[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text]
By Elton Gomes
Under the GST (Goods and Services Tax) system, the electronic way bill or e-way bill is a document that has to be produced by businesses and transporters moving goods worth more than Rs 50,000 from one state to another.
After the bill was made compulsory for inter-state movement from April 1 onwards, with more than 1.71 lakh bills generated on the day of the bill’s relaunch.
The bill was initially rolled out on February 1 and was seen as a measure to tackle tax evasion. It was also aimed at increasing the recently declining GST revenues. However, the website crashed, unable to take the toll of generating around 3 lakh bills in the span of just one hour.
What is an e-way bill, and why is it important?
The e-way bill is a document that has to be generated online under the GST system. Various businesses and transporters are required to produce the bill before a GST inspector prior to the goods being shipped. The bill will contain details of the goods, their consignor, transporter and recipient.
The bill is a must when goods worth more than Rs 50,000 are shipped within a state or from one state to another.
Transporters are required to carry the invoice and a copy of the bill for smooth movement of the goods according to Business Line. The bill can be produced or cancelled via SMS, the official e-way bill app and by site-to-site integration.
When an e-way bill is generated a unique eway bill number (EBN) is allocated and is available to the supplier, recipient, and the transporter.
What’s the penalty for not having an e-way bill? If a delivery is found without an e-way bill, a transporter can be fined Rs 10,000 or tax that is evaded – whichever is the higher amount.
If goods are transported via a personal vehicle or by air, road, or rail, an e-way bill is a necessity and has to be generated. Moreover, if goods are handed over to a transporter to be delivered by road, wherein neither the consignor nor the consignee has produced the bill, the transporter will then be held accountable and will be obliged to generate the bill.
Eliminating transit delays
According to Business Line, data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways states that a goods truck in India roughly spends 20 percent of time at inter-state check points. In some states such as Rajasthan and Maharashtra, this time could amount to 20 to 30 minutes; however, it could go up to two hours in states like Jharkhand or Bihar.
The e-way bill is considered to eliminate such transit delays. At the same time, it aims to keep tax evasion in check. How does it do this? All e-way bills generated are updated in the outward sales return of the supplier, thus leaving little scope to evade taxes.
How the bill fared
After facing glitches in the initial roll out, the system was updated to handle the load of 75 lakh bills with ease, according to the Economic Times. On April 1, 2018, until 5 pm, more than 1 lakh 71 thousand bills had been generated.
Chief executive of the GST Network (GSTN), Prakash Kumar, stated that there were no major issues faced by those adopting e-way bills in any part of the country. Some transporters however claimed that their queries were unresolved.
The president of the Bombay Goods Transport Association, Vijay Rawal, was quoted by Business Standard: We are sending a detailed letter to the central governments revenue department to get clarity on aspects that are still in the grey area.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]