E-Way Bill Exemptions: A Comprehensive Guide

The E-Way Bill system, mandated by the Government of India on April 1, 2018, regulates the movement of goods with a value exceeding Rs. 50,000. Nevertheless, specific goods and transactions are exempt from the requirement of generating E-Way Bills.

Goods exempt from e-way bills (Summarised List)

The following is the summarised list of goods exempted from generating e-way bills, even when the value exceeds 50,000 rs. as per the provisions under rule 138(14) of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017.
(Scroll down for a more detailed list of every item exempted).

• Liquefied petroleum gas for household and non-domestic exempted category customers
• Kerosene oil distributed through the Public Distribution System (PDS)
• Postal baggage transported by the Department of Posts
• Natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals, and metals coated with precious metal
• Jewellery, goldsmiths’ and silversmiths’ items, and related articles
• Currency
• Used personal and household effects
• Unworked and worked coral
• Goods like alcoholic liquor for human consumption, natural gas, petroleum crude, high-speed diesel, petrol, or aviation turbine fuel.
• Goods not considered as supply under Schedule III of the Act, which includes activities that are neither supply of goods nor an employee’s service to an employer in their employment, and functions performed by MPs, MLAs, etc.
• Empty cargo containers.
• Goods except de-oiled cakes, specified in notification No. 2/2017–Central Tax (Rate) dated 28th June 2017, including items like curd, lassi, buttermilk, fresh milk, vegetables, fruits, unprocessed tea leaves, unroasted coffee beans, live animals and plants, meat, cereals, unbranded rice and wheat flour, salt, and items of educational importance like books, maps, and periodicals.
• Goods exempted under notification No. 7/2017–Central Tax (Rate) dated 28th June 2017 (supply by CSD to unit-run canteens and authorized customers) and notification No. 26/2017–Central Tax (Rate) dated 21st September 2017 (consists of heavy water and nuclear fuels).

Transactions exempt from e-way bills

Along with goods, certain transactions are also exempted from making an e-way bill. They are –

• If you’re moving goods using non-motorized transport like horse carts or manual carts.

• When goods are being moved from a port, airport, air cargo complex, or land customs station to an inland container depot (ICD) or a container freight station (CFS) for customs clearance.

• When goods are going from an ICD or CFS to a customs port, airport, or air cargo location under a customs bond

• If goods are moving between different customs ports/stations under a customs bond

• When goods are transported with customs supervision or a customs seal.

• For goods transported within a specific notified area.

• When goods are in transit to or from Nepal or Bhutan.

• If goods are transported to a weighbridge within 20 kilometres and then back to the original business location, and you have a Delivery Challan (DC).

• When the government or local authorities transport goods by rail as the consignor.

•  For goods going to or coming from the Ministry of Defence.

Goods exempt from e-way bills (Detailed List)

Find below a detailed list of all the goods exempt from the e-way bill mandate:

