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No GST returns, no E-way bills! Centre to crack down on non-filers

No GST returns, no E-way bills! Centre to crack down on non-filers

Concerned with the dipping monthly collections of Goods and Services Tax (GST), the government and indirect tax department are now planning stricter measures against non-compliant taxpayers.

According to sources, the tax department is now planning to block the facility to generate e-way bill for taxpayers who do not file two consecutive GSTR-3B returns with effect from 17 November 2019. Once the taxpayer has filed one of the pending returns, the facility to generate e-way bill will be automatically restored.

GSTR-3B is monthly return that every registered GST payer has to file. It contains details of sales and purchases made by a business.

Sources told Business Today that the required connectivity between GST Network (GSTN) and the e-way bill system and development of an application to block and unblock facility has been developed and tested between two systems.

While a decision to this effect was taken by the GST Council in April, the reason for the ‘extreme’ step could be to check leakages of taxes. Non-filing of returns is still high and the tax department thinks this is a major cause for falling GST collections.

“With a continuous dip in revenue for the last few months, this is a step towards curtailment of tax leakage. Businesses need to ensure disciplined filing of GSTR-3B to avoid business disruption,” says Anita Rastogi, partner, indirect taxes, PwC.

According to the indirect tax department, as of 8 November 2019, 21.99 lakh taxpayers have been found to have not filed GSTR-3B returns of August and September 2019.

These defaulters now face possible blocking of the facility to generate e-way bill from 17 November. The department, however, is planning to send alert messages to such taxpayers if they come to e-way bill website, and ask them to file their returns by the 17 November.

The problem though is that integration testing of backend applications of few states with GST System is not yet completed. Unless the facility to unblock the e-way generation facility is developed, the department cannot go ahead with blocking the facility.

Rajat Mohan, a partner in chartered accountancy firm AMRG & Associates, said that deferment of implementation of tax provisions on the premise that technology is not ready indicates that the tax authorities are still not ready to identify and capture the culprits (evading tax) on a real-time basis.

In September 2019, the GST collection fell by 5.3% to Rs 95,450 crore as compared to a year-ago period. In August, the GST collections fell to Rs 92,000 crore, which was lower than the previous year collection by over 4%. With the average monthly collections so far this year at around Rs 98,000 crore, way below the required Rs 1.20 lakh crore, the government is looking at a large shortfall in GST collection.

With five more months to go in this financial year, the latest move is probably a last-ditch attempt by the government to revive GST collections.

Source: Business-Today.

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How to calculate delivery distance and validity of E-way Bill

How to calculate delivery distance and validity of E-way Bill

E-Way Bill is an electronically generated document which is required to be generated for the movement of goods of more Rs. 50000 from one place to another.

Validity of E-way Bill

E-Way Bill is one of the most important offshoots of the GST regime that has been introduced in India last year. It is an electronically generated ( E- generated) document that is mandatory to be carried in its physical form or electronically by a transporter when he/she is ferrying goods or items from one place to another. The consignor or the consignee can generate e-way bill and it is compulsory for transporting goods whose value is above fifty thousand. It has to be kept in mind that this document is valid for a specific period of time and depends on both the distance to be covered and what is being transported.

How to calculate the approximate distance

The provisions of the e-Way Bill state that its validity is calculated on the basis of the distance between the location of the supplier and the location of the recipient instead of the distance between the location of the transporter and the location of the recipient.

The MAP feature is used to find out the approximate distance to be traveled between the point of dispatch and the point of delivery.

However, there is a rider. The e-Way Bill portal, till now, allows someone who is trying to generate the document to put in a maximum distance of 3000 kms in the distance field. So, it is a problem for people who want to generate a Bill for transporting goods for a distance exceeding 3000 kms. However, the goods are allowed to be transported for the distance of more than 3000 kms provided it is done within the stipulated validity period.

The computation of the validity period requires furnishing the distance between the place of the supplier and the place of the recipient. However, after entering this detail, the field cannot be modified unless it becomes necessary to extend the validity period of the electronic Way bill.

