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World desk7 min

E-Way Bill Rules Explained: Who Must Generate One, When, and What to Carry

A practical guide to India’s GST e-way bill rules, including the general threshold, generator responsibilities, documents, validity, exemptions, and corrections.
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In India, an e-way bill is generally required before moving a consignment valued above ₹50,000 in the movement situations covered by Rule 138 of the CGST Rules. The registered person causing the movement or, in many transporter handoffs, the transporter generates it. The person in charge of the conveyance must be able to produce the e-way bill number and carry the relevant transaction and transport documents. The national rule is the baseline; intra-state thresholds and exemptions can vary by State or Union Territory.

What is an e-way bill?

An e-way bill is the electronic record associated with the movement of goods under India’s GST system. The GST E-Way Bill System describes it as a document required to be carried by the person in charge of a conveyance carrying a consignment valued above ₹50,000, under section 68 of the CGST Act read with Rule 138. The legal framework and system guidance are available from the CBIC e-way bill rules and the official GST E-Way Bill System FAQ.

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The bill is not the same thing as the invoice, delivery challan, or transport document. It records the movement in the e-way bill system; the underlying transaction or movement document supports what is being moved and why. Keep the required documents and the e-way bill number available together so the person in charge can produce the appropriate information during transit.

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When is an e-way bill required?

The national Rule 138 threshold

Rule 138 generally applies when a registered person causes movement of a consignment whose value exceeds ₹50,000. The rule covers movement in relation to a supply, movement for reasons other than supply, and inward supply from an unregistered person. The information required by the rule must be furnished before the movement begins. The ₹50,000 figure is the general national threshold for those described cases; it should not be treated as a promise that every intra-state route uses the same threshold.

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For a consignment at or below the threshold, the rule provides circumstances in which a registered person or transporter may generate an e-way bill voluntarily. Below-threshold movement is therefore not automatically barred from e-way bill generation, and the threshold alone does not answer whether a particular route or movement has a separate requirement.

Check the route, movement reason, and goods

Before deciding that a bill is or is not required, identify whether the movement is inter-state or intra-state, why the goods are moving, and whether the goods or movement qualify for an exemption or special treatment. The rules include exempt goods and movements, as well as particular below-threshold provisions. Examples identified in Rule 138 include specified inter-state movement from a principal to a job worker and certain handicraft movements by persons exempt from registration. These are specific cases, not blanket exemptions for all job work or all handicraft transport.

For intra-state movement, check the current rules or notification for the particular State or Union Territory, route, goods, and transaction. The official FAQ directs users to applicable State/UT provisions; there is no single intra-state threshold that can safely be applied nationwide without those details. The GST E-Way Bill System is also the place to check current system guidance.

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Who must generate the e-way bill?

The responsible generator depends in part on how the goods are being transported. Rule 138 distinguishes movement in the registered person’s own or hired conveyance from a handoff to a transporter. A registered person may generate the bill when using its own or hired conveyance. If the goods are handed to a transporter, the registered person furnishes the transporter details and the transporter generates the e-way bill using the information provided.

Movement arrangement Who generally generates What to have ready
Registered person uses its own or hired conveyance The registered person causing the movement may generate the e-way bill. Transaction or movement document details and the applicable vehicle information.
Goods are handed to a transporter The registered person furnishes transporter details; the transporter generates the bill from the supplied information. Transaction or movement document details, transporter ID, and the applicable transporter document or vehicle details.
Movement involving an unregistered person or a special case Rule 138 has additional provisions; the responsible party depends on the circumstances. Check the applicable rule and current portal instructions for that movement.

This division matters in practice: the business arranging the transaction should not assume that handing goods to a carrier transfers every information-gathering responsibility. The registered person must supply the transporter details in the situations covered by the rule, and both parties need enough accurate information to complete the relevant entries before movement.

What documents and details should travel with the goods?

The official portal FAQ identifies the relevant document as the applicable tax invoice, bill of sale or bill of supply, or delivery challan. The appropriate document depends on the transaction or reason for movement. Transport identification is also needed as applicable: a transporter ID with the transporter document number, or a vehicle number. The exact combination depends on how the goods move and which transport details are available.

