How to handle “Bill to” - “Ship to” invoice in e-way bill system?

The e-way bill system has been a boon for businesses across India as it has made the process of transporting goods hassle-free and streamlined. However, sometimes businesses need to raise the bill to one party and send the consignment to another party. This can be due to various reasons, such as a supplier sending goods to a customer’s branch office or a manufacturer sending goods to a distributor’s warehouse. In such situations, the e-way bill system has a provision called ‘Bill to’ and ‘Ship to’ to handle the situation.

In the e-way bill form, there are two portions under the ‘TO’ section. The left-hand side is for ‘Billing To,’ where the GSTIN and trade name of the party that the bill is raised to are entered. The right-hand side is for ‘Ship to,’ where the address of the destination of the movement is entered. The other details are entered as per the invoice.

For instance, suppose a manufacturer in Maharashtra raises a bill to a distributor in Gujarat and sends the consignment to their warehouse in Rajasthan. In that case, the ‘Bill to’ details will have the GSTIN and trade name of the distributor in Gujarat, while the ‘Ship to’ details will have the address of the warehouse in Rajasthan.

In case the ‘Ship to’ state is different from the ‘Bill to’ state, the tax components are entered as per the billing state party. If the ‘Bill to’ location is inter-state for the supplier, IGST is entered. However, if the ‘Bill to’ party location is intra-state for the supplier, SGST and CGST are entered, irrespective of whether the movement of goods happened within the state or outside the state.

Let’s take another example. Suppose a supplier in Haryana raises a bill to a customer in Delhi and sends the goods to their branch office in Uttar Pradesh. In that case, the ‘Bill to’ details will have the GSTIN and trade name of the customer in Delhi, while the ‘Ship to’ details will have the address of the branch office in Uttar Pradesh. Since the supplier is in Haryana, which is an inter-state location, IGST will be entered.

In conclusion, the ‘Bill to’ and ‘Ship to’ provision in the e-way bill system has made it easier for businesses to handle situations where the bill is raised to one party and the goods are sent to another party. It is important to understand the tax components when the ‘Ship to’ state is different from the ‘Bill to’ state to ensure smooth transportation of goods.