A waybill is a receipt or document issued by a carrier that contains information and instructions about the shipment of a consignment of goods. The information includes the name of the consignor and consignee, the point of origin of the consignment, its destination, and route. Electronic Way Bill (E-Way Bill) is essentially a compliance mechanism in which the person causing the movement of goods uploads the relevant information prior to the start of the movement of goods and generates an e-way bill on the GST portal via a digital interface. What is the GST E-way bill?  E-way bill is an abbreviation for Electronic Way Bill. GST E-way bills are documents used to track goods in transit that were established as part of the Goods and Services Tax. A taxable person registered under GST who transports goods worth more than Rs.50,000 must have an E-way bill prepared on the GST Portal. LEDGERS has simplified the generation and management of E-way bills for businesses. GST invoices, bills of supply, purchase invoices, and customer or supplier accounts are all synchronized with the Ledgers E-way bill tool. With the click of a button, an E-E-Way Bill can be generated and shared with customers or suppliers. The rules governing the flow of products are outlined in the E-way bill guidelines. It should be noted, however, that when the GST Act went into effect on July 1st, the execution of the E-way law was postponed. Who can generate an E-way bill? The following situations, in which a person with a GST registration is causing goods movement, should create an E-way bill.

• When products worth more than Rs.50,000 are moved to or from a registered person, an E-Way bill is generated. If the goods are worth less than Rs.50,000, the registered person can even generate an E-way bill.
• An unregistered person must also generate an E-way bill. When an unregistered person makes a supply to a registered person, the receiver is responsible for ensuring that all compliances are met.
• If the supplier has not generated an E-way Bill, a transporter carrying goods by road, air, rail, or other means is needed to generate one.

What documents are required to generate an E-way bill?

• Invoice/Bill of Supply/Challan for the consignment of goods
• In the case of road transport, the Transporter ID or the vehicle number
• Transporter ID, Transport document number, and date. Transport by rail, air, or ship.

Format of GST E-way bill  The E-way bill is divided into two parts: Part A and Part B. Part A of the E-way boll collects consignment details, typically the invoice details. As a result, the following information must be submitted.

• The recipient’s GSTIN must be provided.
• The Pin code of the location where the products will be delivered must be specified.
• The invoice or challan number used to supply the items must be submitted.
• The value of the consignment must be stated.
• The HSN code of the items being carried must be entered. If the turnover is less than INR 5 crores, the first two digits of the HSN code should be stated. If the turnover exceeds INR 5 crores, a four-digit HSN code is assigned.
• The purpose for transportation should be specified, and the best option should be chosen.
• The transport document number must be specified. It consists of a commodities receipt number, a railway receipt number, and an airway bill number.

How to generate an E-way bill? An E-Way Bill (EWB) is a bill for the movement of goods that can be generated via the E-Way Bill Portal. According to GST Council regulations, any supplier or transporter delivering products worth more than Rs.50,000 (single invoice/bill/delivery challan) in a single-vehicle must carry a GST e-way bill. To get a GST E-Way bill, the supplier or transporter of the goods must be registered with GST. This measure will go into effect on April 1, 2018. The portal generates a unique E-Way Bill Number (EBN) and assigns it to the registered supplier, receiver, and transporter after the E-Way bill is generated on the portal using the needed credentials. In this essay, we will look at how to create an e-way bill on the Government website. The E-way bill can be generated by the supplier or the transporter in the following ways:

• LEDGERS Software,
• E-Way bill portal
• SMS,
• Android App and through,
• Site-to-Site Integration (through API).

Steps to generate an E-way bill? The GST E-Way Portal can be used to produce an e-way bill. To use the platform, you must have a GST registration as well as a transporter registration. Step 1: Navigate to the E-Way bill generating portal at https://ewaybill.nic.in/ and enter your login information to gain access to the platform. Step 2: From the E-Way bill-Main menu page, select “Generate New” to create a new E-Way bill Generate E-way bill Step 3: A new EWB bill generation form is displayed. Fill in the essential details in the same way as you would when creating a GST invoice. If you are the supplier, choose outward, and if you are the recipient, choose inward. Enter the supplier’s and recipient’s information, as well as the GSTIN, if applicable. When a registered GSTIN is placed in the form’s field, other information is pulled into the form’s empty fields. Please double-check the details before moving on to the next stage. Enter goods description  Step 4: The second half of the page will have the following information to be filled out:

• Similar to a tax invoice, the Product Name and Description must be filled out.
• The Product’s HSN Code must be entered. To find the HSN code, go here.
• The quantity and unit of measurement of the products.
• The product’s value as well as the tax rate
• Rates of IGST or CGST are applicable. Inter-state transportation would be subject to IGST, whereas intra-state transportation would be subject to SGST or CGST.
• The approximate distance of travel, as well as the Transporter Name and ID. The legitimacy of the E-Way bill will be determined by this.