Determining the validity of the E-way Bill

Before we delve into the particulars of the validity of the Bill and how to compute it, it is important to understand a phrase: over dimensional cargo. Over-dimensional cargo is that cargo that exceeds the standard or ordinary legal size and/or weight limits for a specified portion of road, highway or other transport infrastructure such as air freight or water freight.

The validity of the e-Way bill depends on whether the cargo is over-dimensional or not. For over-dimensional cargo, the validity is 1 day for any distance up to 20 kms and after that, one extra day for every 20 kms or part thereof. For other than over-dimensional cargo, the validity is 1 day for a distance of 100 kms and thereafter, additional 1 day for every 100 kms or part thereof.

Some other details 
It has to be kept in mind that the validity of the e-Way Bill for the first day ends by the midnight of the next day. For e.g.: An e-Way bill is generated at 6 p.m. on the 15th of May for transporting goods for 80 kms. It will be valid till the midnight of 16th of May i.e. for 1 day.

Similarly, a Bill may be generated at 6 p.m. on the 15th of May for transporting goods for a distance of 190 kms. In this case, it will be valid for two days I.e. till midnight of 17th May.

Another important point that has to be kept in mind with regard to validity of e-Way Bill is that the validity starts when the vehicle number is updated for the first time by the consigner/consignee or by the transporter in Part B of the e Way Bill.

For example, the supplier of goods handed the goods over to the transporter on the 15th of May and Part A of the Bill was submitted after updating the GSTIN of the transporter. However, the transporter loaded the goods on the 17th of May and filled Part B of the electronic way bill by updating the vehicle number. Then, its validity starts from May 17th only.

Intra-state E-way Bill: 7 things to keep in mind from June 3

Intra-state E-way Bill: 7 things to keep in mind from June 3

On April 1, 2018, the e-way bill system for the inter-state movement of goods was rolled-out across the nation. In parallel, it was decidedE-way Bill that intra-state e-way bill too shall be rolled out in a phased manner from April 15th once the system had sufficiently stabilised, with roughly four to five states coming on board every week.

Karnataka was the first to join the bandwagon, as it adopted the intra-state e-way bill system from April 1 itself. A total of 22 states have now gone live as well – Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Telengana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Puducherry, Assam and Rajasthan – with Lakshwadeep and Chandigarh being the latest entrants on May 25, and Maharashtra following closely on May 31, and Punjab and Goa from June 1.

Read More: All you need to know about EWay Bill System

If official records are to be considered, the entire implementation of the system and the generation of e-way bills nationwide has been successful. Till the May 13, which is a period of almost 45 days, more than 4.15 crore e-way bills were successfully generated, which included more than 1 crore e-way bills for intra-state movement of goods. Both inter, as well as intra-state movement of goods, will become mandatory from June 3, 2018 – which implies that businesses across the country will need to factor in the same while planning for their respective consignments.

Here are 7 quick things you can keep in mind as a business, to prepare yourself for the time ahead:
i. You can generate the e-way bill using GSTIN from http://ewaybillgst.gov.in
ii. E-way bill will be required when the value of taxable consignment, along with the tax value, is more than Rs 50,000
iii. If you have sent material for Job Work then either you or the Job Worker can generate the e-way bill
iv. As a supplier, you can authorize the transporter, e-commerce operator or the courier agency to fill Part A of the e-way bill
v. If the distance between your primary place of business and that of the transporter is less than 50 KMs, only Part A of the e-way bill is required to be filled, and Part B is not required to be filled
vi. Once the e-way bill is generated, the recipient of goods can confirm or deny the receipt of goods before the actual delivery or 72 hours, whichever is earlier
vii. In cases where the goods are being transported by railways, aeroplane or ship, the e-way bill can only be generated by the supplier or a recipient, and not by the transporter. However, in such cases, an e-way bill can be generated even after the goods shipment has started

Know More: Eway Bill Solution: Comparison between Govt Portal vs XaTTaX

As of today, it can be safely said that with businesses adhering to these e-way bill guidelines, and with the tax authorities working in tandem to ensure the right compliances, the nation-wide single e-way bill will soon be a successful reality. Coupled with the obvious advantages of robust technology that businesses will look to use, this will surely ensure seamless commerce across state borders, something which is bound to give both businesses as well as the government authorities a lot of relief in the time to come.

