E-Way Bill under GST in Gujarat

E way or electronic E way Bill system under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime is brought in to enable faster and seamless movement of goods through a portal-driven payment system, without vehicles having to wait at state borders. This would also help the government to keep a tight leash on revenue leakages.

Latest Updates

29th August 2021
From 1st May 2021 to 18th August 2021, the taxpayers will not face blocking of e-way bills for non-filing of GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B (two months or more for monthly filer and one quarter or more for QRMP taxpayers) for March 2021 to May 2021.

4th August 2021
Blocking of e-way bills due to non-filing of GSTR-3B resumes from 15th August 2021.

1st June 2021
1. The e-way bill portal, in its release notes, has clarified that a suspended GSTIN cannot generate an e-way bill. However, a suspended GSTIN as a recipient or as a transporter can get a generated e-way bill. 
2. the mode of transport ‘Ship’ has now been updated to ‘Ship/Road cum Ship’ so that the user can enter a vehicle number where goods are initially moved by road and a bill of lading number and date for movement by ship. This will help in availing the ODC benefits for movement using ships and facilitate the updating of vehicle details as and when moved on road. 

18th May 2021
The CBIC in Notification 15/2021-Central Tax has notified that the blocking of GSTINs for e-Way Bill generation is now considered only for the defaulting supplier’s GSTIN and not for the defaulting recipient or the transporter’s GSTIN. 

E way Bill in Gujarat: Pre E way Bill era

For a long time now, Gujarat has been a major hub for doing business. A large number of manufacturing and trading activities take place in the state which has a huge contribution to the country’s economic growth. The government of Gujarat has always kept the commercial taxes and its procedures simple and transparent to make it easy for businesses to operate.

Before GST was rolled out and the whole idea of common E way Bill was brought in, Gujarat had a system of tracking movement of goods. For any movement of taxable goods in, from or to the state, a permit in Form 402/403/405 was made applicable. This was generated from visiting the commercial tax department’s website of Gujarat i.e.  For guidelines on generating Form 402/403/405 through commercial tax website, click here

Under the VAT system, for movement of goods within the state, or goods moving out of the state, the consignor was required to electronically generate Form 402 in triplicate (For Consignor, driver, and consignee). For the movement of goods into the state, a permit in Form 403 was required to generated in triplicate by the consignor. This was made mandatory by an order dated 22nd December 2014.

E way Bill for sending goods outside the state

Through an order passed by the Central Government on 7th March 2018, the cross-border or say the inter-state movement of goods has been brought within the framework of National E way Bill system from 1st April 2018. Thus for any movement to outside the state from Gujarat, the dealers are required to generate E way Bill on the portal

E way Bill for sending goods within the state

By an order passed on 28th March 2018, the state government notified the dealers that no E way Bill is required to be generated for intra-state (within the state) movement of goods with effect from 1st April 2018. Thus, there is no requirement of the permits (E way Bill) for movement of goods within the state as of today. Now by an order issued on 11th April 2018, for the movement of goods within the state from 15th April 2018 onwards, E way Bill will be required to generate for 19 particular categories of goods where the value of goods being transferred exceeds Rs, 50,000.

Gujarat along with four other states has agreed for the same and the transit pass requirements have been made mandatory for dealers in Gujarat. The 19 category of goods for which E way Bill is required to be generated from 15th April 2018 onwards are as follows:

1. All kinds of edible oils
2. All kinds of taxable oil seeds
3. All kinds of oil cakes
4. Iron and steel
5. Ferrous and Non-ferrous metal and the scrape thereof
6. Ceramic tiles
7. Brass parts and Brass items
8. Processed tobacco and products thereof
9. Cigarette, Gutkha, and Pan-masala
10. All types of Yarns
11. All types of plywood, block board, decorative and laminated sheets
12. Timber and timber products
13. Cement
14. Marble and Granite
15. Kota Stones
16. Naptha
17. Light Diesel Oil
18. Tea (in leaf or powder form)

However, no E way Bill is required to be generated for intra-city movement of any goods including the above.

Different ways to generate E way Bill

There are two methods of generating the E way Bill:

A. Through the online portal

B. Through SMS (Short Message Service)

For a generation of E way Bills through the online portal, the dealers have to visit the NIC Portal. The dealers are required to register themselves on the portal using their GSTIN and then they can start generating E way Bills for movement of goods. The details like consignee name and address, item description, the value of goods, quantity, etc. are to be provided for generating the E way Bill. The form to be filled is pretty much self-explanatory and has been made user-friendly for the dealers.

SMS mode of generating E way Bill in Gujarat

The Central Government has also brought in a channel of generating E way Bills though SMS. For using this service, please follow the steps as shown here.

The validity of E way Bill

An E way Bill is valid for the below mentioned periods which are broadly based on the distance travelled by the goods in transit. The validity of the E way Bill is calculated from the date and time when the E way Bill was generated.

The validity of E way Bill can be extended also. The generator of such E way Bill has to either four hours before expiry or within four hours after its expiry can extend E way Bill validity.

Rejection of E way Bill

A dealer has an option to reject the E way Bills generated by any other party (recipient or supplier) using the dealer’s GSTIN. For example, if the consignment didn’t reach the destination at all as it was cancelled on the way, the recipient may reject the E way Bill. The dealer requires the following to reject an E way Bill:

A. Date of generation of E way Bill

B. E way Bill number you want to reject

Steps to reject an E way Bill:

Step 1: Login to the E way Bill portal and click on ‘Reject’.

Step 2: Select the date on which E way Bill was generated and click on ‘Submit’

Step 3: The list of all E way Bills that were generated on the selected date appears.

Step 4: Tick mark the E way Bills you want to reject.

A message appears on the screen once the E way Bill is successfully rejected.

Note: The acceptance or rejection of the E way Bill can be communicated. If the communication of acceptance or rejection is not sent within 72 hours, the E way Bill is automatically deemed to be accepted.

Cancellation of E way Bill after its generation

If the goods were never transported or are not transported as per the details furnished in the E way Bill, then the generator of such E way Bills can cancel the E way Bill by following the steps below. Steps to cancel an E way Bill are as follows:

Step-1: Click on ‘E way Bill’ / ‘Consolidated EWB’ and Select ‘Cancel’ from the drop down

Step-2: Enter the 12 -digit E way Bill number for the EWB you want to cancel and click on ‘Go’ The EWB selected appears. Give a suitable reason for cancellation. For example, the goods are not being moved, incorrect entry in the E way Bill entered.

The following shall be kept in mind for cancellation of E way Bills:

• i. E way Bills can be cancelled by the generator of such E way Bills only.
• The time-limit to cancel is within 24 hours of generating the E way Bill.
• Once cancelled, it is illegal to use such E way Bill.
• If the E way Bill verified by any empowered officer it cannot be cancelled.

Common issues faced by dealers of Gujarat

Gujarat is a state which contributes substantially to the textiles fabric industry of the country. There is a large number of manufacturers and traders in the textile industry having operations in Gujarat. The ease of doing business has been a prime agenda for the government of Gujarat.

With textile fabrics being kept out of the list of items on which E way Bill is required to be generated for intra-state (within the state) movement, the dealers belonging to this community see it as a great step in helping them conduct their business with more ease.

Another issue that is significant for the dealers in Gujarat is the validity of these E way Bills. The timelines have been made common for all items in transit. Certain dealers raise questions, where general items take certain days to cover the distance while transporting them, items like heavy machinery and large equipment take double the time. Gujarat being a state where a large number of manufacturing activities are conducted, these issues bring hurdles in running businesses smoothly and in a hassle-free fashion.