Importance of E-way BILL in Marine Cargo Loss Assessment

Many a times the Invoice copy carries vehicle no. which is different from the actual vehicle that has suffered damage while carrying the consignment

To verify that the loss / damage of the cargo has actually happened under an insured transit, scrutiny of the E-way bill may be of immense help to the concerned Surveyors and Loss Adjusters.

 “Handbook-on-E-way-Bill-under-GST.pdf The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India” may be referred for guidance.

Following points in bold fonts are worth noting:

E-way bill (FORM GST EWB-01) is an electronic document (available to supplier / recipient / transporter) generated on the common portal evidencing movement of goods of consignment value more than ` 50,000/-.

 It has two components:–

Part A comprising of details of GSTIN of supplier & recipient, place of delivery (indicating PIN Code also), document (tax invoice, bill of supply, delivery challan or bill of entry) number and date, value of goods, HSN code, and reasons for transportation; and

Part B - comprising of transport details - transport document number (goods receipt number or railway receipt number or airway bill number or bill of lading number) and road vehicle number

E-way bill is valid throughout the country.

 As per Rule 138 of the CGST Rules, 2017, an EWB has to be generated prior to the commencement of transport of goods or movement of goods.

Even if the movement of goods is caused due to reasons other than supply, the e-way bill is required to be issued. Reasons other than supply include movement of goods due to job-work, replacement under warranty, recipient not known, supply of liquid gas where quantity is not known, supply returns, exhibition or fairs, for own use, sale on approval basis etc.

In a nutshell, EWB is to be generated by the consignor or consignee himself (if the transportation is being done in own/hired conveyance or by railways or by air or by vessel) or the transporter (if the goods are handed over to a transporter for transportation by road).

Where neither the consignor nor consignee generates the EWB and the value of goods is more than ` 50,000/- it shall be the responsibility of the transporter to generate it. In case the goods to be transported are supplied through an e-commerce operator, the information in Part A may be furnished by such e-commerce operator.

The consignment value of goods shall be the value, determined in accordance with the provisions of section 15 of the CGST Act, 2017, declared in an invoice, a bill of supply or a delivery challan, as the case may be, issued in respect of the said consignment and also includes the Central tax, State or Union territory tax, integrated tax and cess charged, if any, in the document and shall exclude the value of exempt supply of goods where the invoice is issued in respect of both exempt and taxable supply of goods.

In view of the valuation provisions in Section 15 of the CGST Act, 2017, customs duty shall also be includible in the value of goods.

 In case of movement of goods for reasons other than supply, the movement would be occasioned by means of a delivery challan which is a mandatory document. The delivery challan has to necessarily contain the value of goods as per Rule 55 of the CGST Rules, 2017. The value given in the delivery challan should be adopted in the EWB.

Where the goods are transferred from one conveyance to another, the consigner or the recipient, who has provided information in Part-A of the FORM GST EWB-01, or the transporter shall, before such transfer and further movement of goods, update the details of conveyance in the EWB on the common portal in FORM GST EWB-01. Any transporter transferring goods from one conveyance to another in the course of transit shall, before such transfer and further movement of goods, update the details of the conveyance in the EWB on the common portal in FORM GST EWB-01.

Part-B (Vehicle details) can be updated as many times as one wants for movement of goods to the destination. However, the updating should be done within the validity period and at any given point of time, the vehicle number updated should be that of the one which is actually carrying the goods.

The validity of EWB is not recalculated for subsequent entries in Part-B.

The validity period of the EWB depends upon the distance, the goods have to be transported.

The validity period of the EWB is calculated based on the ‘approx. distance’ entered while generating the EWB. As per Rule 138(10) of the CGST Rules, for every 100 Kms one day is the validity period for EWB and for every 100 KM or part thereof thereafter one more day is added. For example, if the approx. distance is 310 Kms then the validity period is 3+1 days.

 For movement of over dimensional cargo or multimodal shipment in which at least one leg involves transport by ship, the validity is one day for every 20 KM (instead of 100 KM) and for every 20 KM or part thereof one more day is added. Please refer Rule 138(10) for details.

 One needs to transport the goods with an EWB specifying the vehicle number, which is carrying the goods. However, where the goods are transported for a distance of less than fifty kilometers within the State from the place of business of consignor to the place of transporter for further transportation, then the vehicle number is not mandatory.

 Similar exception up to 50 KM has been given for movement of goods from place of business of transporter to place of business of consignee

 No EWB is required for movement of goods upto a distance of 20 Km from the place of business of consignor to a weighbridge for weighment or from the weighbridge back to the place of business of consignor, within the same State, subject to the condition that the movement of goods is accompanied by a delivery challan issued in accordance with Rule 55.

 Any person can verify the authenticity or the correctness of EWB by entering EWB number, EWB date, Generator ID and Document number in the search option of EWB Portal.

 Where multiple consignments are intended to be transported in one conveyance, the transporter may indicate the serial number of e-way bills generated in respect of each such consignment electronically on the common portal and a consolidated EWB in FORM GST EWB-02 may be generated by him on the common portal prior to the movement of goods

 If the consignee refuses to take goods or rejects the goods the transporter can get one more EWB generated with the help of supplier or recipient by indicating supply as ‘Sales Return’ and with relevant document details, and return the goods to supplier.

 Following are special situations where the EWB needs to be issued even if the value of the consignment is less than ` 50,000/-. As per the Provisos to Rule 138(1) of CGST Rules, 2017, where goods are sent by a principal located in one State to a job worker located in any other State, the EWB shall have to be generated by the principal irrespective of the value of the consignment.

Also, where handicraft goods are being transported from one State to another by a person who has been exempted from the requirement of obtaining registration, the EWB shall have to be generated by the said person irrespective of the value of the consignment.

 If the goods are being purchased and moved by the consumer to his destination himself as per the e-way bill rules, EWB is required to be carried along with the goods at the time of transportation, if the consignment value is more than ` 50,000/-. Under this circumstance, the consumer can get the EWB generated from the taxpayer or supplier, based on the bill or invoice issued by him.

 If the vehicle breaks down, when the goods are being carried with an EWB, then the transporter can get the vehicle repaired and continue the journey with the same EWB. If he has to change the vehicle, then he has to enter the new vehicle details in that EWB, on the e-way bill portal, using ‘Update vehicle number’ option in Part B and continue the journey in new vehicle, within the original validity period of EWB.

 Movement of goods which are in transit to or from Nepal/Bhutan, has been exempted from EWB.. Temporary vehicle number can also be inserted as vehicle number for the purpose of EWB generation.

Declaration and Disclaimer: 

The above view is very much personal based on my understanding of the GST Law and Insurance framework for loss assessment in case of Marine Cargo Insurance Policy. 

The Opinion is personal and not binding on any one. 

Sekhar Sengupta (ssg.noida@gmail.com)

Qualified IBBI Plant & Machinery Valuer 

Qualified Fire, Marine & Engineering Surveyor