Latest Updates
10 Jan 2024
Blocking the generation of E-Way Bill without e-Invoice/IRN has been withdrawn.
05 Jan 2024
Reporting of 4/6 digit HSN in e-Waybill from 1st February 2024.
The Goods and Services Tax Act requires transporters to carry an electronic Waybill or e-Waybill when moving goods worth over fifty thousand rupees between locations according to Section 68 and Rule 138. There are four varieties of e-Waybill transactions distinguished by the number of parties engaged in billing and transporting the shipment. We will explore the transaction types covered under e-Waybill regulations in this comprehensive overview.
Before delving into the subtleties, we must define several crucial terms. The e-Waybill serves as a digital voucher authorizing cargo transportation across state lines. Transactions can involve only one entity managing both invoicing and logistics or may encompass multiple organizations collaborating across different stages of the supply chain. Regulations aim to streamline documentation and increase transparency regarding tax compliance.
Bill-from typically refers to the individual or business that provides the goods in question. Dispatch from is where those items originate, whether that aligns with the supplier's headquarters or another location from which distribution occurs.
Bill-to denotes the party placing the order and is responsible for remitting payment upon delivery. Ship-to identifies the ultimate recipient of the products once transferred from sender to destination.
A conventional transaction involves a straightforward exchange where the consignor ships directly to the consignee without intermediaries. Put another way, items and invoices travel together from the original supplier to the final consumer in a single, streamlined movement.
Regular is noted if either the bill from and dispatch from locations coincide or the bill to and ship to addresses align, simplifying the process from start to finish within the same locale.
When the party invoiced for goods or services is distinct from the ultimate recipient, a "Bill-to and Ship-to" transaction has occurred. In these scenarios, two distinct invoices are compulsory: one for GST compliance and one to properly delegate input tax credits between the three entities involved.
The consignor handles billing with the consignee but then conveys the physical items to a third party at the consignee's behest. Sentence structures vary from concise to convoluted, mirroring natural language. Meanwhile, terms like "compliance" and "delegate" add an air of commercial formality befitting the discussion of indirect tax matters between businesses.
Overall, this type of multi-party deal warrants attentive record-keeping and two separate billing records to satisfy tax and credit transfer obligations for all participants in the economically intertwined supply chain.
While deliveries between disparate locations are common, paperwork often binds unexpected entities. Bill, situated in one domain, dispatched inventory from a third, distinct territory to a recipient elsewhere—though settlement involved just the initial two parties. A sole trader coordinates the transfer from a separate provider to the ultimate receiver of goods.
More byzantine still are deals binding four independent realms. As with the previous example, settlement lay between the opening pair alone. Yet now, addressing the recipient's needs, the pioneer sourced items not from their stocks but from another third contributor before shipping onward to a fourth destination at their request. When a business crosses four independent states, statements originate from one site while items come from a diversity of places before conclusion elsewhere—an elaborate dance coordinating widespread events.