A taxpayer registered under GST must generate an e-way bill while transporting goods exceeding Rs.50,000 in a single invoice/bill/delivery challan. It can be generated by the consignor/consignee or the transporter before the movement of goods. But what if the vehicle breaks down during the transit? Do you require a new e way bill, or can you extend its validity?Read and find out!Latest Updates18 December, 2024The government, via an advisory dated 17 December 2024, clarified that a taxpayer would only be able to generate e-way bills for documents dated no earlier than 180 days. For instance, invoices dated earlier than 5 July 2024 will not be eligible for e-way bill generation from 1 January 2025.Also, one can extend the validity of an e-way bill up to 360 days from its original generation date. For example, an e-way bill generated on 1 January 2025 can only be extended until 25 December 2025.The above changes will be made effective from 1 January 2025.E-Way Bill Validity PeriodAn e-way bill's validity depends on factors like the type of transport and pin-to-pin distance travelled. The consignor must know the distance between the place of origin and the place of delivery of the consignment because the longer the distance, the higher the validity of the e way bill.The consignor has two options:He can either calculate the approximate distance between the source and destination location before generating the e way bill orHe can use the free tool provided by the e way bill official portal for pin-to-pin distance calculation.Once the type of transport and distance are calculated, the system will generate the e-way bill based on the following rule:Nature of ConveyanceDistanceOver Dimensional Cargo1 day for any distance up to 20 km and after that additional one day for every 20 km or part thereofOther than Over Dimensional Cargo1 day for any distance up to 200 km and thereafter, an additional one day for every 200 km or part thereofTime Limits for E-Way Bill GenerationThe e-way bill has two parts, i.e., parts A and B. Part A requests details such as the recipient's GSTIN, place of delivery, invoice or challan number and date, HSN code, value of goods, transport document number (Goods Receipt Number in the case of road transport), and reasons for transportation.Part B comprises transporter details (Vehicle number and transporter ID).

Today, the public, media, government, and other stakeholders scrutinise every business move closely. Businesses must buy from ethical vendors that meet compliance and quality standards. But how can businesses source such vendors and keep track of them? This is where an approved vendor list is helpful. In this blog, we discuss the basics that every business should know about approved vendor lists.What is an Approved Vendor List?An approved vendor list is a list of vendors approved for sourcing goods and services by the business department responsible for such approvals. The procurement department generally sets the essential criteria for approving vendors.

Misunderstandings, missed delivery timelines, and quality issues can be everyday events for many businesses dealing with suppliers and vendors. While such incidents are sometimes beyond our control, we can often overcome these hurdles. The solution is to evaluate relations with vendors and suppliers and ensure continuous improvement in their performance.This article discusses vendor evaluation as a process and everything you must learn about its criteria, methods and tools of evaluation.What is vendor evaluation?Vendor evaluation or vendor performance evaluation is a structured process that helps assess and evaluate the performance of existing vendors and suppliers to a business based on pre-specified categories, parameters, scorecard-based tools, or other methods. This is one of the key responsibilities of the procurement department of any organisation.  Example: Let us assume "Fast Fashion" is a retail garment store. It sources clothes from multiple small garment manufacturers.

Supply disruptions, imbalances between costs and quality or lack of alignment with suppliers can make any business miserable. After all, vendors are the key business partners. The reasons behind such problems often lie in the vendor selection process. Loopholes in the process or failure to implement an appropriate process correctly can lead to selecting unfit suppliers and subsequent issuesThis article discusses everything you must know as a business owner about selecting the right vendors for your company. What is vendor selection? Vendor selection is a process that every business needs to go through for identification, evaluation and, finally, selection of appropriate suppliers for sourcing raw materials, intermediate goods and services.  Example: Assume ABC Ltd is a company willing to enter the refrigerator manufacturing business. It surveys the market, decides what types of refrigerators they would sell, and estimates a tentative sales volume they might initially achieve.

Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) verification is essential to a company's effective vendor management process. It helps vendors and the recipient company in multiple contexts, including mitigating risks and strengthening business relations. This article discusses the need for MSME vendor verification and explains how to verify MSME vendors individually and in bulk. What is MSME vendor verification?MSME verification is a compliance-related task that a company must perform before onboarding a vendor and, after that, at regular intervals. It involves cross-checking with government portals regarding the validity of vendors' registration as MSMEs, investment and turnover data they have filed, the number of people they employ, etc.Need for MSME verification of vendors in IndiaMSMEs are crucial for employment, income generation, and the promotion of innovations and entrepreneurship in any economy. Hence, they receive special attention and support from the central and state governments.