Source: ET
E-Way Bill Solution: Comparison between Govt Portal vs XaTTaX

E-Way Bill Solution: Comparison between Govt Portal vs XaTTaX

Indians are blown away by GST implementation, with the complexities it brings along. Even though the government is providing the universally accessible E-WAY BILL portal for suppliers and transporters, it is not specific to one particular organization/company and needs customizations.

E-Way Bill Solution: Comparison between Govt Portal vs XaTTaX

Sailotech provides a simple and systematic one-stop solution software XaTTaX, accessible to specific organizational requirements. We enable faster data transfer but securing the same with requested/restricted access.

Sailotech presents you with a multi-layered GST filing & E-Way Bill – XaTTaX software that eases GST, which not only provides the most advanced features but is also much faster and user-friendly.

Difference Between Govt. E-Way Bill Portal & XaTTaX GST Software

Govt Portal XaTTaX GST Software
Duplicate Records Detailed Check Over Records and avoid duplication
Multiple Logins Integration of multiple logins
Data Loss Probability Security and Data Privacy
No Validation of JSON file JSON file Validation
 Reports Unavailable Reports of E way bills Generated
Time is taken to generate E Way Bill Generate E way bill while generating an invoice directly
Single bill printing and uploading of E-way bills Bulk printing, upload & fetch data of E-way bills
More – Ewaybillgst.gov.in More Info – http://www.xattax.in/ewaybill.html

List of all States Where Intrastate E-way Bill is Applicable:

Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam
Bihar Chhattisgarh Gujarat
Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jharkhand
Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra Meghalaya Nagaland
Puducherry Rajasthan Telangana
Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand

List of Union Territories Where Intrastate E-way Bill is Applicable:

  • Andaman & Nicobar
  • Chandigarh
  • Dadar & Nagar Haveli
  • Daman & Diu
  • Lakshadweep

Read More: All you need to know about EWay Bill System

GST: Country-wide intra-state e-way bill system mandatory from 3 June

GST: Country-wide intra-state e-way bill system mandatory from 3 June

The e-way bill for moving goods within a state will become mandatory from 3 June, with the country-wide roll out of the mechanism.E-way bill software

The government had launched the electronic-way or e-way bill system from 1 April for moving goods worth over Rs 50,000 from one state to another.

The same for intra or within the state movement has been rolled out from 15 April.

So far, 20 states/Union Territories have made e-way bill mandatory for intra-state movement of goods. These states include — Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.

In a letter to officers in the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Chairperson Vanaja Sarna said the intra-state movement of goods would be implemented throughout the country by 3 June, 2018.

Read More: All you need to know about EWay Bill System

“Hence, I would reiterate that the Chief Commissioners of the remaining zones should coordinate with the state authority and get the requisite notification issued as early as possible. Also, steps may be taken to publicise the date of its rollout along with exemptions provided,” Sarna wrote.

Sarna said the e-way bill system is functioning as envisaged and since the implementation of the same from 1 April, 2018, more than 4.5 crore e-way bills have been generated.

This includes more than 1.30 crore e-way bills for intra-state movement of goods.

While intra-state e-way bill requirement will become mandatory in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep and Chandigarh on 25 May, it will be rolled out in Punjab and Goa from 1 June. Maharashtra will roll out the bill from 31 May.

Touted as an anti-evasion measure, transporters of goods worth over Rs 50,000 would be required to present an e-way bill to a GST inspector, if asked. The measure is expected to help boost tax collections by clamping down on a trade that currently happens on the cash basis.

The GST Council, in March, decided on a staggered rollout of the e-way bill starting with inter-state from 1 April and intra-state from 15 April.

