The GST & Indirect Taxes Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has released the revised Second Edition (August 2026) of its “”, incorporating amendments, procedural developments, portal functionalities and judicial developments relating to the movement of goods under GST. The publication is updated up to August 15, 2026 and is intended to serve as a practical ready reference for Chartered Accountants, tax professionals, businesses, departmental officers and other GST stakeholders.
E-Way Bill Portal notified under Notification No. 09/2018-Central Tax: The Handbook reiterates that the Government, vide Notification No. 09/2018-Central Tax dated January 23, 2018, notified www.ewaybillgst.gov.in as the Common Goods and Services Tax Electronic Portal for generation of e-way bills. The portal is managed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology. The statutory framework flows from Section 68(1) of the CGST Act, 2017 read with Rules 138 to 138F of the CGST Rules, 2017.
E-Way Bill compliance extends beyond taxable supplies: A significant compliance principle highlighted in the Handbook is that the requirement for an e-way bill is linked to the movement of goods and not merely to a taxable supply. Accordingly, subject to the applicable threshold and exemptions, an E-Way Bill may also be required for movement relating to job work, repairs, testing, exhibition, demonstration, replacement, sales return, stock/branch transfer and other business purposes, even where ownership of the goods is not transferred.
₹50,000 threshold for inter-State movement; State-specific limits for intra-State movement: For inter-State movement, the Handbook states that an E-Way Bill is required where the consignment value exceeds ₹50,000, whereas the threshold for intra-State movement is governed by the relevant SGST/UTGST Rules and notifications of the respective State or Union Territory. The Handbook records a general intra-State threshold of ₹1 lakh for Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Rajasthan, while several other States/UTs follow a general threshold of ₹50,000, subject to specific State-level relaxations or additional conditions.
Validity of E-Way Bill — 200 km per day under Notification No. 94/2020-Central Tax: The normal validity period of an E-Way Bill is one day for movement up to 200 km and one additional day for every additional 200 km or part thereof. The earlier distance of 100 km was substituted by Notification No. 94/2020-Central Tax dated December 22, 2020, effective January 1, 2021. For Over Dimensional Cargo and specified multimodal shipments, the validity is calculated at 20 km per day. The multimodal shipment provisions were inserted through Notification No. 31/2019-Central Tax dated June 28, 2019.
E-Invoice and E-Way Bill are separate but complementary compliances: The revised Handbook clarifies that an e-invoice does not replace an E-Way Bill and an E-Way Bill does not replace the e-invoice requirement. An e-invoice authenticates the invoice/supply transaction through the Invoice Registration Portal, whereas the E-Way Bill relates primarily to the physical movement of goods and contains details of the consignor, consignee, goods and transportation.
New focus on unregistered persons — Form ENR-03 facilitates E-Way Bill generation: The Handbook explains that an unregistered person who is required to generate an E-Way Bill may enrol through Form ENR-03 by using the “Enrolment for URP” facility on the portal. On successful enrolment, a 15-digit Enrolment ID is generated, which can be used for E-Way Bill generation wherever applicable. The facility is particularly relevant for movement of goods by unregistered persons for own use or other permissible purposes.
Bill-to/Ship-to and Bill-from/Dispatch-from transactions specifically addressed: The revised guidance recognises practical supply-chain structures involving Regular, Bill-to/Ship-to, Bill-from/Dispatch-from and combinations of these transaction types. Correct disclosure of the actual dispatch and delivery locations assumes importance because an E-Way Bill is intended to create a contemporaneous digital trail of the physical movement of goods, rather than merely reflecting the legal “place of supply”.
Rule 138F specifically covers intra-State movement of gold and precious stones: The Handbook separately identifies Rule 138F as governing information and generation of E-Way Bills in respect of intra-State movement of gold, precious stones and specified goods, while Rules 138A to 138E deal with documents to be carried, interception and verification, inspection, detention reporting and blocking of E-Way Bill generation respectively.
E-Way Bill generation can be blocked for specified return defaults: Rule 138E provides the statutory mechanism for restricting the furnishing of information in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01 in specified cases of return-filing default. The Handbook also refers to persons paying tax under section 10 or availing the benefit of Notification No. 2/2019-Central Tax (Rate) dated March 7, 2019 while explaining the blocking provisions.
Exemptions continue for specified goods and movements: Rule 138(14) contains various situations where an E-Way Bill is not required. These include specified goods covered by the Annexure, movement by non-motorised conveyance, specified customs movements, exempt goods covered by Notification No. 2/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated June 28, 2017, specified non-GST goods, Schedule III transactions and prescribed customs-controlled movements. Further exemptions referred to in the Handbook include goods covered by Notification No. 7/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated June 28, 2017 and Notification No. 26/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated September 21, 2017, as amended.
Greater technology and security integration: The updated Handbook also captures the expanding digital functionality of the E-Way Bill portal, including bulk upload, mobile and API-based facilities, user management, transporter facilities, detention reporting through FORM GST EWB-04, and 2-Factor Authentication for enhancing login security. The system increasingly integrates compliance, transportation data and verification into a technology-driven digital trail.
Compliance message for taxpayers and transporters: Businesses should ensure that the E-Way Bill is generated before commencement of transportation, wherever applicable, with correct invoice/document details, consignor and consignee particulars, place of delivery, HSN, value, transporter and vehicle/transport document details. Particular attention is required in non-supply movements, Bill-to/Ship-to arrangements, job work, sales returns and inter-branch transfers, since the absence of a conventional sale does not by itself eliminate the E-Way Bill requirement.
The Handbook can be accessed at: https://a2ztaxcorp.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Handbook-on-E-Way-Bill-under-GST.pdf
