How to Generate E-Way Bills Online Efficiently

September 27, 2024

11 min read

Electronic-Way Bill or E-Way Bill is a unique bill number and a document introduced under Goods and Tax Service (GST) and is generated for specific shipments/ movements of goods worth exceeding Rs. 50,000, both within states and interstates. A rule implied just three years ago forbids any GST registered person to transport/ ship goods exceeding the aforesaid value without the generation of an E-way bill.

This bill is to have a 12-digit EBN and is to be provided to the three major parties concerned with the goods: the supplier, the transporter and the respective receiver. Prior to this, the states used to issue individual and separate e-way bills which caused unnecessary contractions and tailbacks in the inter-state movements and thus came the need for the implementation of a national system applicable everywhere.

The purpose of this E-way Bill is to maintain a smooth affair of businesses and the transportation of goods by saving time and at the same time, this mechanism ensures the enforcement of GST laws on the goods throughout its transportation process. The other more important impetus of this is to keep a tab on the tax evasion attempts while it can also be a method to track the movement of goods.

Contents and Format of an E-Way Bill

An E-Way Bill consists of two parts, Part A and Part B.

Contents of Part A or EWB 01 are:
- GSTIN Number of the Recipient
- Place of Delivery (Pin Code)
- Invoice Number/ Challan Number (with the date of issue)
- Value of Goods
- HSN Code
  - If the Value of Goods is within and up to Rs. 5 Crores, the first 2 digits of the HSN Code will be required to mention
  - If the Value of Goods exceeds Rs. 5 Crores, the first 4 digits of the HSN Code will be required to mention.
- Reasons for Transportation
- Transport Document Number (Goods Receipt Number/ Railway Receipt Number/ Bill of Lading Number or Airway Receipt Number)
In Part B or EWB 02, the details of transportations need to be filed, such as the vehicle number in which the goods will be transported, etc. This shall be filed in the common portal by the transporter.

When to Generate an E-Way Bill?

To make it identifiable, certain categorizations have been formed with the transportation of goods exceeding the value of Rs. 50,000. In these stances, an E-Way Bill will be required to be generated for either each individual invoice or one for all invoices in aggregate, present in the mode of transportation. The times when an E-Way Bill will be required to be generated from the common portal are:

When the goods are transported in regard to a ‘supply’
In regard to a ‘Return’ or for intentions more than a ‘supply’
When an unregistered person sends these goods to a registered person, the receiver is to generate and take necessary steps in the E-Way Bill generation as they would do if they were the supplier.

Moreover, to make it clearer and simpler, the supply of goods and the purpose of the transportation have been elaborated further that brings light on the instances of requirement:

An E-Way bill will be required when a supply is made for a payment which may or may not be in the due course of any business.
An E-Way Bill will be required when a supply is made without any payment but is with regards to any purpose of:
- Sale
- Exchange/ Barter
- Transfer

Note: there are certain stances when the generation of an E-Way Bill is mandatory even when the value of the goods are below INR 50,000 and this applies on:

Inter-state transport of Handicraft goods by any dealer who is exempted from GST registration
Inter-state transportation of goods by any Principal/ registered job-worker to the unregistered job-worker.

How to Login to the E-Way Bill Portal?

Keeping in mind the wide-spread use of the portal, the login and generation process has been kept straightforward and plain sailing. Here’s the steps on logging in and accessing the web portal:

Visit the official website of GST E-Way Bill System, https://ewaybill.nic.in/
Click on the Login option and enter your User Name, Password and Captcha Code for authenticity and click the “Login” button
After the successful corroboration, you’ll be redirected to the main page of the E-Way Bill Portal that opens up various options related to E-Way Bill Generation and Management.
These options will consist:
- E-Way Bill (generating, updating vehicle number, cancelling and printing)
- Consolidated EWB (consolidating, updating and cancelling them)
- Reject
- Reports
- Masters
- User Management
- Registration

Documents Required for Generating a E-Way Bill

Tax invoice, Bill of supply or Delivery Challan
Transport Document Number
Transporter Id and Vehicle Number

How to Generate E-Way Bills on E-Way Web Portal?

On the main menu of the E-Way Bill portal after logging in click on the ‘E-Way Bill’ option and choose ‘Generate New’ from the drop-down list (sub-options)
This will open the form for the generation of the E-Way Bill. This form consists of numerous fields, compulsory of which will be marked by a star. There are stars of two colors, the red star indicates the respective field is mandatory for E-Way Bill generation and the green star signifies information required compulsorily for the GSTR form.
The form can be broadly divided into three parts based on the type of information needed:

	Divisions	Containing Information
1.	Transaction Related Details	❖ Transaction Type (Outward/ Inward) ❖ Transaction Sub-Type (Based on the selected type) ❖ Document Type (Challan/ Bill/ Invoice) ❖ Document Number ❖ Document Date
2.	Item/ Good/ Supply Related Details	❖ Product Name ❖ Product Description ❖ HSN ❖ Quantity ❖ Unit ❖ Value/ Taxable Value ❖ Tax Rate (CGST+SGST+IGST- Cess) ❖ Total Amount / Taxable Amount
3.	Transporter Details	❖ Mode of Transportation (Railways/ Airways/ Waterways) ❖ Distance to be Covered (Approximate) ❖ Transporter Name ❖ Transporter ID ❖ Transporter Document Number ❖ Date of Transportation ❖ Transporter Vehicle Number

For an Outward (Supplier) transaction, the fields will be auto-updated with the business details and will have an option for additional changes/ edits. For an Inward (Receiver) transaction, the user will be required to fill the fields manually. These fields consist of the following information:
- Name of the Supplier
- Address
- GSTIN (in case of GST unregistered supplier, mention URP)
- Place
- Pin code
After successfully filling out the form, click on the “Submit” option.