Sr. No.	Chapter or Heading or Sub-heading or Tariff item	Description of Goods
1	0101	Live asses, mules, and hinnies
2	0102	Live bovine animals
3	0103	Live swine
4	0104	Live sheep and goats
5	0105	Live poultry, that is, fowls of the species Gallus domesticus, ducks, geese, turkeys, and guinea fowls.
6	0106	Other live animal such as Mammals, Birds, Insects
7	0201	Meat of bovine animals, fresh and chilled.
8	0202	Meat of bovine animals frozen [other than frozen and put up in unit container]
9	0203	Meat of swine, fresh, chilled, or frozen [other than frozen and put up in unit container]
10	0204	The meat of sheep or goats, fresh, chilled, or frozen [other than frozen and put up in unit container]
11	0205	The meat of horses, asses, mules or hinnies, fresh, chilled, or frozen [other than frozen and put up in a unit container]
12	0206	Edible offal of bovine animals, swine, sheep, goats, horses, asses, mules or hinnies, fresh, chilled, or frozen [other than frozen and put up in unit container]
13	0207	Meat and edible offal, of the poultry of heading 0105, fresh, chilled or frozen [other than frozen and put up in unit container]
14	0208	Other meat and edible meat offal, fresh, chilled, or frozen [other than frozen and put up in unit container]
15	0209	Pig fat, free of lean meat, and poultry fat, not rendered or otherwise extracted, fresh, chilled, or frozen [other than frozen and put up in unit container]
16	0209	Pig fat, free of lean meat, and poultry fat, not rendered or otherwise extracted, salted, in brine, dried or smoked [other than put up in unit containers]
17	0210	Meat and edible meat offal, salted, in brine, dried or smoked; edible flours and meals of meat or meat offal, other than put up in unit containers
18	3	Fish seeds, prawn/shrimp seeds whether or not processed, cured or in the frozen state [other than goods falling under Chapter 3 and attracting 2.5%]
19	0301	Live fish
20	0302	Fish, fresh or chilled, excluding fish fillets and other fish meat of heading
21	0304	Fish fillets and other fish meat (whether or not minced), fresh or chilled.
22	0306	Crustaceans, whether in shell or not, live, fresh or chilled; crustaceans, in shell, cooked by steaming or by boiling in water live, fresh or chilled.
23	0307	Molluscs, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled; aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans and molluscs, live, fresh or chilled.
24	0308	Aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans and molluscs, live, fresh or chilled.
25	0401	Fresh milk and pasteurised milk, including separated milk, milk and cream, not concentrated nor containing added sugar or other sweetening matter, excluding Ultra High Temperature (UHT) milk
26	0403	Curd; Lassi; Buttermilk
27	0406	Chena or paneer, other than put up in unit containers and bearing a registered brand name
28	0407	Birds’ eggs, in shell, fresh, preserved or cooked
29	0409	Natural honey, other than put up in a unit container and bearing a registered brand name
30	0501	Human hair, unworked, whether or not washed or scoured; waste of human hair
31	0506	All goods i.e. Bones and horn cores, unworked, defatted, simply prepared (but not cut to shape), treated with acid or gelatinised; powder and waste of these products
32	0507 90	All goods i.e. Hoof meal; horn meal; hooves, claws, nails and beaks; antlers; etc.
33	0511	Semen including frozen semen
34	6	Live trees and other plants; bulbs, roots and the like; cut flowers and ornamental foliage
35	0701	Potatoes, fresh or chilled
36	0702	Tomatoes, fresh or chilled.
37	0703	Onions, shallots, garlic, leeks and other alliaceous vegetables, fresh or chilled.
38	0704	Cabbages, cauliflowers, kohlrabi, kale and similar edible brassicas, fresh or chilled.
39	0705	Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and chicory (Cichorium spp.), fresh or chilled.
40	0706	Carrots, turnips, salad beetroot, salsify, celeriac, radishes and similar edible roots, fresh or chilled.
41	0707	Cucumbers and gherkins, fresh or chilled
42	0708	Leguminous vegetables, shelled or unshelled, fresh or chilled
43	0709	Other vegetables, fresh or chilled.
44	0712	Dried vegetables, whole, cut, sliced, broken or in powder, but not further prepared.
45	0713	Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split.
46	0714	Manioc, arrowroot, salep, Jerusalem artichokes, sweet potatoes and similar roots and tubers with high starch or inulin content, fresh or chilled; sago pith.
47	0801	Coconuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled
48	0801	Brazil nuts, fresh, whether or not shelled or peeled
49	0802	Other nuts, Other nuts, fresh such as Almonds, Hazelnuts or filberts (Coryius spp.), walnuts, Chestnuts (Castanea spp.), Pistachios, Macadamia nuts, Kola nuts (Cola spp.), Areca nuts, fresh, whether or not shelled or peeled
