E-way Bill in case of transport of goods by railways or airways
E-way Bill is an electronic document that is required to be furnished compulsorily on the GST E-way Bill Portal for movement of goods from one place to another in case the value of goods is more than Rs. 50,000. E-way Bill has to be generated irrespective of the fact that the goods are transported through road, railways, air or vessel.
In E-way Bill, details are to be furnished by the registered person as regards the name of consignee, Value and HSN of goods to be transported, Place of delivery, details of transporter etc. E-way Bill can be generated by consignor or the consignee. If E-Way Bill is not generated by any of them, the transporter shall generate the E-way Bill. E-way Bill can be generated by an unregistered transporter also by getting a unique ‘Transporter ID” from GST portal. However, in case of transport by railways, or by air or by vessel, the transporter is not liable to generate the e-way bill.
Following documents are important at the time of generating the E-way Bill:-
- Tax Invoice
- Delivery Challan
- Transporter ID
- Transport Document Number
In this article, we will discuss on the topic “E-way bill in case of transport of goods by railway or air”.
Transport of goods by Railways:
If the goods are transported by railways, or by air or vessel, the e-way bill shall be generated by the registered person, being the supplier or the recipient. Further, as per law, such registered person shall furnish information in Part-B of FORM GST EWB-01 either before or after commencement of movement of goods. Thus, details in Part-B can be furnished even after commencement of movement of goods unlike in case of transport of goods by road where details in Part-B are required to be furnished before commencement of movement of goods.
When goods are to be transported by rail, the goods are to be moved from the place of business to the nearest railway station using the road transport. For that, an e-way bill would have already been generated. Hence, only the Part-B of GST EWB-01 needs to be updated with ‘Transport Document Number’. Indian Railways issues a receipt called “Railways Receipt” (RR) which is an acknowledgement for the goods to be transported through railways. The registered person, being supplier or recipient shall furnish on the GST portal the serial number and date of the Railway Receipt as ‘Transport Document Number’. Thus, the e-way bill in case of railways is completed and generated only after obtaining the RR number. The status of the goods in transit can be tracked using the FNR which is the 11 digits printed on the Railway Receipt.
It has been made clear in law that when the goods are transported through railways, the railways will not deliver the goods unless the e-way bill is produced at the time of delivery. However, Although Indian Railways have been exempted from generation and carrying of e-way bill but it is required to carry invoice or delivery challan etc.
It is to be noted that the above provision is not applicable on booking of parcels in railways through leaseholders registered with railways. In such cases, Part-B shall be filled in by the registered leaseholders. (Explanation below Rule-138D of CGST Rules, 2017). Railway Board has issued Comprehensive Parcel leasing Policy vide Freight Marketing Circular No. 6 of 2014 (No. 2013/TC(FM)/10/02) dated 15-04-2014 in this regard. Further, Railways have also issued Freight Marketing Circular No. 2 of 2007 for leasing of parcel cargo express trains. You may also refer these circulars to understand the procedures relating to leaseholders in Railways.
FAQs of CBIC in respect of transport of goods by railways
- In case of movement of goods by railways, is there a requirement for railway to carry e-way bill along with goods?
Answer: In case of movement of goods by Railways, there is no requirement to carry e-way bill along with the goods, but railways has to carry invoice or delivery challan or bill of supply, as the case may be, along with the goods. Further, e-way bill generated for the movement is required to be produced at the time of delivery. But for the purposes of e-way bill, the expression ‘transport by railways’ does not include the ‘leasing of parcel space by Railways’.
- In case of transportation of goods via rail/air/ship mode, when is user required to enter transport document details, as it is available only after submitting of goods to the concerned authority?
Answer:- Where the goods are transported by railways or by air or vessel, the Part-B of the e-way bill can be updated either before or after the commencement of movement. But, where goods are transported by railways, the railways shall not deliver the goods, unless the e-way bill as required under these rules is produced to them at the time of delivery.
Transport of goods by Airways:
This has already been made clear above that where the goods are transported by airways, the e-way bill shall be generated by the registered person, being the supplier or the recipient. Such registered person shall furnish information in Part-B of GST EWB-01 either before or after commencement of movement of goods.
Following points are to be noted in respect of transport of goods by airways:-
- Part-A of GST EWB-01 shall be filled by the registered person (either supplier or the recipient).
- Part-B of GST EWB-01 is to be updated by the registered person on the basis of transport document i.e. ‘Airway Bill’ or ‘Airway Consignment Note’ before or after commencement of movement of goods by airways.
- Airway Bill is not negotiable as it is not a document of title to the goods. It is only a receipt issued by airlines as an evidence for transporting of goods.
- In case of transport of goods from the airport or air cargo complex to an inland container depot or a container freight station for clearance of customs, it is not required to generate the e-way bill. But, e-way bill has to be generated when the goods are transported from the customs to the recipient’s registered place.
- The validity of e-way bill starts when the first entry is made in Part-B of GST EWB-01 i.e. when the transport document number is first entered.
- For multiple modes of transportation, the corresponding transport document number has to be updated by the registered person every time mode of transport is changed for further transportation.
