Rule 138A of CGST Rules 2017: E-way Bill Documents/ Devices to be carried in a Conveyance

Provisions under Rule 138A of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Rules, 2017 relating to “Documents and devices to be carried by a person-in-charge of a conveyance”, are as under:

CGST Rule 138A: Documents and devices to be carried by a person-in-charge of a conveyance (Chapter-XVI: E-way Rules)  

(1) The person in charge of a conveyance shall carry—

(a) the invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan, as the case may be; and

(b) a copy of the e-way bill in physical form or the e-way bill number in electronic form or mapped to a Radio Frequency Identification Device embedded on to the conveyance in such manner as may be notified by the Commissioner:

Provided that nothing contained in clause (b) of this sub-rule shall apply in case of movement of goods by rail or by air or vessel.

Provided further that in case of imported goods, the person in charge of a conveyance shall also carry a copy of the bill of entry filed by the importer of such goods and shall indicate the number and date of the bill of entry in Part A of FORM GST EWB 01. [second proviso inserted from 04/09/2018: refer Note 1]

(2) In case, invoice is issued in the manner prescribed under sub-rule (4) of rule 48, the Quick Reference (QR) code having an embedded Invoice Reference Number (IRN) in it, may be produced electronically, for verification by the proper officer in lieu of the physical copy of such tax invoice. [sub-rule (2) substituted from 30/09/2020: refer Note 2]

(3) Where the registered person uploads the invoice under sub-rule (2), the information in Part A of FORM GST EWB 01 shall be auto-populated by the common portal on the basis of the information furnished in FORM GST INV 1.

(4) The Commissioner may, by notification, require a class of transporters to obtain a unique Radio Frequency Identification Device and get the said device embedded on to the conveyance and map the e-way bill to the Radio Frequency Identification Device prior to the movement of goods.

(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (b) of sub-rule (1), where circumstances so warrant, the Commissioner may, by notification, require the person-in-charge of the conveyance to carry the following documents instead of the e-way bill

(a) tax invoice or bill of supply or bill of entry; or

(b) a delivery challan, where the goods are transported for reasons other than by way of supply.”

Amendments History:

CGST Rule 138 was initially notified by CBEC vide Notification 10/2017 dated 28/06/2017. Subsequently, CGST Rule 138 has been substituted and Rules 138A, 138B, 138C & 138D have been inserted vide Notification 27/2017 dated 30/08/2017. Further, two Provisos and Explanation were inserted in Rule 138(1) vide Notification 34/2017 dated 15/09/2017. Later, Rule 138 was re-substituted with amendments in Rule 138A & 138B vide Notification 3/2018 dated 23/01/2018. However, the Final e-way bill rules were notified on 07/03/2018, whereby Rules 138, 138A, 138B, 138C & 138D were substituted vide Notification 12/2018 dated 07/03/2018, followed with Notification 15/2018 on commencement date of 01/04/2018. It may be noted that above text of this Rule is based on such final E-way Bill Rules (Notification 12/2018) and subsequent amendments:

1. Second Proviso to sub-rule (1) inserted from 04/09/2018 vide Notification 39/2018.

2. Sub-rule (2) substituted from 30/09/2020 vide Notification 72/2020. Text thereof before substitution:

“(2) A registered person may obtain an Invoice Reference Number from the common portal by uploading, on the said portal, a tax invoice issued by him in FORM GST INV 1 and produce the same for verification by the proper officer in lieu of the tax invoice and such number shall be valid for a period of thirty days from the date of uploading.”

—–