50	0803	Bananas, including plantains, fresh or dried
51	0804	Dates, figs, pineapples, avocados, guavas, mangoes and mangosteens, fresh.
52	0805	Citrus fruit, such as Oranges, Mandarins (including tangerines and satsumas); clementines, wilkings and similar citrus hybrids, Grapefruit, including pomelos, Lemons (Citrus limon, Citrus limonum) and limes (Citrus aurantifolia, Citrus latifolia), fresh.
53	0806	Grapes, fresh
54	0807	Melons (including watermelons) and papaws (papayas), are fresh.
55	0808	Apples, pears and quinces, fresh.
56	0809	Apricots, cherries, peaches (including nectarines), plums and sloes, fresh.
57	0810	Other fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, mulberries and loganberries, black, white or red currants and gooseberries, cranberries, bilberries and other fruits of the genus Vaccinium, Kiwi fruit, Durians, Persimmons, Pomegranates, Tamarind, Sapota (chico), Custard-apple (ata), Bore, Lichi, fresh.
58	0814	Peel citrus fruit or melons (including watermelons), fresh.
59	9	All goods of seed quality
60	0901	Coffee beans, not roasted
61	0902	Unprocessed green leaves of tea
62	0909	Seeds of anise, badian, fennel, coriander, cumin or caraway; juniper berries [of seed quality]
63	0910 11 10	Fresh ginger, other than in processed form
64	0910 30 10	Fresh turmeric, other than in processed form
65	1001	Wheat and meslin [other than those put up in unit containers and bearing a registered brand name]
66	1002	Rye [other than those put up in unit containers and bearing a registered brand name]
67	1003	Barley [other than those put up in unit containers and bearing a registered brand name]
68	1004	Oats [other than those put up in a unit container and bearing a registered brand name]
69	1005	Maize (corn) [other than those put up in unit containers and bearing a registered brand name]
70	1006	Rice [other than those put up in unit containers and bearing a registered brand name]
71	1007	Grain sorghum [other than those put up in unit containers and bearing a registered brand name]
72	1008	Buckwheat, millet and canary seed; other cereals such as Jawar, Bajra, Ragi] [other than those put up in unit containers and bearing a registered brand name]
73	1101	Wheat or meslin flour [other than those put up in unit containers and bearing a registered brand name].
74	1102	Cereal flours other than wheat or meslin, [maize (corn) flour, Rye flour, etc.] [other than those put up in unit containers and bearing a registered brand name]
75	1103	Cereal groats, meal and pellets [other than those put up in unit containers and bearing a registered brand name]
76	1104	Cereal grains hulled
77	1105	Flour, of potatoes [other than those put up in unit containers and bearing a registered brand name]
78	1106	Flour, of the dried leguminous vegetables of heading 0713 (pulses) [other than guar meal 1106 10 10 and guar gum refined split 1106 10 90], of sago or of roots or tubers of heading 0714 or of the products of Chapter 8 i.e. of tamarind, singoda, mango flour, etc. [other than those put up in unit containers and bearing a registered brand name]
79	12	All goods of seed quality
80	1201	Soya beans, whether or not broken, of seed quality
81	1202	Ground nuts, not roasted or otherwise cooked, whether or not shelled or broken, of seed quality
82	1204	Linseed, whether or not broken, of seed quality.
83	1205	Rape or colza seeds, whether or not broken, of seed quality
84	1206	Sunflower seeds, whether or not broken, of seed quality
85	1207	Other oil seeds and oleaginous fruits (i.e. Palm nuts and kernels, cotton seeds, Castor oil seeds, Sesamum seeds, Mustard seeds, Safflower (Carthamustinctorius) seeds, Melon seeds, Poppy seeds, Ajams, Mango kernel, Niger seed, Kokam) whether or not a broken, seed quality.
86	1209	Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing.
87	1210	Hop cones, fresh.
88	1211	Plants and parts of plants (including seeds and fruits), of a kind used primarily in perfumery, in pharmacy or for insecticidal, fungicidal or similar purpose, fresh or chilled.
89	1212	Locust beans, seaweeds and other algae, sugar beet and sugar cane, fresh or chilled.
90	1213	Cereal straw and husks, unprepared, whether or not chopped, ground, pressed or in the form of pellets
91	1214	Swedes, mangolds, fodder roots, hay, lucerne (alfalfa), clover, sainfoin, forage kale, lupines, vetches and similar forage products, whether or not in the form of pellets.
92	1301	Lac and Shellac
93	1404 90 40	Betel leaves
94	1701 or 1702	Jaggery of all types including Cane Jaggery (gur) and Palmyra Jaggery
