Validity of E-way bill - GST Ready Reckoner - GST

Validity of E-way bill Validity period of E-Way Bill An e-way bill or a consolidated e-way bill generated under this rule shall be valid for the period as mentioned in column (3) of the Table below from the relevant date , for the distance, within the country, the goods have to be transported, as mentioned in column (2) of the said Table:- Rule 138 provides for validity of E way bill as Sl. No. Distance Validity period (1) (2) (3) 1. Upto 200 km. One day, in cases other than Over Dimensional Cargo, or multimodal shipment in which at least one leg involves transport by ship 2. For every 200 km. or part thereof thereafter One additional day, in cases other than Over Dimensional Cargo, or multimodal shipment in which at least one leg involves transport by ship 3. Upto 20 km One day, in case of Over Dimensional Cargo, or multimodal shipment in which at least one leg involves transport by ship 4. For every 20 km. or part thereof thereafter One additional day, in case of Over Dimensional Cargo, or multimodal shipment in which at least one leg involves transport by ship For the purposes of this rule, the relevant date shall mean the date on which the e-way bill has been generated and the period of validity shall be counted from the time at which the e-way bill has been generated and each day shall be counted as the period expiring at midnight of the day immediately following the date of generation of e-way bill. The Commissioner may, on the recommendations of the Council, by notification, extend the validity period of an e-way bill for certain categories of goods as may be specified therein: Extension of validity of E-way bill by the transporter:- where, under circumstances of an exceptional nature, including trans-shipment, the goods cannot be transported within the validity period of the e-way bill, the transporter may extend the validity period after updating the details in Part B of FORM GST EWB-01 , if required. As per Rule 138(10) The validity of the e-way bill may be extended within eight hours from the time of its expiry .(before after 8 Hours in case of expiry of validity). Case law In Orson Holding company Limited and 1 Other(s) Versus Union of India and 2 other ( 2023 (1) TMI 1026 - GUJARAT HIGH COURT ) Decision It can be gathered that there does not appear to be any ill-intent on the part of the petitioner to use the expired e-Way bill. The company is situated at Howrah, West Bengal and the place of delivery was Jamnagar, Gujarat and in transit, this e-Way bill has expired. The impugned order demanding a sum of Rs.63,40,000/- was quashed and set aside. The order of detention and the notice issued under Section 129(3) of the CGST Act in FORM GST MOV-07 were also quashed and set aside. The penalty amount shall be refunded to the petitioner with interest, within eight weeks. Conclusion The e-way bill provisions aim to remove the ills of the erstwhile way bill system prevailing under VAT in different states, which was a major contributor to the bottlenecks at the check posts. Moreover different states prescribed different e-way bill rules which made compliance difficult. The e-way bill provisions under GST will bring in a uniform e-way bill rule which will be applicable throughout the country. The physical interface will pave way for digital interface which will facilitate faster movement of goods. It is bound to improve the turnaround time of vehicles and help the logistics industry by increasing the average distances travelled, reducing the travel time as well as costs.