating Part B when the goods move to another truck, letting the bill expire on a delayed trip, and assuming small loads never need one even when they go to a job worker in another state.