E-way bills (EWBs) were introduced in 2018 as a means of simplifying the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime in India. EWB is a singular document that carries details of shipments of goods. It consists of two parts:
- Part A which carries details of the supplier and recipient, value of goods, delivery location, invoice details and HSN code
- Part B which carries transporter details and vehicle number
E-way bills are mandatory for all shipments that are valued at over Rs. 50,000.
If you’re a business owner involved in the transportation of goods or work at an online marketplace, you need to be familiar with the various nuances of e-way bills. There are certain scenarios such as order cancellation, incorrect data due to data entry errors, or non-transportation of goods that may necessitate the cancellation of EWBs. Should you be wondering how long it takes to cancel an EWB, this guide can help you with the cancellation process and the factors that could potentially impact the cancellation time.
Process to cancel an e-way bill
The process of cancelling an e-way bill is straightforward and usually takes not more than ten minutes. Here are the steps that you need to follow:
- Log in to the portal with your credentials. Do not share these credentials with anyone to prevent unauthorised access.
- Go to the e-way bill drop-down menu and select ‘cancel’.
- Enter the 12-digit EWB number, and select the EWB that you want to cancel. Do pay attention to this step to avoid inadvertently cancelling a different EWB.
- Enter the correct reason for cancellation and select ‘Go’. It is important to select the correct reason for cancellation in order to avoid future scrutiny at the time of audit.
- Verify that the cancellation has been processed by checking if this EWB reflects in the list of cancelled EWBs.
Rules & regulations to follow when cancelling e-way bills
There are few simple rules that you need to follow when cancelling EWBs. Doing so will keep your business safe from scrutiny and potential penalties:
- E-way bills need to be cancelled within a time period of 24 hours from the time at which they were generated. Failure to do so would mean that the EWB remains valid, which could result in mismatches that could surface in the event of an audit.
- Once cancelled, an e-way bill cannot be made valid again. You would require to generate a fresh e-way bill instead.
- It is illegal to use a cancelled e-way bill for any shipment.
- E-way bills can only be cancelled by the person or entity who generated them.
- E-way bills cannot be cancelled once goods are in transit and the EWB has been verified by an officer.
Factors that add to the time taken to cancel e-way bills
While the process of cancelling e-way bills is usually speedy, there are certain factors that could add to the time taken. Keep these in mind so that you can plan accordingly and ensure that you can cancel EWBs efficiently:
- Technical glitches or portal downtime can significantly add to the time taken to cancel an EWB
- If the information that you provide during a cancellation is incorrect, you may cancel a different EWB which would mean that not only would you need to redo the cancellation process but also create a fresh EWB to compensate for the erroneous cancellation.
- If you fail to cancel an EWB within 24 hours, the only recourse is to ask the consignee of the shipment to cancel the EWB from their end. If they fail to do this within 72 hours, there are no further cancellation options available, which could result in compliance risks for your business.
Conclusion
Cancelling an e-way bill is a straightforward and speedy process that usually takes only a few minutes, but there is potential for things to go wrong if the process is not followed properly. Staying in control of this process can help your business stay compliant with regulations which help build the reputation of your business as being a compliant one. This focus on compliance is viewed as a positive factor when it comes to securing financing from NBFCs and banks which means that something as straightforward as an e-way bill can potentially become a part of a strategic moat for your business.
