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Generation of EWB for Supply of services Last updated: September 21st, 2021 1:24 PM

Generation of EWB for Supply of Services

Considering the various representations received from the trades, the Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) has issued an Advisory for Generation of e-way bills (EWB) where the principal supply is the Supply of services. GSTN announced that no e-way bills (EWB) are required if principal supply is service and no goods are involved. E-way bills are mandatory for the movement of goods whose value is at or over Rs.50, 000.

Gist of Advisory

CBIC has received various representations from trade bodies stating that they are not able to generate EWB bill for the movement of the goods where their principle supply is classifiable as a service since there is no provision for generating E-way Bill by entering SAC (Service Accounting Code-Chapter 99) alone on the E- way bill portal. To overcome this issue, GSTN issued the advisory. The current article briefs the procedure to generate EWB where the principal supply is the Supply of services.

EWB mandatory for the movement of Goods

Rule 138 of CGST Rules, 2017states “Information to be furnished prior to commencement of movement of goods and generation of e-way bill Every registered person who causes movement of goods of consignment value exceeding Rs.50, need to generate EWB for the movement of Goods.

No EWB required for the supply of service

GSTN announced that if the principal supply is purely a supply of service and involving no movement of goods, the e-way bill is not required to be generated. However, if the movement of some goods is involved along with the principal supply of service, the e-way bill may be generated. Such situations may arise in cases of supply of the following services:
  • Printing services
  • Works contract services
  • Catering services
  • Pandal or shamiana services
In such cases, the e-way bills may be generated by entering the details of the HSN code of the goods, along with the SAC (Service Accounting Code) of the services involved.

GSTN Update on EWB – Notification dated 17th March 2021

The e-way bills portal has released an update on 17th March 2021 stating that e-way bills cannot be generated with only SAC codes (99) for services. There should be a minimum of one HSN code belonging to goods mentioned mandatorily.

An overview of e-Way Bills

e-Way Bill is an ‘electronic way’ bill for the movement of goods that can be generated on the GST e-Way Bill System Portal. The e-Way bill system ensures that the goods are being transported in line with the GST norms and relevant information is uploaded before the commencement of the transportation of goods. e-Way Bills/ EWB needs to be carried by the person in charge of the conveyance for movement of goods where the value of the consignment exceeds Rs. 50,000 whether or not a supply.
  • The e-way bill format contains the details of the sender, receiver, and the transporter (if the seller is not the transporter).
  • The consignor or consignee needs to generate the e-way bill when the value of goods transported is more than Rs. 50,000 (each consignment or all consignments put together) in their own vehicle/railways/ airways/ ship.
  • EWB has to be generated even if the value of goods is below Rs. 50,000 for the following:
  • Job Work:  Goods sent by the principal from one state to a job worker in another state.
  • Handicraft Goods: EWB should also be generated in the inter-state transport of goods by a dealer exempt from GST Registration.

Modes available to Generate E-way bills/EWB

A user has to register on the common portal of e-way bills before start using the services. GSTN has provided the following modes for generating EWB:
  • EWB Portal: Anyone can log in to the EWB Portal as the user or sub-user as the case may be. Then click on the ‘Generate new’ option under the main tab ‘e-way bill’ appearing on the left-hand side of the dashboard.
  • Via SMS: A very convenient on-the-go option for generating e-way bills has been introduced under GST. One can use SMS mode at times of emergency.
  • Bulk Generation offline tool: To generate multiple e-way bills by a single upload of JSON file. This facility may be used by businesses having a large number of consignments to be delivered.
Click here to know more about the official advisory issued by the GSTN.