The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has issued an advisory dated 2 July 2026 informing taxpayers, transporters, GST Suvidha Providers (GSPs), ERP vendors and other stakeholders that it has released two comprehensive sets of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to address various representations and practical issues relating to the mandatory capture of the ‘Ship-to’ field in e-Way Bills and the newly introduced Voluntary Closure of e-Way Bills.

GSTN has issued two separate FAQ documents covering:

• Mandatory capture of the ‘Ship-to’ field in e-Way Bills, and
• Voluntary Closure of e-Way Bills.

A. FAQs on Mandatory Capture of Ship-to GSTIN in E-Way Bills:

Under the revised framework, Ship-to GSTIN will be mandatory in Bill-to/Ship-to and Combination (Bill-from/Dispatch-from with Bill-to/Ship-to) transactions wherever the consignee is a registered person. Where the consignee is unregistered, the value “URP” may be entered wherever applicable. However, the requirement will not apply to regular transactions or Bill-from/Dispatch-from transactions where the goods are delivered directly to the buyer.

The FAQs further clarify that the Bill-to GSTIN and Ship-to GSTIN cannot be identical. Where goods are supplied to the buyer’s own warehouse, depot or additional place of business under the same GSTIN, such supplies should continue to be treated as regular transactions and should not be reported as Bill-to/Ship-to transactions.

To address industry concerns regarding commercial confidentiality, GSTN has clarified that the Ship-to GSTIN will not be printed on the e-Way Bill nor disclosed through GET e-Way Bill APIs. The information will remain available only in the system backend for use by authorised tax officers during verification and enforcement.

The FAQs also prescribe the treatment for export and merchant exporter transactions, permitting the use of “URP” where goods move to ports, airports, Inland Container Depots (ICDs), Container Freight Stations (CFSs) or other export-linked locations without a registered consignee. GSTN has clarified that use of “URP” is only a system requirement and does not alter the export character of the transaction.

Significant changes have also been introduced in the Standalone e-Way Bill API, Generate IRN with e-Way Bill API, and e-Way Bill by IRN API, including mandatory validation of Ship-to GSTIN, State Code and PIN Code, prohibition on identical Bill-to and Ship-to GSTINs, and transaction-specific validation rules with dedicated error codes.

GSTN has already deployed the proposed changes in the Sandbox environment and has advised taxpayers, ERP vendors, GST Suvidha Providers (GSPs), Application Service Providers (ASPs), private IRPs and other stakeholders to complete system testing, update master data and modify internal business processes well before the implementation date of 1 August 2026.

The complete FAQs can be accessed at https://taxo.online/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/faqs_on_ship_to_field_approved_version.pdf

B, FAQs on Voluntary Closure of e-Way Bill – Implementation Deferred to 1 August 2026

Key Highlights

• Voluntary facility: Closure of an e-Way Bill is optional and is intended only to record the completion of movement of goods after delivery. It is not a mandatory compliance requirement.
• Effective date: The voluntary EWB closure facility will become operational from 1 August 2026.
• Who can close an EWB: The facility may be exercised by the supplier, recipient, transporter, or driver/authorised person whose mobile number has been registered for closure.
• Timeline for closure: An EWB may be closed after delivery of goods, preferably on the date of delivery or the immediately succeeding day. The functionality will remain available up to one day after the expiry of the EWB validity period, provided the closure date falls between the date of generation and the validity period of the EWB.
• Portal functionality: Closure can be carried out either EWB-wise (single EWB) or date-wise (multiple eligible EWBs). Date-wise closure enables bulk closure of eligible EWBs through the portal.
• Driver-based closure: Drivers or authorised persons can close EWBs through a mobile number-based portal facility, provided the relevant mobile number has been captured at the time of EWB generation or subsequently updated during vehicle updation, extension of validity or consolidated EWB operations.
• API support: GSTN has introduced an EWB Closure API requiring the EWB number, closure date and remarks. However, the current API does not support:
  • date-wise bulk closure,
  • retrieval of closed EWBs,
  • display of “Closed” status,
  • driver/mobile-number-based closure, or
  • identification of the person who closed the EWB.
• Status during transition: During the initial stabilisation phase, the existing EWB statuses—Active, Cancelled and Discarded, will continue. Although closure details will be captured in the system, a separate “Closed” status will be introduced only in a future phase.

• Post-closure modifications: As a temporary measure during the stabilisation period, users will continue to be permitted to:

  • update transporter details,
  • update vehicle details,
  • extend validity, and
  • perform other permitted modifications even after an EWB has been marked as closed.

  GSTN has clarified that these relaxations are temporary and suitable restrictions will be introduced after the system stabilises.

• Closure distinguished from cancellation: The FAQs clarify that closure is different from cancellation. Cancellation applies where the EWB was wrongly generated or movement never commenced, whereas closure merely records successful completion of delivery. Likewise, closure is distinct from expiry, which occurs automatically on completion of the prescribed validity period.

Although the facility is optional at present, taxpayers, transporters, ERP developers and GSPs should update their internal processes and systems before 1 August 2026.

The Complete FAQ can be accessed at https://taxo.online/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/faqs_on_voluntary_closure_of_e_way_bill_approved.pdf