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Source: ET
E-Way Bill mandatory in Union Territories from 25th May

E-Way Bill mandatory in Union Territories from 25th May

The Central Government today notified that supplies within the Union territories would require E-Way Bill from 25th May 2018.GST E-way Bill

The notification issued today rescinded the earlier notification as per which, irrespective of the value of the consignment, no Eway bill shall be required to be generated where the movement of goods commences and terminates within the Union Territories.

Read More: All you need to know about EWay Bill System

In March, the Government notified that the supplies made within the territory of Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Lakshadweep do not require E-Way Bill.

Under GST rules, ferrying goods worth more than Rs 50,000 within or outside a state will require securing an electronic-way or e-way bill through prior online registration of the consignment. In the 26th meeting, the GST Council has recommended the introduction of the E-Way Bill for inter-State movement of goods across the country from 01st April 2018. For intra-State movement of goods, Eway bill system will be introduced w.e.f. a date to be announced in a phased manner but not later than 01st June 2018.

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Digital copy of E-way bill enough to give transporters right of way

Digital copy of E-way bill enough to give transporters right of way

Tax authorities cannot seize goods just because they’re not accompanied by a physical copy of the e-way bill (electronic way bill), the Allahabad High Court said in the first ruling on documents required to transport goods under the goods and services tax (GST) regime, thus setting a precedent. E-way bills can also be stored in electronic form on a mobile phone or other devices.

Under GST, which was put in place on July 1 last year, goods being transported across state lines above a threshold value and beyond a minimum distance within a state need to have e-way bills.

The system was implemented nationally for interstate movement on April 1. Intrastate e-way bills are being rolled out in phases, with some states having adopted them on April 15.

Industry Raises Concerns

The court said in a recent ruling that goods cannot be seized if an e-way bill has been generated and a hard copy isn’t available. The ruling will ensure that tax authorities don’t penalize transporters not carrying printouts and make sure that e-way bills stored in electronic format are recognized.

Industry has raised concerns that eway bill inspections could lead to frequent checking and delays in cargo movement, defeating the purpose behind GST. The high court was disposing of a case in which tax authorities had seized goods of the assessee (seller) on the grounds that they were being transported without an e-way bill and the tax invoice was kept in a sealed envelope. However, the invoice indicated tax had been charged and that the eway bill had been downloaded much before the seizure. Bhumika Enterprises had filed the petition against the seizure of goods by UP authorities.

E-way Bill - Go Digital

“This is perhaps the first decision after the introduction of e-way bills,” said Pratik Jain, indirect tax leader, PwC.

“While businesses need to ensure that an e-way bill is generated before the movement of goods commences, the authorities also need to see all the facts before goods are seized which is really an extreme step.”

Read More: All you need to know about EWay Bill System

EARLY DAYS

The GST Council introduced e-way bills to address evasion concerns emanating from the movement of goods without invoices.

An e-way bill is required for movement of goods worth more than Rs 50,000 across state borders. Trucks caught without e-way bills can be levied a penalty of up to Rs 10,000 besides which the cargo can be inspected to ascertain tax evasion. A penalty to the tune of 100% of the tax being evaded can be levied along with the tax itself.

Both the vehicle and the goods can be impounded as well.
One-time verification for E-way bill on anvil

One-time verification for E-way bill on anvil

There is some good news for the Rs 8.5 lakh crore transport industry – the  E-way bill operations could see further simplification.

The E-way bill is a document that is required for movement of goods E-way bill softwarethat are valued above Rs 50,000, from one place to another under the goods and services tax (GST) regime. The process has been facing practical difficulties including time taken for bill verification during transit and the number of times it is verified.

In an interaction with Moneycontrol, Sachin Menon, National Head of Indirect Tax at KPMG said that there could be a process wherein the bill is checked just once during transit. He added that if the time taken for verification of the bill exceeds 30 minutes, then the process could include a filing a complaint to raise the issue.

 Menon said that while the overall implementation of the E-way bill system has been smooth, there has been some confusion about the exceptional situations and how those will be addressed.

“There are queries on if it is verified once, will it be verified again in the voyage again. Also, is it just document verification or is there a need for physical verification,” he added.

Menon explained that while stopping of the trucks for verification for up to 30 minutes is acceptable, if it takes any longer then it could be reported on the GST grievance redressal portal.

