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e-Way Bill Module

Applies to: e-Way Bill · Which modules do I have?

Purpose

Configure e-Way Bill generation and its follow-on operations, and set the expiry alerting that keeps goods from moving on an invalid bill.

Audience

Implementation consultants and the customer's logistics or dispatch lead.

Prerequisites

  • Module enabled for the relevant registrations
  • GSP Configuration complete
  • Transporter master data loaded
  • The customer's dispatch lead times known, so alert horizons can be set realistically

Steps

1. Understand the two pipelines

An e-Way Bill can be raised two ways, and they behave differently:

Pipeline Source When used
From an IRN A registered invoice The normal path for taxable supplies
From a document A standalone document with no IRN Delivery challans, bills of supply, bills of entry

The first is a continuing operation: it must go back to the provider that issued the IRN, not to the tenant's current provider. This is handled automatically by provenance, and it is worth knowing because it explains behaviour that otherwise appears inconsistent after a provider switch. See GSP Abstraction.

2. Confirm which document types take the standalone pipeline

By default CHL, BIL and BOE route to e-Way Bill only. See Document Type Routing.

3. Understand Part-A and Part-B

Part Contains Without it
Part-A The consignment: parties, goods, value, distance No bill exists
Part-B The vehicle The bill is not valid for movement

A bill with Part-A but no Part-B is a common and legitimate intermediate state — the consignment is known before the vehicle is assigned. It becomes a problem only when goods move. Make sure the dispatch process closes Part-B before the vehicle leaves, and that somebody owns that step.

4. Configure distance handling

Validity is derived from distance, so distance is not a cosmetic field.

Approach Behaviour
Supply the distance Used as given
Supply zero The registration portal computes it from the postal codes
Look it up Available where the provider supports it

Where a distance has already been resolved for a route, Complifly reuses it rather than paying for the lookup again. That is deliberate cost control, and it is why a distance lookup may return instantly.

5. Set the expiry alert horizon

Set EWB_EXPIRY_HORIZON_HOURS from the customer's actual dispatch and transport lead times. An alert that arrives after the decision point is noise; one that arrives too far ahead is ignored. Both failure modes end with an expired bill.

Address alerts to a distribution list, never an individual.

6. Understand extension

Property Detail
Time-limited Only possible within a window around expiry — not at any time
Requires a reason Supplied at extension
Routed by provenance Goes to the issuing provider
Not a substitute for planning Extension exists for genuine delays, not routine overruns

7. Configure consolidated bills and multi-vehicle movement, if used

Consolidated bills group several bills onto one vehicle as a trip sheet. Multi-vehicle movement splits one consignment across several vehicles.

Both depend on provider capability, and support genuinely differs between providers. Check the capability matrix for the assigned provider before promising either to the business — one provider currently has consolidated generation marked as awaiting a vendor endpoint, which means the feature is deliberately disabled rather than broken. See GSP Abstraction.

8. Statutory constraints — not configurable

Constraint Consequence
Validity is derived from distance Cannot be extended arbitrarily
Part-B is required for movement Not optional
Extension is only possible near expiry Plan around it
Cancellation is time-limited After the window, rejection by the other party is the remaining route
Threshold values and intra-state rules Set by statute and by state

Validation

Check Method Pass condition
Generation from an IRN works Generate a bill from a registered invoice in the sandbox Bill issued with a validity period
Standalone generation works Generate from a challan Bill issued
Part-B update works Update the vehicle on a test bill Part-B recorded and the bill becomes valid for movement
Distance handling works Generate with a supplied distance, and again with zero Both produce a sensible validity period
Extension works Extend a bill near expiry in the sandbox Extended, with the reason recorded
Cancellation works Cancel a test bill inside the window Cancelled
Expiry alerts fire in time Create a bill nearing expiry Alert arrives with time to act
Consolidated bills work, if used Generate one Issued. If refused on capability grounds, that is the matrix, not a fault
Multi-vehicle works, if used Initiate and add vehicles Recorded
Provenance followed After a provider switch in a test tenant, update a vehicle on an older bill Succeeds
Permissions enforced Sign in as a logistics role and attempt to generate an IRN Refused

Troubleshooting

Symptom Cause Action
Bill generated but goods stopped in transit Part-B never completed A bill without vehicle details is not valid for movement. Fix the dispatch process, not the configuration
Bill expired before delivery Validity derived from distance, and transit exceeded it Extension is only possible near expiry. Plan realistically
Extension refused Outside the extension window Statutory. Not configurable
Cancellation refused Outside the cancellation window Rejection by the other party is the remaining route
Consolidated generation unavailable Provider capability, not a fault Check the matrix. An operation awaiting a vendor endpoint is deliberately disabled
Update or extension fails after a provider switch Old provider's credentials withdrawn too early Restore them while any of its bills remain actionable
Distance lookup returns instantly A previously resolved distance was reused Working as intended — deliberate cost control
Validity shorter than expected Distance understated Check the distance supplied; validity follows from it
Expiry alerts arrive too late Horizon shorter than the real dispatch lead time Set the horizon from actual lead times
Nobody acts on expiry alerts Addressed to an individual, or too noisy Use a distribution list; tune the horizon to a level people act on
A bill from another party appears Someone raised a bill against this registration Review and reject if incorrect, within the window