Step 5: After entering all of the required information, click the “SUBMIT” button to generate the EWB. The Portal shall display the E-Way bill, which includes the E-Way Bill number as well as the QR Code, which provides all of the details in digital format. The printed copy of the bill should be given to the transporter, who will carry it until it is turned over to the consignee. Step 6: E-way Bill Generation Should Be Consolidated A consolidated EWB can also be made, which contains all of the transaction details and is simple to create by entering only the ‘E-Way bill number’ in the required area. To generate the combined EWB, click “SUBMIT.” Once created, an E-Way bill can be changed. Details on the transporter, consignment, consignor and GSTIN of both parties can be amended in the existing E-Way bill as long as the bill is not past due. Minimum distance required for an E-way bill  The substantial modification made effective by video notification no. 12/2018-Central tax dated 7th March 2018 affects the validity time of the E-way bill. The E-way bill’s new validity period provisions are listed below:

Type of Conveyance	Distance	E-way bill
Other than Over dimensional cargo	Less than 100 km	1 day
	For every additional 100 km and thereof	Additional 1 day
For Over dimensional cargo	Up to 20 km	1 day
	For every additional 20 km and thereof	Additional 1 day

The relevant date on which the E-way bill was formed, as well as the period of validity, would be counted from the time the E-way bill was generated, and each day would be counted as the period terminating at midnight of the day following the date of generation of the E-way bill. Over Dimensions Cargo is defined as cargo carried as a single indivisible unit that exceeds the dimensional restrictions specified in rule 93 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, promulgated under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. (59 of 1988). SMS E-way bill operation  SMS e-way bill creation is best suited for entities with few transactions, as other methods should be used for bigger volumes. Taxpayers can also utilize the SMS e-way bill production service in an emergency, such as late at night or while traveling in a vehicle. Enabling the facility The taxpayer must first register his or her cellphone number on the GST e-way bill portal before beginning to transact. The system only allows and replies to mobile numbers that have been registered on the portal for a specific GSTIN. When a user picks the ‘for SMS’ option under the main option ‘Registration, the screen is displayed. To register the mobile number, the user needs to input the mobile number and submit the OTP. The cellphone number associated with the GSTIN is displayed on the next screen. If necessary, the user can use this screen to delink or change the cellphone number. Step 1: Gaining Access to the Portal The taxpayer or transporter must first access the e-way bill portal and log in using his or her credentials. Step 2: Register Your Mobile Phone Number Enable the SMS e-way bill feature by completing the steps outlined above. Once the mobile number has been validated and registered, you are ready to generate an e-way bill via SMS. Who does not need a GST E-way bill? 1. When transporting the following items, an E-way bill is not required:

• Liquefied petroleum gas for residential and non-domestic exempted category (NDEC) users;
• Kerosene oil is sold under the PDS.
• Postal baggage transported by the Postal Department.
• Natural or cultured pearls, valuable or semi-precious stones; precious metals and precious metal-clad metals (Chapter 71);
• Jewelry, goldsmith and silversmith products, and related articles (Chapter 71);
• Currency;
• Personal and household effects were used;
• Unworked coral (0508) and worked coral (9601)

2. E-way bills are not necessary for transporting goods from a customs port, airport, air cargo complex, or land customs station to an inland container depot or a container freight station for clearance by Customs. 3. E-way bill generation is not necessary when a non-motorized conveyance transports products. 4. The e-way bill is not necessary to be generated when transporting the following commodities;

• Alcoholic liquor for human consumption
• Petroleum crude
• High-speed diesel
• Motor spirit (commonly known as petrol)
• Natural gas,
• Aviation turbine fuel
• An E-way bill is not necessary where there is no supply as defined in Schedule III of the Act.

5. When the products are being carried, no E-way bill is required to be generated—

• Under customs bond from an inland container depot or container freight station to a customs port, airport, air cargo complex, and land customs station, or from one customs station or customs port to another customs station or customs port,
• under customs supervision or with a customs seal
• Where the products are transit freight from or to Nepal or Bhutan;
• Where the items being transported are tax-free due to numerous notifications;
• No E-way bill is necessary when the Central Government, State Government, or a local government acting as a consignor transports goods by rail.
• No E-way bill is necessary when goods movement is triggered by a defense formation under the Ministry of defense as consignor or consignee.
• In the case of transporting empty freight containers, no E-way bill is necessary.
• If products are being transported for weighing purposes and the distance is less than 20 kilometers from the consignor’s place of business to the weighbridge or vice versa, no E-way bill is necessary. The transportation of commodities, however, must be accompanied by a delivery challan.
• When items other than de-oiled cake are indicated in the schedule annexed to notification no. 2/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017 is transported, an e-way bill is not required.

Summary: The e-way bill provisions seek to eliminate the flaws of the previous way bill system, which was used under VAT in many states and was a major contributor to jams at checkpoints. Furthermore, different states have varied e-way bill standards, making compliance challenging. The GST e-way bill provisions will provide a consistent e-way bill rule that will apply throughout the country. The physical interface will make way for a digital interface, which will allow for speedier commodities movement. It is certain to increase vehicle turnaround time and benefit the logistics business by increasing average distances driven, lowering travel time and expenses.