Rule 138A - Documents and devices to be carried by a person-in-charge of a conveyance
CGST Rules, 2017
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Finin2min Summary - Rule in 2 Minutes
Person in charge carries invoice/bill/delivery challan and e-way bill or permitted electronic/RFID evidence; rail release requires production of prescribed document.
Exact operative text
138A. Documents and devices to be carried by a person-in-charge of a conveyance.- (1) The person in
charge of a conveyance shall carry- (a) the invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan, as the case may be;
and (b) a copy of the e-way bill in physical form or the e-way bill number in electronic form or mapped to a
Radio Frequency Identification Device embedded on to the conveyance in such manner as may be notified
by the Commissioner: Provided that nothing contained in clause (b) of this sub-rule shall apply in case of
movement of goods by rail or by air or vessel: Provided further that in case of imported goods, the person in
charge of a conveyance shall also carry a copy of the bill of entry filed by the importer of such goods and
shall indicate the number and date of the bill of entry in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01.310 (2) In case,
invoice is issued in the manner prescribed under sub-rule (4) of rule 48, the Quick Response (QR) code
having an embedded Invoice Reference Number (IRN) in it, may be produced electronically, for verification
by the proper officer in lieu of the physical copy of such tax invoice.311 (3) Where the registered person
uploads the invoice under sub-rule (2), the information in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01 shall be auto-
populated by the common portal on the basis of the information furnished in FORM GST INV-1. (4) The
Commissioner may, by notification, require a class of transporters to obtain a unique Radio Frequency
Identification Device and get the said device embedded on to the 310 Inserted vide Notf no. 39/2018-CT dt.
04.09.2018 311 Subsitituted vide Notf no.72/2020 - CT dt. 30.09.2020 for “A registered person may obtain
an Invoice Reference Number from the common portal by uploading, on the said portal, a tax invoice issued
by him in FORM GST INV-1 and produce the same for verification by the proper officer in lieu of the tax
invoice and such number shall be valid for a period of thirty days from the date of uploading.” conveyance
and map the e-way bill to the Radio Frequency Identification Device prior to the movement of goods. (5)
Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (b) of sub-rule (1), where circumstances so warrant, the
Commissioner may, by notification, require the person-in-charge of the conveyance to carry the following
documents instead of the e-way bill (a) tax invoice or bill of supply or bill of entry; or (b) a delivery challan,
where the goods are transported for reasons other than by way of supply.”
Paragraph-wise decode
Person in charge carries invoice/bill/delivery challan and e-way bill or permitted electronic/RFID evidence; rail release requires production of prescribed document.
Section-Rule-Form-Notification bridge
No direct Rule certified in Phase 1. Check notifications, circulars, forms and corresponding State law.
The mapping is a legal concordance, not a round-robin related-link list. It is limited to instruments certified in this phase.
Practical example
Apply the rule to the relevant form, period, portal event and evidence trail before reaching a compliance conclusion.
Professional alert
Verify the latest official active Rule page, amending Gazette and portal version before filing or advising.
Implementation checklist
- Fix the transaction, taxable period and jurisdiction.
- Read every subsection, proviso, explanation and omission marker.
- Open the mapped Rule, form, notification and circular.
- Test State/UT variation and portal version.
- Preserve evidence, approvals, working papers and acknowledgements.
- Record the conclusion, assumptions, source date and reviewer.
Evidence and retention checklist
- Contract, purchase order, invoice or underlying transaction document.
- Registration, return, ledger, challan and portal acknowledgement.
- Official Act/Rule/notification version used and effective date.
- Internal tax position paper, computation and management approval.
- Correspondence, notices, replies, orders and appeal papers where applicable.
Practical Q&A
- What does rule 138A regulate?
- It regulates documents and devices to be carried by a person-in-charge of a conveyance. Read the exact text, conditions, exceptions and transaction date together.
- Which subordinate law should be checked?
- No direct CGST Rule has been certified in this phase. Notifications, circulars, forms and the corresponding SGST/UTGST layer may also apply.
- What evidence should be retained?
- Preserve the contract or transaction record, invoice or form, portal acknowledgement, payment/ledger evidence, correspondence, legal working and the official source version used.
- Can portal behaviour override the statute?
- No. Portal functionality is operational evidence; legal entitlement and liability remain controlled by the Act, Rules, notifications and binding decisions.