E-Way Bill Changes from 15th June 2026: Mandatory Ship-To GSTIN and New EWB Closure Facility

An amendment to the E-Way Bill (EWB) system is introduced through the GSTN portal, as notified in GSTN Advisory dated 21st May 2026. It mentions two changes that relate to e-Way Bill generation and closure processes. One is compulsory while the other can be considered optional.  If you have Bill-To/Ship-To transactions, then the amendments apply to you.

Key Takeaways

• From 15th June 2026, the Ship-To GSTIN field will become compulsory in all Bill-To/Ship-To e-Way Bill transactions under the new e-Way Bill requirements in 2026.
• Where the delivery is to an unregistered location or person, enter "URP" in the Ship-To GSTIN field. The portal will accept it.
• GSTN has introduced a voluntary EWB closure facility. Once goods are delivered, suppliers, recipients, transporters, or drivers can close the e-Way Bill. As per the advisory, closure is permitted on the same day of delivery or the immediately succeeding day.
• ERP systems, APIs, and accounting software must be updated before 15th June 2026. e-Way Bills generation will be failed after this date if the Ship-To GSTIN field is not filled.
• Mismatches between the Ship-To GSTIN on the e-Way Bill and the recipient GSTIN on the invoice can trigger scrutiny under Section 129 of the CGST Act, 2017.

Why GSTN Is Upgrading the EWB Portal

The e-way bill portal update 2026 is a targeted response to a compliance issue that the GSTN has been monitoring for some time.

The primary challenge in E-Way Bills was resulting from incomplete or inaccurate data in the "Ship To" section. In multi-location supply chains, the goods would be invoiced to one party, but land at a project site, a warehouse, or a third-party location with no GSTIN recorded. This created a gap in the audit trail. GSTN could not accurately cross-verify e-Way Bill data against GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B.

The second problem was the open-EWB issue. After goods were delivered, the e-Way Bill stayed active in the system until its validity expired. There was no confirmation of delivery. Cancelled invoices, failed deliveries, and transactions that never materialised still had active EWBs floating in the portal.

Both problems fed into the same concern: the system could not confirm that goods had actually moved, reached the right place, or reached an identifiable registered entity.

The GST e-way bill changes from the new advisory fix both of these gaps. Mandatory ship to GSTIN validation closes the first. The EWB closure facility addresses the second.

What Is a Bill-To / Ship-To Transaction in GST?

Before getting into the e-way bill changes, it helps to be clear on what a Bill-To/Ship-To transaction actually is, because many businesses are doing these without realising they have a specific label under GST.

For example, Company A supplies to Company B, but Company B directs delivery to Company C. The invoice is raised in Company B's name. But delivery goes to Company C. That is a Bill-To/Ship-To transaction.

Under Section 10(1)(b) of the IGST Act, 2017, where the supplier delivers goods to a recipient or any other person on the direction of a third person (the Bill-To party), that third person is deemed to have received the goods. The place of supply is the principal place of business of that Bill-To party, not the physical delivery location. The supplier raises the invoice in the buyer's name with the buyer's GSTIN, and separately captures the delivery address in the "Ship To" section.

The e-Way Bill portal already has a dedicated transaction type for this. In the "TO" section, the left side captures the billing party's GSTIN and name, and the right side captures the actual delivery location. The new mandatory ship-to-GSTIN e-way bill rule now requires this right-side field to be filled compulsorily. 

This is not a new concept. The field existed. Making it mandatory is what changes from 15th June 2026.

Change 1: Mandatory Ship-To GSTIN for Bill-To/Ship-To Transactions

This is the harder of the two changes to implement. Not because it is complicated, but because it requires system changes.

Under the new e-way bill changes effective from 15th June 2026, the Ship-To GSTIN field will be mandatory when generating an e-Way Bill for any Bill-To/Ship-To transaction. It cannot be skipped. The portal will not allow the EWB to be generated without it.

What to enter:

If the delivery is to a GST-registered location, enter the GSTIN of that location. If the delivery is to an unregistered site, warehouse, or end consumer, enter “URP” (Unregistered Person). The portal accepts "URP" as a valid entry.

This matters because many suppliers who deliver projects or work with SMEs send goods to locations without a GSTIN. They were earlier leaving the Ship-To GSTIN blank. After 15th June, they will need to enter "URP" at a minimum.