  • E-way bill number: the person in charge may carry or produce the number electronically, as permitted under Rule 138A.
  • Underlying goods document: the applicable tax invoice, bill of sale, bill of supply, or delivery challan.
  • Transport information: transporter ID and transporter document number, or the vehicle number, as applicable.
  • Completed movement details: the required Part B transport information must correspond to the conveyance or transport mode used.

Do not treat the e-way bill number as a substitute for the invoice or challan. Conversely, carrying an invoice alone does not mean that an e-way bill requirement has been met. Before dispatch, make sure the bill number can be retrieved by the person in charge and that the transaction document and transport details relate to the same consignment.

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How to prepare an e-way bill before dispatch

  1. Classify the movement. Confirm whether the goods move for a supply, for another reason, or as an inward supply from an unregistered person. Determine whether the route is inter-state or intra-state and whether an exemption or special provision may apply.
  2. Check the applicable threshold. Apply the national Rule 138 baseline of a consignment value above ₹50,000 to the covered movement cases, then check any State/UT provision that governs an intra-state route. Do not assume that a below-threshold movement is exempt from every separate rule or special case.
  3. Choose the responsible generator. For own or hired conveyance, the registered person causing movement may generate the e-way bill. For a transporter handoff, provide the transporter details so the transporter can generate from the information furnished. Check Rule 138 for unregistered-person and other special circumstances.
  4. Gather the supporting information. Have the applicable invoice, bill of sale, bill of supply, or delivery challan ready, together with transporter ID and transporter document number or vehicle number as relevant.
  5. Complete the required movement entries. Furnish the required information before movement and complete the applicable Part B vehicle or transport-document information. Check that the selected transport details reflect the actual arrangement.
  6. Check validity before the goods leave. Calculate validity using the applicable distance interval and cargo category, and check that the relevant first Part B entry has been made. Ensure the person in charge can produce the bill number and underlying documents during transit.

How long is an e-way bill valid?

Under the current distance intervals described in the rules and official system guidance, validity is generally one day for every 200 km or part thereof for a regular conveyance. For over-dimensional cargo, the interval is one day for every 20 km or part thereof. The over-dimensional-cargo interval is specified in Rule 138; the official system landing page records that the regular-conveyance distance changed from 100 km to 200 km per day effective 1 January 2021 under Notification 94/2020 dated 22 December 2020. Older pages that still state 100 km per day should not be used as the current general distance interval.

The start of validity depends on the first Part B entry. According to the portal FAQ, for road transport it begins with the first vehicle entry; for rail, air, or ship, it begins with the first transport-document entry. This means that the creation of the bill and the start of its validity are not necessarily the same event. Coordinate the Part B entry with the actual dispatch and transport document so the applicable validity period is assessed from the correct event.

Can you correct an e-way bill after generating it?

The portal FAQ says a submitted e-way bill cannot be edited. If it contains a mistake, the FAQ instructs users to cancel it within 24 hours and generate a corrected bill. Part B can be updated. This is not a general right to edit any field or to revise the bill indefinitely: verify the current portal rules and act within the stated cancellation window when correction is needed. If only transport details in Part B have changed, use the available Part B update process rather than assuming the rest of the bill can be altered.

Recent portal controls to check before using the system

Statutory requirements and portal validations are related but distinct. The GSTN E-Way Bill API portal’s release notes and announcements report a 180-day document-date generation limit effective 1 January 2025 and an announcement of rail-mode generation restrictions effective 2 December 2025. These are system implementation details, not replacements for the CGST Act or Rule 138. Because operational controls can be updated, check the live portal’s current notices and validations before relying on an older workflow, particularly for document dates or rail-mode generation.

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Quick decision checklist

  • Is the movement covered by Rule 138, and is the consignment above the applicable threshold?
  • Is it an inter-state or intra-state movement, and have you checked the route-specific State/UT provisions?
  • Does an exemption or specific below-threshold rule cover the goods or movement?
  • Is the registered person using its own/hired conveyance, or has it handed the goods to a transporter?
  • Are the applicable invoice, sale/bill-of-supply document, or delivery challan and transport identifiers ready?
  • Has the required Part B information been entered, and can the person in charge produce the e-way bill number?
  • Has validity been calculated using the correct distance interval and cargo category?
  • Have current portal notices been checked for date or transport-mode validations that affect this generation?

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