Wednesday, April 19, 2017

E-Way Bill for movement of Goods worth Rs.50000/- or more under GST

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 :
  1. In relation to a ‘supply’
  2. For reasons other than a ‘supply’ i.e.  returns etc.
  3. 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