E-Way Bill Rules: Limit, Validity, Part-A and Part-B

What is an e-way bill?

An e-way bill (electronic way bill) is an electronic document generated on the GST e-way bill portal for the movement of goods. It tells the tax department, before the truck leaves, what is being moved, from whom to whom, what it is worth, and in which vehicle.

The key word is movement. An e-way bill is not tied to a sale. Goods going for job work, on approval, or between your own godowns need one just as a sale does, once the value crosses the limit.

When is an e-way bill required?

• Goods worth more than ₹50,000 in one consignment. The value is what the document shows for the goods including GST, leaving out exempt goods.
• Inter-state movement to a job worker — at any value.
• Inter-state movement of handicraft goods by a person exempt from registration — at any value.

It applies to a sale, a purchase return, a stock transfer, goods sent on approval and goods sent for job work alike. Your turnover does not matter: a business with ₹20 lakh of annual sales needs an e-way bill for a ₹60,000 consignment just as a large company does.

Intra-state limits

The ₹50,000 limit is the standard one. For movement within a state, many states have notified a higher limit, and some have exempted movement within a city. Check your state’s notification before assuming ₹50,000.

Which document it is generated on

An e-way bill is generated against one of these:

Document	Used for
Tax invoice	A sale
Bill of supply	A sale by a composition dealer or of exempt goods
Delivery challan	Movement without a sale — job work, approval, stock transfer
Bill of entry	Imported goods moving from the port

A proforma invoice or a quotation is not a valid document for an e-way bill. If the goods are not yet being sold, use a delivery challan.

Part-A and Part-B

The e-way bill (form EWB-01) has two parts.

Part-A — the goods

• GSTIN of the supplier and the recipient
• Place of delivery (PIN code)
• Document number and date
• Value of goods
• HSN code
• Reason for transport

Part-B — the vehicle

• Vehicle number for road transport, or
• Transport document number (LR, railway receipt, airway bill or bill of lading)

The supplier, the recipient or the transporter can fill Part-A. Part-B is filled when the vehicle is known, and can be updated as many times as needed — when goods move to another truck at a transhipment point, for example.

Part-A only, for short trips

Within the same state, if the goods move 50 km or less between your place of business and the transporter’s (or from the transporter’s to the recipient’s), Part-B is not required. Part-A still is. This is an exemption from Part-B, not from the e-way bill.

How validity is counted

Cargo	Validity
Normal cargo	1 day for every 200 km or part of it
Over-dimensional cargo	1 day for every 20 km or part of it

Two details catch people out:

1. The clock starts when Part-B is first entered, not when Part-A is filled. Fill Part-A in advance if you like, but enter Part-B only when the truck is ready, or you lose validity while the goods are still in your godown.
2. A “day” ends at midnight of the following day. An e-way bill with one day’s validity whose Part-B is entered at 6 pm on 3 October is valid until midnight at the end of 4 October — not until 6 pm on 4 October.

Example: a 450 km trip. 450 ÷ 200 = 2.25, and “part of” 200 km counts as a full day, so the validity is 3 days.

Extending validity

If the truck breaks down or a road is closed, the validity can be extended:

• Only in the window from 8 hours before to 8 hours after the expiry.
• By the person who generated the e-way bill or the transporter currently carrying the goods.
• With the reason, the current location and the remaining distance.

Since January 2025, an e-way bill cannot be extended beyond 360 days from the date it was generated.

Cancelling and rejecting

• Cancel within 24 hours of generation, provided it has not been verified by an officer in transit. Part-A cannot be edited, so a wrong GSTIN, value or document number means cancelling and generating a new one.
• The recipient can reject an e-way bill generated on their GSTIN within 72 hours, or before the goods are delivered, whichever is earlier.

2025 changes worth knowing

From 1 January 2025:

• An e-way bill cannot be generated for a document dated more than 180 days earlier. Old invoices cannot be used to cover new movements.
• Extensions are capped at 360 days from generation.

Separately, two-factor login (an OTP on top of the password) was made mandatory on the e-way bill portal during 2025, starting with larger taxpayers. Check the portal for what applies to your account.

Consolidated e-way bill

A transporter carrying several consignments in one vehicle can generate a consolidated e-way bill (EWB-02) that lists the individual e-way bills. Each consignment still needs its own e-way bill; the consolidated one only saves the officer from checking them one by one.

Penalties

Moving goods without a valid e-way bill, or with one that does not match the goods, can lead to:

• Detention of the goods and the vehicle under Section 129 of the CGST Act. If the owner comes forward, release requires a penalty of 200% of the tax payable on the goods. If the owner does not, the penalty is the higher of 50% of the value of the goods or 200% of the tax.
• A separate penalty of ₹10,000 or the tax evaded, whichever is higher, under Section 122.

A typing error in the vehicle number or a slightly expired e-way bill is often treated as a minor lapse, but the goods can still be held until it is sorted out. A delay at a checkpost costs more than the minute it takes to check the details before dispatch.

Common mistakes

• Entering Part-B too early and losing a day of validity.
• Assuming an e-way bill is only for sales, and sending job-work goods without one.
• Using a proforma invoice as the document.
• Ignoring the state’s own intra-state limit.
• Splitting one consignment into several invoices of under ₹50,000 to avoid the e-way bill. The limit is on the consignment, and officers look at the whole truck.

Start with a correct document

An e-way bill is only as good as the document behind it — the GSTIN, value and HSN in Part-A come straight from your invoice or challan. Get those right with the GST invoice format guide, or make the invoice now with the free GST invoice generator.