The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has issued an advisory dated 29 July 2026 informing all stakeholders that the implementation of the recently announced e-Way Bill (EWB) enhancements has been kept on hold until further notice. All related advisories and FAQs are to be withdrawn from the GST Portal pending further communication.
Background
As part of GSTN’s ongoing efforts to strengthen data quality, traceability, and operational efficiency in the e-Way Bill system, two functional enhancements were proposed via an advisory dated 20 May 2026:
Mandatory Capture of “Ship-To GSTIN”: Taxpayers would be required to capture the Ship-To GSTIN field in Bill-To/Ship-To transactions to improve traceability and data accuracy. Where the consignee is unregistered, “URP” was to be entered.
Voluntary Closure of E-Way Bill: A new functionality allowing taxpayers, transporters, and drivers to voluntarily close e-Way Bills once delivery of goods is completed.
Following representations from taxpayers, GSPs, ERP providers, ASPs and other stakeholders seeking more time for system changes and API readiness, the implementation date was extended from 15 June 2026 to 1 August 2026. Corresponding API changes for e-Invoice, e-Way Bill by IRN, and EWB Closure were made available in the Sandbox environment, and FAQs were published on 2 July 2026.
What this means for businesses
Both enhancements have been placed on hold with no revised date announced. Taxpayers, GSPs, ERP providers and other stakeholders are advised that no changes are required in the production environment until further communication from GSTN.
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