To prevent tax evasion during the movement of goods, the government has introduced an online platform called the E-Way Portal (www.ewaybillgst.gov.in) for generating e-way bills.
An e-way bill, also known as an electronic way bill, must be generated online on the E-Way Bill portal before the actual movement of goods. Once the e-way bill is submitted online, the portal provides a unique identification number. The authenticity of the e-way bill can be verified by entering the unique identification number in the search bar on the E-Way Bill portal. E-way bills must be generated when the value of goods exceeds ₹50,000. Taxpayers are required to generate e-way bills for both inter-state and intra-state movement of goods.
E-way bills must be generated when the value of goods exceeds ₹50,000. However, e-way bills can also be generated voluntarily if the value is less than or equal to ₹50,000.
No E-Way Bill is required for the movement of goods up to a distance of 20 km from the consignor’s place of business to a weighbridge for weighment, or from the weighbridge to the consignor’s place of business within the same state. This is subject to the condition that the movement of goods is accompanied by a delivery challan issued in accordance with GST rules.
The validity of the E-Way Bill depends on the distance the goods need to be transported. For regular vehicles, a validity of 1 day is provided for every 200 km. For over-cargo dimensional vehicles (ODC vehicles), a validity of one day is provided for every 20 km or part thereof. The validity expires at midnight on the last day.