Rule 138B - Verification of documents and conveyances
CGST Rules, 2017
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Finin2min Summary - Rule in 2 Minutes
Empowered officer may intercept and verify documents/conveyance; physical verification is risk/ authorisation based.
Exact operative text
138B. Verification of documents and conveyances.- (1) The Commissioner or an officer empowered by him
in this behalf may authorize the proper officer to intercept any conveyance to verify the e-way bill in physical
or electronic form for all inter-State and intra-State movement of goods. (2) The Commissioner shall get
Radio Frequency Identification Device readers installed at places where the verification of movement of
goods is required to be carried out and verification of movement of vehicles shall be done through such
device readers where the e- way bill has been mapped with the said device. (3) The physical verification of
conveyances shall be carried out by the proper officer as authorised by the Commissioner or an officer
empowered by him in this behalf: Provided that on receipt of specific information on evasion of tax, physical
verification of a specific conveyance can also be carried out by any other officer after obtaining necessary
approval of the Commissioner or an officer authorised by him in this behalf.
Paragraph-wise decode
Empowered officer may intercept and verify documents/conveyance; physical verification is risk/ authorisation based.
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 138B regulate?
- It regulates verification of documents and conveyances. 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.