Changes in e-way bill after e-Invoicing

The e-invoice system under GST has become mandatory from 1st October 2020 for all registered taxpayers having turnover greater than Rs.500 crore in FY 2019-20.

What is the link between e-way bills and e-invoice?

An e-way bill has two parts; Part A contains invoice details such as GSTIN of the supplier and recipient, invoice number, delivery address, HSN codes, etc. Part B has transporter details such as transporter ID, vehicle number, etc. Under the present system, both parts are generated from the e-way bill portal by the taxpayer by updating invoice details and transporter details manually.

The implementation of e-invoicing will have an impact on the e way bill system as well. The existing users of e-way bill portal can use the same credentials for login to the e-invoice portal instead of getting a new registration. With the implementation of e-invoicing, e-way bills will be auto-populated from the e-invoicing portal, unlike the current system. Once the e-invoice is successfully validated, the Part A & Part B of the e-way bill will be auto-populated provided with some optional details (transporter ID and mode of transport) in the e-invoice are updated. The motive behind these changes is to simplify the process of creating e-way bills.

There are facilities provided on the e-invoice portal for :

1. Generation of an e-way bill using IRN: A user has to enter the IRN to generate an e-way bill on the e-invoice portal.
2. Bulk generation of e-way bill: The government provides bulk generation facility for businesses, which have large numbers of transactions each day.
3. Print e-way bill: A user can select the print EWB option under the e-way bill option and then enter the e-way bill number. On entering the EWB number, the e-way bill will be displayed with an option to print.

How will e-way bills be generated after the e-invoicing system gets implemented?

There will be no change in the process of generating e-way bills. However, an additional facility to generate e-way bills from IRN will be provided. A user can follow the below steps:

1. Upload the invoice to the invoice registration portal.
2. The GSTN will verify the mandatory details, and upon successful validation, the IRP will issue a unique number called invoice reference number and a QRcode on the invoice.
3. This data will be transferred to the e-way bill portal, where section 12 of e-invoice schema (e-way bill details) is reported. The APIs are used to generate e-way bill from IRN.
4. A user should then log in to the e-way bill portal and enter the IRN of the invoice for which he needs to generate an e-way bill.
5. Part-A and Part-B will be auto-populated if the required details are updated in e-invoice.
6. Click submit. If there are no errors, the e-way bill will be generated, and one can download it as a JSON or PDF file.

Impact of amendment or cancellation of e-invoice on the e-way bill

Currently, there is no provision to address the cancellation of e-way bills through the cancellation of e-invoice. In the case of false invoices, the same errors will flow in e-way bills as well. Recently, the NIC clarified that the e-way bills must be cancelled first followed by the IRN. An e-way bill cannot be generated for cancelled IRN.

Impact on businesses due to e-way bill integration with e-invoicing

The objective behind the integration of the e-invoicing system with the e-way bill system is to make the entire process easy and automated. Along with this, the government has also linked e-way bills to the GST return filing. The e-way bill generation will be blocked for the taxpayers who have two or more consecutive GST returns pending to be filed. These integrations will have the following benefits for the businesses:

1. Easy compliance for the taxpayers.
2. Ensuring accuracy by automating the process.

It will also benefit the government in ensuring a reduced tax evasion.

FAQs on e-way bill integration with e-invoicing

Is e-invoicing mandatory and to whom?

At present, e-invoicing will be mandatory for all taxpayers from 1st October 2020, whose aggregate turnover in a financial year exceeds Rs 500 crore. Eventually, all taxpayers may be brought under the tax ambit in a phased manner.

Will regular e-way bill generation continue to be allowed instead of generating through IRP?

Yes, regular e-way bill generation will continue along with an additional facility of generating e-way bills with IRN.

How can I generate e-way bills using IRN?

It can be done with the help of API, which will be released shortly.

Will the EWB and IRN system run independently as of now?

Yes, both the systems will run independently as of now. But, gradually direct EWB generation will be blocked for specified taxpayers.

Is re-generation of EWB and IRN on the same document possible?

Re-generation of EWB on the same document is possible but not for IRN as per policy.