What can go wrong if you ignore this:

For ERP users, this is a software configuration issue. Your ERP or accounting system must be updated to make this field mandatory before it is sent to the EWB portal. If the field is left blank in the source data, the API call will fail. Your ERP vendor needs to release this update, and you need to deploy it before 15th June 2026.

Compliance risk other than generation risk is equally relevant. Once the mandatory ship-to GSTIN e-way bill becomes live, any mismatch between the Ship-To GSTIN on the e-Way Bill and the recipient's GSTIN on the tax invoice creates a discrepancy that can attract detention under Section 129 or confiscation proceedings under Section 130.

Change 2: Voluntary e-Way Bill Closure Facility

The EWB closure compliance change is a new functionality that did not exist before. It is voluntary for now, which means there is no penalty today for not using it. 

GSTN has introduced the EWB closure facility to allow an official "delivery confirmed" status to be recorded against an e-Way Bill. Earlier, once goods reached the destination, the e-Way Bill simply expired on its own. There was no active step to confirm delivery. This left open e-Way Bills on cancelled shipments, returned goods, or transactions that never concluded. 

Who can close an e-Way Bill:

Supplier, recipient, transporter, or an authorised driver/representative. The first three close the EWB after logging into the portal. The driver or authorised person can close it without login, using a mobile number and OTP-based authentication.

How closure works:

Two options are available on the portal. 

• Use an e-Way Bill number: You can search for a specific EWB and close it. 
• By date: You close all e-Way Bills generated on a particular date. This date-wise option is useful for high-volume transactions that process dozens of deliveries daily.

For mobile-based closure, the mobile number must be registered at the time of EWB generation. The driver enters that number on the EWB portal's search section, receives an OTP, and can view and close all linked e-Way Bills. No login credentials required. The same mobile number can also be added or updated later during vehicle updates or validity extension.

For businesses using APIs, NIC has already released the API specifications for closure in the Sandbox environment. The API requires three inputs: the e-Way Bill number, the closure date, and remarks.

The closure window:

The e-way bill must be closed after delivery within a specific window. As per GSTN Advisory No. 661, closure can be done on the same day of delivery or the immediately next day.

Why this matters even though it is voluntary:

The e-way bill closure requirements, though currently optional, are intended to build a delivery confirmation layer in the GST system. Businesses that start using this now will have cleaner audit records. When the department queries goods in transit or checks delivery completion, a closed e-Way Bill is better than an expired one with no closure record.

There is a reasonable expectation in the industry that compliance with EWB closing will eventually be required. The guideline establishes the framework for this requirement. Early implementation will shield you from any unexpected situations. 

Business Impact of the New E-Way Bill Rules

For most businesses, the mandatory ship to GSTIN validation is the immediate action item. The EWB closure facility is a slower-moving adaptation.

The businesses most affected by Change 1 are those in 

• Construction and infrastructure (where goods go to project sites that are unregistered)
• Manufacturing and wholesale (where the buyer's head office places orders but the factory or warehouse receives goods)
• E-commerce and logistics (drop-ship models where goods go directly to end-consumers or fulfilment centres).

All of these businesses have Bill-To/Ship-To transactions built into their normal operations. The question is not whether they will be affected; it is whether their systems are ready.

Action Required by Businesses Before 15th June 2026

The clock is running. Here is what needs to be done before the new e-way bill rules 2026 go live.

If you generate e-Way Bills through ERP or accounting software, contact your software vendor today. Ask whether the Ship-To GSTIN field has been made mandatory in the EWB generation flow for Bill-To/Ship-To transactions. Ask for a deployment timeline. If the update has already been released, it must be deployed and tested before 15 June 2026.

If you use direct API integration, access the NIC Sandbox environment and test against the updated API specifications. Both the mandatory Ship-To GSTIN field and the new EWB closure API are now available for testing. Complete testing before the production go-live.

If you generate e-Way Bills manually on the portal, train the team members who generate EWBs. They need to know which transactions qualify as Bill-To/Ship-To, what to enter in the Ship-To GSTIN field, and that "URP" is the correct entry for unregistered delivery locations. A one-page internal SOP is enough.

For Logistics & Accounts Departments: Audit master data to ensure that all Ship-To addresses have their GST registration status verified. If there is GST registration, provide the correct GSTIN; otherwise, mark it as URP. This would consume time if you have a complex supply chain system.

For the EWB closure process, you should configure the mobile number-based closure process for drivers who make daily deliveries. The mobile number has to be registered during EWB creation itself. Let the relevant field personnel know that the process can be closed either on the day of delivery or the very next day.