Last updated: 4 May 2026. A GST e-way bill is mandatory under Rule 138 of the CGST Rules for any inter-state movement of goods worth more than ₹50,000, and for intra-state movement once your state's threshold is crossed. The bill has two parts — Part A for the consignment, Part B for the vehicle — and validity only begins once Part B is filed. Skip the bill or carry one that has expired, and your goods can be detained under Section 129 with penalty up to 200% of the tax payable.
Applicability Note: This guide is based on Rule 138 of the CGST Rules, 2017 (read with state-level intra-state notifications), Section 129 and Section 122 of the CGST Act, 2017, and the GSTN advisory of 17 June 2025 on the E-Way Bill 2.0 portal. The position stated is as of 4 May 2026. Always verify the current position on gst.gov.in and the e-way bill portal at ewaybillgst.gov.in, or consult a GST professional, before acting.
Who Should Care?
- Manufacturers, traders, and distributors moving stock between states or between branches
- E-commerce sellers shipping high-value items through couriers and aggregators
- Transporters and logistics operators generating consolidated bills (GST EWB-02) for clients
- Anyone moving goods on a delivery challan — job work, branch transfer, weighbridge, sale on approval
1. What an E-Way Bill Is — and Why the System Exists
An e-way bill is an electronic permit that links a consignment to a specific vehicle for a specific window of time. It is generated on the e-way bill portal in Form GST EWB-01 and carries a 12-digit Unique E-Way Bill Number (EBN). The number must be available with the person in charge of the conveyance — printed, on a phone, or quoted to the officer at a check post.
The system was designed to replace the old state-by-state way-bill regime that India ran before GST. A single nationwide format means a truck moving from Surat to Guwahati does not need separate paperwork for every border it crosses. In return, the GST department gets near-real-time visibility into the movement of high-value consignments.
2. When You Must Generate an E-Way Bill
The trigger for an e-way bill is the value of the consignment, not the value of the invoice. Where a single conveyance carries multiple invoices, each below ₹50,000 but adding up to more than ₹50,000, an e-way bill is required.
| Type of Movement | Threshold | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Inter-state (between states) | ₹50,000 | Uniform across India under Rule 138(1) |
| Intra-state — Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Bihar | ₹1,00,000 | Higher state threshold via state notification |
| Intra-state — most other states | ₹50,000 | Confirm your state's notification before assuming |
| Inter-state job work — any value | ₹0 | E-way bill mandatory regardless of value |
| Handicraft goods moved inter-state by an unregistered person | ₹0 | E-way bill mandatory regardless of value |
State-level thresholds are not relaxations of the inter-state rule — they apply only to movement that begins and ends inside the same state. Cross any state line and the ₹50,000 floor kicks in.
3. Generation Workflow — Part A and Part B
Form EWB-01 is split into two halves:
- Part A captures the supplier and recipient GSTINs, the document number and date (tax invoice, bill of supply, delivery challan), the HSN code, the value of the consignment, the reason for transportation, and the transport document number where applicable.
- Part B captures the vehicle number for road transport, or the transport document number for rail, air, or vessel.
The validity clock starts only when Part B is filled in for the first time. A common practice is to generate Part A as soon as the invoice is raised and update Part B only when the vehicle is loaded and dispatched. That way the bill does not start aging while goods are still in the warehouse.
For consolidated movement — multiple consignments on one truck — the transporter generates a Form GST EWB-02 against the individual EBNs. This makes inspection at check posts a single document check rather than a stack of printouts.
4. Validity — How Long the Bill Stays Alive
| Cargo Type | Distance Slab | Validity |
|---|---|---|
| Regular cargo | Up to 200 km | 1 day |
| Regular cargo | Every additional 200 km or part thereof | 1 additional day |
| Over Dimensional Cargo (ODC) | Up to 20 km | 1 day |
| Over Dimensional Cargo (ODC) | Every additional 20 km or part thereof | 1 additional day |
One day under Rule 138(10) is counted as the period expiring at midnight of the day immediately following the date of generation. So a bill generated at 11 PM on Monday is valid until midnight on Tuesday — roughly 25 hours. The clock is generous on the first day; plan your subsequent 200 km slabs from there.
Validity can be extended once the bill is close to expiry — within eight hours before or eight hours after expiry — by entering the remaining distance and the current vehicle details. There is no statutory cap on the number of extensions, but every extension is logged and excessive extensions are a flag for the system.
Over Dimensional Cargo, defined under Rule 93 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989 as a single indivisible unit exceeding the prescribed dimensions, gets the harsher 20 km validity. ODC bills routinely need extension and should be planned around route halts.
5. The Exemption List
Some movement is outside the e-way bill regime entirely. The exempt categories are listed in the Annexure to Rule 138(14) and include:
- Goods specified in the Annexure — fresh milk, fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh meat and fish, jewellery and pearls, used personal effects, and currency, among others (full list on the portal)
- Goods being transported by a non-motorised conveyance
- Movement from a customs port, airport, air cargo complex, or land customs station to an inland container depot or container freight station for clearance by Customs
- Movement up to 20 km between the consignor's place of business and a weighbridge for weighment, accompanied by a delivery challan, with the goods returning to the same place of business
- Movement under customs bond from one customs station to another
The 20 km weighbridge rule is a frequent point of confusion: it applies only when the goods come back to the same place of business. A one-way trip to a weighbridge followed by onward despatch needs a normal e-way bill once Part B is filled.
