- Moving goods worth more than ₹50,000 generally needs an e-way bill.
- Goods sent by a principal in one state to a job worker in another need one whatever the value. The principal, or the job worker if registered, generates it.
- Inside one state, the limit is set by that state. Check yours.
- Stitchfloor files e-way bills from a sale invoice. It does not file the one for a lot sent to a job worker.
This is a summary, not tax advice. Confirm your own case with your CA.
Who this is for
A garment unit that sends work out: fabric to a printer, cut panels for embroidery, garments for finishing. Especially one whose job workers sit across a state border, as they often do for units around Delhi.
What the law says
The rule
The e-way bill rule is Rule 138 of the CGST Rules, 2017. Its first part sets the general limit:1
"Every registered person who causes movement of goods of consignment value exceeding fifty thousand rupees" must furnish Part A of FORM GST EWB-01 before the movement begins.
A proviso to the same rule deals with job work, and it is the part garment units most often miss:1
"where goods are sent by a principal located in one State or Union territory to a job worker located in any other State or Union territory, the e-way bill shall be generated either by the principal or the job worker, if registered, irrespective of the value of the consignment".
Three things follow from those two passages.
- Across a state border, value does not matter. Fabric worth ₹8,000 going to a printer in another state needs an e-way bill as much as fabric worth ₹8 lakh.
- Either side can generate it. The principal (you), or the job worker if they are registered.
- ₹50,000 is the inter-state limit. For movement within one state, each state sets its own limit and some differ. Ask your CA what applies in yours.
And e‑invoices?
A different rule, about sales rather than movement. Since 1 August 2023, a registered person whose aggregate turnover has exceeded ₹5 crore in any financial year from 2017-18 must issue e-invoices for B2B supplies.2 Sending goods out for job work is not a sale, so it is the e-way bill rule that matters for the movement.
Worked examples
The units, places and amounts below are made up for this guide, and the cases are simplified. They show how the rule reads, not what your case needs.
| Movement | Value | Across states? | E-way bill? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knitted fabric from a Ludhiana unit to a printer in Delhi | ₹38,000 | Yes, Punjab to Delhi | YesJob work across a border, at any value |
| Cut panels from the same unit to a printer in Ludhiana | ₹38,000 | No, within Punjab | CheckDepends on Punjab's own limit |
| Finished garments sold to a buyer in Jaipur | ₹1,20,000 | Yes, Punjab to Rajasthan | YesValue over ₹50,000 |
| Finished garments sold to a buyer in Jaipur | ₹42,000 | Yes, Punjab to Rajasthan | Not on valueUnder ₹50,000; ask your CA about anything else that applies |
Where Stitchfloor fits
Our product
Stitchfloor files and cancels e-way bills from a sale invoice, on a live workspace (your company's own Stitchfloor, as opposed to the public demo). You register once on the e-way bill portal, choose Quicko Infosoft (the GSP our e-way bill provider, Sandbox, works through) and set your own portal login. Before anything is sent, Stitchfloor names what would make the filing fail: a missing pincode at either end, the distance, an HSN on a line. That covers the sale in row three, and row four if you raise one anyway.
A lot sent to a printer goes out on the Operations desk's Lots Sent/Received screen, not on a sale invoice, so Stitchfloor has nothing to file it from. For rows one and two, the e-way bill is generated on the portal, by you, your job worker or your CA.
What Stitchfloor does keep is the record you will want beside it: which lot went to which printer, on which day, with which parts in the bundle, and when it was counted back in.
Also worth knowing before you rely on it:
- E-way bills cannot be filed from the Android app; use the web app.
- In the public demo an e-way bill number is typed in by hand.
- Stitchfloor does not issue e-invoices.
Check with your CA
Rule 138 has more to it than this page covers, including exemptions, Part B and the vehicle details, how long a bill stays valid, and each state's own limits. Rules also change by notification. Read the current text through the link below, and confirm your own movements with your CA before you change how you send work out.