GST E-Way Bill Update: Mandatory Ship-To GSTIN & Voluntary Closure Facility Deferred to 1st August 2026

GSTN first announced two upcoming changes to the e-Way Bill system, aimed at improving data accuracy and traceability of goods movement:

• 1Mandatory Ship-To GSTIN: In Bill-To/Ship-To transactions (where the invoiced party and the actual recipient of goods are different), the GSTIN of the actual consignee would need to be captured. Where the consignee is unregistered, the value "URP" (Unregistered Person) would be entered instead.
• 2Voluntary E-Way Bill Closure: A new facility allowing stakeholders to mark an EWB as "closed" once goods have actually been delivered, rather than letting it simply expire on its own.

These changes were released into the Sandbox environment for ERP vendors, GSPs, ASPs and system integrators to test, with an original production go-live date of 15th June 2026.

Ahead of the original deadline, GSTN issued Advisory No. 663, postponing the rollout. Following representations from trade and industry citing the need for system changes, API/ERP readiness, and master data updates, GSTN pushed the production implementation date for both functionalities — mandatory Ship-To GSTIN and Voluntary EWB Closure — from 15th June 2026 to 1st August 2026.

With the extra runway in place, GSTN issued a more detailed advisory clarifying exactly how the change applies across the e-Invoice API, the e-Way Bill by IRN API, and the new EWB Closure API.

Where it applies

• 1Generating an IRN and e-Way Bill together
• 2Generating an e-Way Bill subsequently using an IRN
• 3Bill-to/Ship-to transactions
• 4Combination transactions (Bill-to/Ship-to plus Bill-from/Dispatch-from)
• 5Voluntary closure of an EWB after delivery

Ship-to GSTIN rules

• 1Where Ship-to Legal Name and Ship-to Address are provided in the e-Invoice schema and an e-Way Bill is also required, the Ship-to GSTIN becomes conditionally mandatory.
• 2In the e-Way Bill by IRN API, a new mandatory field, Gstin, has been added under ExpShipDtls. An optional TrdNm (Trade Name) field has also been introduced.
• 3Where the consignee is unregistered, "URP" may be entered instead of a GSTIN.
• 4The system will validate that the Ship-to GSTIN is a real, valid GSTIN, that it differs from the Bill-to GSTIN (the two parties must be distinct), and that the state code and PIN code are consistent with each other.

Exports vs. B2B/SEZ treatment differs

• 1For export e-Way Bills, Ship details (including GSTIN) entered at IRN stage can still be replaced when generating the e-Way Bill via IRN, and URP can be used where there's no domestic registered Ship-to GSTIN.
• 2For B2B and SEZ transactions, Ship details entered at IRN generation cannot be replaced later while generating the e-Way Bill. However, if the GSTIN was left out at IRN stage, it can still be added at the e-Way Bill stage, subject to validation.

Voluntary Closure of e-Way Bill — how it works

• 1Closure can be initiated by the supplier, recipient, the transporter, or a driver/authorised person whose mobile number was registered for this purpose.
• 2Suppliers, recipients and transporters can close an EWB after logging into the portal; closure can be done EWB-wise or date-wise.
• 3Drivers or authorised persons can close via a mobile-number-based option on the portal, which displays active EWBs linked to that number.
• 4For system integrators, a closure API is available — it requires the e-Way Bill number, closure date, and remarks.
• 5Note: there's currently no API-level option to capture the driver's mobile number (that must be done via the portal), and no separate API yet to retrieve a list of closed EWBs.
• 6A dedicated "Closed" status is planned for the future, but for now, EWBs will continue to show under the existing Active/Cancelled/Discarded statuses even after closure — and actions like Update Transporter, Extend Validity, and Vehicle Updation will still be allowed on closed EWBs during this initial stabilisation period.

• 1Audit customer/Ship-to master data: Make sure every recurring delivery location has a GSTIN on file, or is flagged for URP treatment if unregistered.
• 2Update ERP/billing systems: Coordinate with your ERP vendor, GSP or ASP to ensure the new Gstin and TrdNm fields are mapped correctly, and test in the Sandbox environment before go-live.
• 3Train dispatch and billing teams: Make sure staff understand when a transaction counts as Bill-To/Ship-To, how to enter URP correctly, and the fact that B2B/SEZ Ship details get locked in at the IRN stage.
• 4Decide on your EWB closure workflow: Since it's voluntary for now, decide internally who will be responsible for closing EWBs (supplier, recipient, transporter, or driver) and set up mobile-number-based access for drivers if relevant.

PJRJ & Associates, Chartered Accountants assists businesses with e-Way Bill compliance, e-Invoice integration, and GST return filing:

• 1E-Way Bill and e-Invoice API readiness review
• 2Ship-to master data audit and ERP mapping
• 3GST Return Filing and GSTR-2B Reconciliation
• 4GST Notices & Assessments
• 5GST Health Checks and compliance advisory

For professional GST advisory and compliance support, visit our website or get in touch with our team.