6. Penalties — Section 129 and Section 122
Two penalty regimes run in parallel for e-way bill defaults:
Section 129 — detention and release. Where goods are intercepted in transit without a valid e-way bill or with a Part B mismatch, the officer can detain the goods and the vehicle. The post-amendment release penalty (effective 1 January 2022 via Section 117 of the Finance Act 2021) breaks down into four cases:
| Goods | Owner Comes Forward | Owner Does Not Come Forward |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable | 200% of the tax payable | 50% of the value of the goods or 200% of the tax payable, whichever is higher |
| Exempt | 2% of the value of the goods or ₹25,000, whichever is less | 5% of the value of the goods or ₹25,000, whichever is less |
The goods stay with the seizing officer until the release penalty is paid through the GST portal. There is no provisional release on a bond; that route was removed by the Finance Act 2021. Where a Section 129 order is contested on appeal, the pre-deposit is 10% of the penalty required.
Section 122 — general penalty. A separate penalty of ₹10,000 or the amount of tax sought to be evaded, whichever is higher, can be imposed under Section 122(1)(xiv) for transporting taxable goods without the cover of a specified document, including an e-way bill. This sits outside the detention-release framework and can be invoked even when no detention happens.
Several High Courts, including the Gujarat High Court in early 2026, have held that where the contravention of Rule 138 is procedural and no tax is actually payable on the consignment, mechanical imposition of penalty under Section 129(1)(a) is unwarranted. These decisions are fact-specific and do not dilute the basic obligation, but they are useful precedents where goods were exempt or zero-rated.
7. E-Way Bill 2.0 — What Changed in 2025
On 1 July 2025, NIC launched the E-Way Bill 2.0 portal at ewaybill2.gst.gov.in, alongside the existing portal at ewaybillgst.gov.in. The two portals are fully inter-operable: a bill generated on the original portal can be updated, extended, or cancelled on the 2.0 portal, and vice versa. The same login credentials work on both.
The point of the 2.0 portal is redundancy. When one portal is under maintenance or facing load issues, the other continues to serve traffic. APIs are also exposed on a sandbox for transporters and logistics platforms to integrate. There are no new compliance obligations — only a parallel route into the same system.
8. Common Mistakes That Trigger Notices
The most common failure is leaving Part B unchanged when the truck is swapped mid-route. Once the vehicle number changes, Part B has to be updated before the goods move again. An officer who flags down the new vehicle and reads the old number on the bill will treat it as movement without a valid bill.
A close second is the expired bill that no one extended. Drivers and dispatch teams forget the eight-hour grace window on either side of expiry. Once that window closes, the bill cannot be revived.
A third pattern: businesses assume a delivery challan stands in for an e-way bill. It does not. The challan is the document that travels with the goods; the e-way bill is the separate electronic permit. The two work together, not in place of each other.
The fourth trap is generation getting blocked under Rule 138E because the consignor or consignee has not filed GSTR-3B for two consecutive months. The portal simply refuses the bill, and the truck cannot move legally until the returns are filed and the block lifts the next day.
The easy one to overlook is an HSN code on the bill that does not match the tax invoice. Officers cross-check against the e-invoice at check posts, and even minor variances are flagged.
Key Takeaways
- E-way bill is mandatory for inter-state movement above ₹50,000, intra-state once your state's threshold is crossed (₹1,00,000 in Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Bihar).
- Validity starts when Part B is filled — not when Part A is created. Time the vehicle update to dispatch, not to invoicing.
- Regular cargo gets one day per 200 km; over dimensional cargo gets one day per 20 km. Extensions are allowed only within an eight-hour window around expiry.
- Detention under Section 129 plus the general penalty under Section 122 means non-compliance can cost up to 200% of the tax involved before any litigation.
- Rule 138E will block your e-way bill generation if you skip GSTR-3B for two consecutive months. Keep returns current to keep your trucks moving.
- The new E-Way Bill 2.0 portal is a redundancy layer, not a separate compliance obligation. Use it during outages on the original portal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an e-way bill required for stock transfer between two branches in the same state?
Yes, if the consignment value exceeds your state's intra-state threshold. Branch transfers move on a delivery challan, but the e-way bill obligation is independent of whether GST is charged on the document.
Can I generate an e-way bill without filling Part B?
You can generate Part A on its own — useful when the vehicle is not yet identified — but the bill is not legally valid for movement until Part B is updated. The validity clock only starts at that point.
What happens if my e-way bill expires while goods are in transit?
Extend the bill within eight hours before or after expiry by entering the remaining distance and current vehicle. Outside that window, the bill cannot be revived and you risk detention under Section 129 if intercepted.
Are exports required to have an e-way bill?
Yes. Inter-state movement of export goods to the port or air cargo complex requires an e-way bill where the consignment value exceeds ₹50,000. Movement from the port to an Inland Container Depot for customs clearance is exempt under Rule 138(14).
How quickly is the block under Rule 138E lifted after I file the pending GSTR-3B?
The portal removes the block automatically the day after the return is filed. If urgent, the jurisdictional officer can also unblock the GSTIN manually on the portal upon a written representation.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional tax advice. GST rules are subject to frequent changes through notifications and circulars. Please consult a qualified tax professional or verify the current provisions on the official GST portal (gst.gov.in) before making any compliance decisions.
Have a specific question about e-way bills, intra-state thresholds, or a Section 129 detention notice? Our GST experts can help → gstconsultancy.com