Vendors and suppliers are critical stakeholders in any business. They supply raw materials as production inputs and share a part of the business risk as fellow entrepreneurs. Any business owner must learn what it takes to manage vendors and suppliers effectively and follow the best practices of vendor management processes. This article discusses what is vendor management, the process flow, and other essential components of vendor management. What is vendor management? Vendor management is the practice of establishing, nurturing and strengthening business relations with vendors and suppliers with the ultimate aim of mitigating sourcing risks and optimising material and services costs. Under this concept, vendors are categorised as sellers of finished goods  and services, whilesuppliers are sellers of semi-finished or unprocessed raw materials. Vendor management is a multi-stage process, including vendor selection, onboarding, contract management, and performance monitoring.Importance of vendor managementEffective and efficient vendor management is critically important for every type of business- manufacturing, services, or trading. Lack of an established practice of effective vendor management can cause a company to face several obstacles in its day-to-day business process and over the long term.

The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) is a 100% Government owned enterprise. It manages the entire IT system of the GST portal, which is the mother database for everything GST. The government uses this portal to track every financial transaction and provide taxpayers with all services – from registration to filing taxes and maintaining all tax details.Structure of GSTNThe Union Government owns a 50% share in the GSTN jointly with State Governments & UTs.The authorised capital of the GSTN is Rs 10 crore (US$1.18 million), of which 50% of the shares are divided equally between the Central and State governments.The GSTN has also been approved for a non-recurring grant of Rs 315 crores. The contract for developing this vast technological backend was awarded to Infosys in September 2015. The GSTN was first chaired by Mr Navin Kumar, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer (1975 batch), who has served in many senior positions with the Government of Bihar and the Central Govt.ShareholderShareholdingGovernment of India50%State Governments50%Total100%Salient Features of the GSTNThe GSTN is a complex IT initiative.

GST officials can levy penalties on unpaid taxes and take other punitive actions even when taxpayers inadvertently fail to comply with rules and regulations. Besides, any GST compliance proceedings can disrupt a business's flow, seriously affecting profitability and revenue. So, learning about and thoroughly practising GST statutory compliance in any business operation is essential. This article discusses what is GST compliance and shares a standard GST compliance checklist for your business.Latest Updates17th April, 2025The CBIC has issued new instructions regarding the processing of GST registration applications. The instructions aim to streamline the process and eliminate unnecessary document requests. They clarify the acceptable documents for proving the principal place of business and the constitution of the business.

The government made Input Service Distributor (ISD) registration mandatory from 1st April, 2025 for businesses using common services . This mandate will standardise Input Tax Credit (ITC) distribution by Head Offices (H.O’s) to branches, making it easier to comply with Goods and Services Tax (GST) regulations and reducing the chances of errors.Lists down FAQs on ISD to answer all the queries and help you transition from cross charge to ISD mechanism.QuestionAnswerWhat is an Input Service Distributor (ISD)?An Input Service Distributor (ISD) is a mechanism under GST for distributing the input tax credit (ITC) on common input services. It is a way for a centralised office, such as a Head Office (HO), to distribute the ITC related to common services received from external vendors to its various branches or units that benefit from these services. ISD is specifically for services, not for goods or capital goods.How does ISD differ from Cross Charge?Cross charge pertains to the supply of goods or services between distinct persons (entities with the same PAN but different GSTINs) within the same legal entities.These are internal transactions, like a HO providing centralised accounting or IT support to its branches, and are treated as a supply even without consideration.ISD, on the other hand, is a mechanism for distributing ITC on input services received from external vendors by a centralised office that are attributable to multiple distinct persons such as branches. Essentially, cross charge deals with the value of internally provided services, while ISD deals with the distribution of tax credit on externally sourced services.When will ISD become mandatory?Before the notification no. 16/2024-Central Tax dated 6th August 2024, the ISD mechanism was not mandatory.

Today, investors and shareholders no longer see value in companies focusing solely on profitability.  It has become crucial for businesses to integrate sustainable development into their business practices so that the requirements of the present can be met without affecting the ability of future generations to meet their own basic needs. This shift calls for committed leadership, and the role of the CFO is evolving to meet this demand.Who is a Sustainability CFO?In contrast to traditional chief financial officers, a sustainability CFO is a leader responsible for reporting and monitoring an organisation's non-financial or sustainability performance.The role of a sustainability-focused CFO is to ensure that the company's vision, mission, policies, and other decisions consider its impact on the environment and society. While a traditional CFO is generally mainly responsible for an organisation's financial performance, a sustainability CFO is responsible for the company's impact on the planet, people, and society at large and sustainable financial planning.Today, businesses face scrutiny from multiple stakeholders. Governments, investors, and customers want businesses to act responsibly. A sustainability CFO's role is to balance all expectations.