Read More: All you need to know about EWay Bill System

“The practical implementation is the concern so that the system is not misused. We are expecting the committees to look into this matter soon,” he added.

On May 4, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is likely to chair a meeting of the GST Council, which will look at simplification of the tax return filing process.

GST collections up

As far as collections under GST are concerned, while there were fluctuations post the July 1 implementation of the tax regime, it has now stabilised.

Menon added that collections are going up. “We have seen about Rs 96,000 crore as of end of March 2018. This increase could be partly due to the input credit carry forward, close of financial year and also due to the anticipation of the e-way bill coming in.”

Anti-profiteering rules

Under GST, anti-profiteering has been an area of concern as well. While authorities do not want companies to pocket the profits arising from a reduction in taxes, implementation challenges have remained.

“It has been sought that increased input credit and reduced GST has to be passed on to the end customers. However, at present, a complainant may not be able to cannot find out whether input credit has passed on,” Menon said.

Currently, there are no guidelines on anti-profiteering norms under GST. However, adjudication has already started.

Honda dealer case

In March, the the National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) had dismissed a complaint against a Bareilly-based Honda car dealer related to tax reduction benefits not being passed on.

“Nearly 73 complaints have been filed under the anti-profiteering rules, but only one has been adjudicated. This process takes time and 8-10 months for an outcome to be reached,” said Menon.

Source: moneycontrol
GST jigshaw: Why E-way bill is a vital piece of the puzzle

GST jigshaw: Why E-way bill is a vital piece of the puzzle

An integral part of achieving the ‘no tax evasion’ objective of the goods & services tax (GST) has been the prescription of a requirement for e-way bill (electronic-way bill). E-way BillAkin to the pre-GST regime requirement of state permits for movement of goods into various states, the GST law has also contemplated a requirement of a document, e-way bill, for any movement of goods exceeding a consignment value of Rs 50,000. While the requirement of a document for movement has been inherited in the GST regime, the mechanics/technicalities have been significantly reformed with modifications like uniformity in the document for movement/entry into any state, primary liability in most cases being that of the supplier vis-à-vis the earlier recipient liability, requirement for all movement of goods irrespective of supply or not, etc.

The e-way bill requirement was originally slated for February 1 this year, but owing to the heavy load/technical glitches, the portal crashed within hours of its launch. To address the same, the government deferred the launch of the e-way bill system, citing technical glitches as the reason for such rescheduling. After well-assuring the stability of the system and adequate dry run, the government proposed a phased launch of the e-way bill system from April 1; with e-way bill being mandated only for interstate movements from April 1 and staggered launch for intrastate movements commencing with Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh from April 15.

XaTTaX: Your automated EWay bill compliance is just a click away!

Owing to the phased implementation and bolstering of the IT infrastructure for handling a higher load, the relaunch of the system has ensured upkeep of the government’s promise of a stabilised and centralised system for generation of e-way bills. Also, initiatives of the government to explain the technicalities of the e-way-bill-related rules including amendments to the rules for catering business requirements, creation of a central help-desk with 100 people exclusively to deal with queries related to e-way bills and state help-desks in local language are worthwhile to applaud.

While clarity on various issues has been provided through FAQs by the government like remedies for non-configured vehicle number formats, consignment refusal by a customer, bill-from dispatch-from scenarios, movement in SKD/CKD form, etc, some issues remain unclear, entailing apprehensions of unwarranted detention and requirement of bank guarantee by businesses. Of the various open issues, a significant area of concern has been on the mechanics of e-way bill generation in case of bill to ship to transactions—where while the goods are billed to ‘X’, the same may be shipped to either ‘Y’ or a different location of ‘X’. There is ambiguity on whether such movements would require issuing two e-way bills, i.e. by the shipping party as well as the bill to party.

