E-Way Bill Rules 2026: 180-Day Document Limit & 360-Day Validity Cap

What changed

Effective 1 January 2025, per the GSTN advisory dated 17 December 2024: (1) e-way bills can be generated only for documents issued within the last 180 days; (2) total validity of an e-way bill, including all extensions, is capped at 360 days from the original generation date. The Rs. 50,000 consignment threshold and distance-based validity rules remain unchanged.

Validity period (distance-based)

• Normal cargo: 1 day per 200 km or part thereof
• Over-dimensional cargo: 1 day per 20 km
• Validity starts when the e-way bill is generated (Part A + Part B)
• Extension allowed in exceptional circumstances, requested 8 hours before or up to 8 hours after expiry

Budget 2026 filings and the 180-day rule

The 180-day rule applies at the time of generation only. It does not reduce the validity of an existing e-way bill. Seasonal businesses with slow-moving stock should review open invoices quarterly - invoices that never get dispatched must be cancelled or re-issued before the 180-day mark.

Impact on businesses

Bills raised at order booking but delivered months later now face blocked e-way bill generation. Use delivery challans for goods held before dispatch and generate the e-way bill close to actual movement.

What you should do

• Generate e-way bills on or before the day goods start moving
• Do not invoice and dispatch in the same month for goods moved months later - use challans
• Track consignment dates in your ERP/accounting software
• Set a quarterly check for open invoices older than 120 days
• Use the pin-to-pin distance tool on the e-way bill portal before generating Part A