After this, the E-Way Bill shall be generated. Thereafter, the form will be forwarded to the transporter where they will have to enter the “Vehicle Number” and other necessary details if required.

Documents Required During the Transportation of Goods

Bill/ Invoice/ Challan of Supply/ Delivery
Transporter ID
Transporter Document Number
Date of Transportation
Copy of the unique 12-digit EBN

Validity of E-Way Bill

The Validity of E-Way Bills depends on the distance the supply needs to be covered and the means of transportation. In general, a limit has been set to 100km.

If the distance is less than 100km, the bill will be valid till one day prior to the pertinent/ relevant date.
If the distance is above 100km, then for every subsequent 200km, the validity will extend by one day from the pertinent date.

However, if the delivery is delayed, the bill generator will be able to update and extend the validity before and after 4 hours of the expiry.

Exemptions of E-Way Bill

The generation of E-Way bill will not be required in the following instances:

If the value of the goods is below INR 50,000
If the goods are exempt from GST
If the goods are being shipped with clearance from Customs Department from a port, airport, land customs stations or cargo complexes to a depot or station
If the goods are being transported by non-motorized means of transportation

How to Generate E-Way Bills Online FAQs:

1. Can I add two invoices in one e-way bill?

No, the e-way bill system allows for the creation of a single e-way bill for each invoice. Each invoice should have its own corresponding e-way bill. This ensures accurate tracking and compliance with the e-way bill process. You can easily check the status of your e-way bill through the e-way bill portal. Utilizing the benefits of the e-way bill system, you can efficiently manage your transportation of goods. If you have further questions about e-way bills or SME loans, feel free to ask.

2. Should I generate e-way bills against invoices raised for supply service?

Yes, generating e-way bills for supply services is essential under the e-way bill system. This process ensures compliance and seamless transportation. You can easily generate, check the status, and access the e-way bill portal online. It simplifies the process, ensures transparency, and is beneficial for SMEs, enhancing their loan eligibility wherever applicable.

3. Is it possible to Update E-Way Bill details?

Yes, it is possible to update certain fields of the E-Way bills after their generation. These fields include information related to: ● Vehicle Number ● Vehicle-Bulk ● EWB Transporter To update any available, login to the common portal, in the dashboard click on the option ‘E-Waybill’ and choose the respective from the applicable Sub options.

4. Can the E-Way bill be rejected?

Yes, if for some reasons the consignment/ shipment doesn’t reach the recipient or any other valid reasons, the recipient has the free will to reject the E-Way Bill. This can be done from the common portal wherein after logging in, you’ll have to look for the ‘Reject’ option in the dashboard, select the respective bill and click “Submit”.

5. How to Cancel an E-Way bill?

If for some reasons after the generation of the E-Way Bill the goods don’t get dispatched or the consignment in itself gets cancelled or even to justify some unchangeable errors in the bill then it can be cancelled electronically through the common portal either directly or through a facilitation center as per the notifications of the commissioner. Note: An E-Way bill can be cancelled within the initial 24 hours of its generation. Once the consignment/ shipment gets verified during its transit, the bill cannot be cancelled.

6. Who Should Generate?

All three parties that are included in the ‘supply’, will be included in the E-Way Bill form. Anyone supplying the consignment or transporting it, which exceeds the value of Rs. 50,000 will have to generate an E-Way bill. This includes: ● A GSTIN Registered Person ● A GSTIN Unregistered Person ● Transporter

7. What are the different modes of application?

● SMS System ● Android Application ● Web Portal System ● API system ● GST Suvidha Providers

8. Who generates the bill if the supplier is an unregistered person and the recipient is the registered person?

In these cases, where any one of the parties is registered, then the registered person (recipient) will have to generate the bill as if they were the supplier. In case no party is registered, they can generate as tax paying citizens or else, if applicable, the transporter shall generate the bill.

9. How many E-Way Bills are required to ship one consignment through multiple transporters?

E-Way bill is made against Invoice/ Bill of supply/ Delivery Challan. There can be only one against one. In cases of transshipment, the transporter is to update the details on the bill or if it is pre-decided then the seller will have to generate different challans for different/ multiple transporters.

10. Is the requirement for an E-Way bill limited to supply?

No. the E-Way bill needs to be generated irrespective of the reasons of supply or otherwise when a consignment is made above the value of INR 50,000. Here the ‘other’ may represent: ○ Export/ import ○ Job-Work ○ CKD/ SKD ○ Line Sales ○ Sale Returns ○ Personal Use ○ Sale on Approval Basis ○ Exhibitions/ Fairs

11. What is CKD/SKD conditions?

CKD stands for Complete Knocked Down Condition and SKD stands for Semi Knocked Down Condition. These are needed in relation to the condition of goods that are supplied depending on their assembly.

12. What is Line Sales?

Line Sales refer to those vertical sales that are made/ supplied to and from the same unit/ department/ division of the organization.