Various representations were received by the Board with respect to invocation of Section 129 of CGST Act, 2017 and imposition of heavy penalties in case of minor discrepancies in E-way bill which were of clerical nature, like, spelling mistake, error in one or two digit.

Board, taking cognizance of the representations received and hardship being caused to the taxpayers, has clarified vide Circular no. 64/38/2018 – GST dated 14 September 2018 that Section 129 of the Act cannot be invoked in the following scenarios –

1. Spelling mistake in the name of the consignor or the consignee but the GSTIN, wherever applicable, is correct;

2. Error in the pin-code but the address of the consignor and consignee mentioned is correct, subject to the condition that the error in the PIN code should not have the effect of increasing the validity period of the E-way bill;

3. Error in the address of the consignee to the extent that the locality and other details of the consignee are correct;

4. Error in one or two digits of the document number mentioned in the e-way bill;

5. Error in 4 or 6 digit level of HSN where the first 2 digits are correct and the rate of tax mentioned is correct; and,

6. Error in one or two digits/characters of the vehicle number.

Therefore, in the aforementioned scenarios, by virtue of Circular no. 64/38/2018-GST dated 14 September 2018, Section 129 of the Act for detention/seizure cannot be invoked and penalties mentioned therein cannot be levied. However under these 6 scenarios, the said circular provides for a penalty of Rs. 500 CGST and SGST each (Rs. 1,000 under IGST Act) under Section 125 of the CGST Act, 2017 in Form GST DRC-07 for every consignment.

Further, a record of all such cases wherein Section 129 ibid. was not invoked in pursuance of this circular shall be sent by proper officer to his controlling officer on weekly basis.