95	1904	Puffed rice, commonly known as Muri, flattened or beaten rice, commonly known as Chira, parched rice, commonly known as Khoi, parched paddy or rice coated with sugar or gur, commonly known as Murki
96	1905	Pappad
97	1905	Bread (branded or otherwise), except pizza bread
98	2201	Water [other than aerated, mineral, purified, distilled, medicinal, ionic, battery, de-mineralized and water sold in sealed containers]
99	2201	Non-alcoholic Toddy, Neera including date and palm neera
100	2202 90 90	Tender coconut water other than put up in a unit container and bearing a registered brand name
101	. 2302, 2304, 2305, 2306, 2308, 2309	Aquatic feed including shrimp feed and prawn feed, poultry feed and cattle feed, including grass, hay and straw, supplement and of pulses, concentrates and additives, wheat bran and de-oiled cake
102	2501	Salt, all types
103	2835	Dicalcium phosphate (DCP) of animal feed grade conforming to IS specification No.5470: 2002
104	3002	Human Blood and its components
105	3006	All types of contraceptives
106	3101	All goods and organic manure [other than put up in unit containers and bearing a registered brand name]
107	3304	Kajal [other than kajal pencil sticks], Kumkum, Bindi, Sindur, Alta
108	3825	Municipal waste, sewage sludge, clinical waste
109	3926	Plastic bangles
110	4014	Condoms and contraceptives
111	. 4401	Firewood or fuelwood
112	4402	Wood charcoal (including shell or nut charcoal), whether or not agglomerated
113	4802 / 4907	Judicial, Non-judicial stamp papers, and Court fee stamps when sold by the Government Treasuries or Vendors authorised by the Government
114	4817 / 4907	Postal items, like envelopes, Post card etc., sold by the Government
115	48 / 4907	Rupee notes when sold to the Reserve Bank of India
116	4907	Cheques, lost or in book form
117	4901	Printed books, including Braille books
118	4902	Newspapers, journals and periodicals, whether or not illustrated or containing advertising material
119	4903	Children’s picture, drawing or colouring books
120	4905	Maps and hydrographic or similar charts of all kinds, including atlases, wall maps, topographical plans and globes, printed
121	5001	Silkworm laying, cocoon
122	5002	Raw silk
123	5003	Silk waste
124	5101	Wool, not carded or combed
125	5102	Fine or coarse animal hair, not carded or combed
126	5103	Waste of wool or of fine or coarse animal hair
127	52	Gandhi Topi
128	52	Khadi yarn
129	5303	Jute fibres, raw or processed but not spun
130	5305	Coconut, coir fibre
131	63	Indian National Flag
132	6703	Human hair, dressed, thinned, bleached or otherwise worked
133	6912 00 40	Earthen pot and clay lamps
134	7018	Glass bangles (except those made from precious metals)
135	8201	Agricultural implements are manually operated or animal driven i.e. Hand tools, such as spades, shovels, mattocks, picks, hoes, forks and rakes; axes, bill hooks and similar hewing tools; secateurs and pruners of any kind; scythes, sickles, hay knives, hedge shears, timber wedges and other tools of a kind used in agriculture, horticulture or forestry.
136	8445	Amber charkha
137	8446	Handloom [weaving machinery]
138	8802 60 00	Spacecraft (including satellites) and suborbital and spacecraft launch vehicles
139	8803	Parts of goods of heading 8801
140	9021	Hearing aids
141	92	Indigenous handmade musical instruments
142	9603	Muddhas made of sarkanda and phoolbaharijhadoo
143	9609	Slate pencils and chalk sticks
144	9610 00 00	Slates
145	9803	Passenger baggage
146	Any Chapter	Puja samagrinamely,- (i) Rudraksha, rudraksha mala, tulsikanthi mala, panchgavya (mixture of cowdung, desi ghee, milk and curd); (ii) Sacred thread (commonly known as yagnopavit); (iii) Wooden khadau; (iv) Panchamrit, (v) Vibhuti sold by religious institutions, (vi) Unbranded honey (vii) Wick for diya. (viii) Roli (ix) Kalava (Raksha sutra) (x) Chandantika
147	Other	Liquefied petroleum gas for supply to household and non-domestic exempted category (NDEC) customers
148		Kerosene oil sold under PDS
149		Postal baggage transported by the Department of Posts
150		Natural or cultured pearls and precious or semi-precious stones; precious metals and metals clad with precious metal
151		Jewellery, goldsmiths’ and silversmiths’ wares and other articles
152		Currency
153		Used personal and household effects
154		Coral, unworked (0508) and worked coral (9601)

Recommended Read: E-Way Bill Penalty: Everything You Need To Know

Documents to carry instead of the e-way bill

When transporting goods exempt from e-way bill generation, you must still carry other necessary documents, such as:

(a) tax invoice bill of supply or bill of entry; or
(b) a delivery challan, where the goods are transported for reasons other
then by way of supply.

Also read: Top E-Way Bill Software