Govt launching E-Way Bill to boost GST collection

The government will be introducing E-Way Bill with effect from 1 April, an anti-evasion measure, which is expected to provide a boost to GST collections.

After the E-Way Bill roll-out, transporters of goods worth over Rs50,000 will have to generate an e-way bill. The E-Way Bill, which would be required to be presented to a GST inspector if asked for, would help boost tax collections by clamping down on trade that currently happens on cash basis.

The E-Way Bill is an electronic ticket for movement of goods worth over Rs50,000, for distances above 10 km, as part of GST.

While Corporate India has pitched for more time, uniform launch date, with less than a week left for the implementation of the much-delayed E-Way Bill across the country, tax officials and businesses seem to be well prepared this time around.

“The IT system is fully geared up for the E-Way Bill. It has been thoroughly checked and can handle a much higher load,” said Prakash Kumar, chief executive officer, GST Network (GSTN), adding that it has also gone through multiple rounds of testing.

The software for the E-Way Bill is being developed by the National Informatics Company and is being monitored by the GSTN.

The system has been designed to generate as many as 75 lakh E-Way Bills per day with a higher throughput between 4 pm and 9 pm, when the traffic is expected to be higher, BusinessLine quoted Kumar as saying in an interview.

“We have also opened it up to GSPs and have given APIs to large transporters who have over two lakh transactions every month. This will allow them to directly create e-way bills in bulk,” he said.

However, the major challenge is correctly estimating the number of trucks and vehicles transporting cargo across the country on a daily basis.

For intra-state movement of goods, the E-Way Bill system is expected to be introduced in a phased manner from April 15, according to the GST Council decision earlier this month. All States will be on board by 1 June.

Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are expected to be among the first to introduce E-Way Bill for intra-state movement. “The country has been divided into four zones and depending on the preparedness of each State, they will roll out the E-Way Bill for intra-State movement in phases,” said an official.

The CBEC is understood to be in talks with commercial tax departments of states to work on the roll-out schedule.