Given that there is a single movement, the industry while seems to be inclined to a one e-way bill requirement, a different opinion by the revenue authorities could entail unnecessary hassles for businesses. Also, one e-way bill issuance would need to be included as a reconciliation item by the ‘bill to’ party on account of a mismatch between the e-way bill report and GSTR-1. A clarity on the said issue with prescription of a one e-way bill requirement would annul apprehensions of businesses, and also address issues like margins of the bill to party getting disclosed to the first seller and delay in shipments on account of lead time for obtaining e-way bills from the ‘bill to’ party.

Further, while FAQs explicitly clarified the mechanics for generation of e-way bills in SKD/CKD forms, technicalities for movement of consignments of a single invoice in multiple conveyances is still awaited. A clarity on the said issue could bring about uniformity in practices and deter any unwarranted hassles by GST officers.

E-way-bill-related rules contemplate deemed acceptance of a consignment by a recipient, where he does not communicate his acceptance or rejection within 72 hours of the details being made available to him or time of delivery of goods, whichever is earlier. While there is a provision for deemed acceptance in case of non-communication of a response, the same could become tedious where at the time of audits/inspection, businesses are required to provide a reconciliation of e-way bills generated for delivery to them and actual receipt of goods.

While the requirement of communicating a response for each consignment received by a business is in itself distressing, communicating a response before actual receipt of goods (where the delivery time is more than 72 hours) with no option of modifying the same is practically challenging.

Also, while the law provides for an option for cancelling an e-way bill generated for reasons like non-transportation or incorrect details, it is only allowed for a period of 24 hours from the generation of the e-way bill. The said provisions fail to address practical business scenarios, where a shipment may be cancelled on account of order cancellation by a customer after 24 hours of scheduled movement of goods, etc. While such cases could be reconciled and explained to the revenue authorities, any irrational action by lower-level authorities of not accepting such reconciliation with related demand notices could entail unwarranted harassment for businesses.

While these technical issues could be resolved with appropriate clarifications being issued by the government, given the significance of pragmatism in this compliance, there is a need for upholding the letter and spirit of e-way-bill-related rules by ground-level authorities.

Actions like interception and detaining of a vehicle for more than 30 minutes, recurrent stopping of vehicles for physical verification without intelligence, unnecessary hassles to the torch-bearers of business (the logistics industry), impeding movements, and imposing penalty for difference in opinion on consignment values, especially cases where the e-way bill has not been generated for movements on delivery challan and the value is declared at less than Rs 50,000, etc, could lead to a catastrophe for businesses.

While the efforts of the government to achieve the ‘one nation, one tax’ objective through standardisation of e-way bill for the entire country is appreciable, the performance of the IT infrastructure post the full-fledged roll out of the e-way bill compliance would be critical to assess the true accomplishment of the objective.

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Source: Financial Express
Stage set for GST E-Way Bill from April 1

Stage set for GST E-Way Bill from April 1

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.GST E-way Bill

“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.

In an interview to BusinessLine, Kumar said 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.

“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 has been that no one has an estimate of the number of trucks and vehicles transporting cargo in the country on a daily basis. “We tried various sources and also highlighted it with the GST Council,” Kumar said.

The E-Way Bill, which is an electronic ticket for movement of goods worth over ₹50,000 for distances above 10 km as part of the Goods and Services Tax, will be rolled out for inter-State transport from April 1.

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 June 1.

Also read: GST E-Way Bill – key pointers that you need to know

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 another official.

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

The E-Way Bill had started on a trial basis from January 16 and was expected to be rolled out from February 1. However, it was deferred due to technical glitches on Day 1.

Meanwhile, after raising many concerns over possible delays and harassment, businesses too seem to have now become prepared for the E-Way Bill.

To address these worries, the CBEC had earlier this month notified amendments to the E-Way Bill rules relaxing several provisions such as allowing even job workers to generate these documents and providing for longer validity.

Industry players now say that many of their concerns have been addressed. Most businesses have also tried out generating E-Way Bills.

“Everyone is geared up. But what happens on April 1 and whether the system can take the load of lakhs of E-Way Bills being generated is the question. Also, we have to see how the ground-level implementation takes place,” noted an expert.

Welcoming the launch of the E-Way Bill, Anjani Mandal, Co-Founder and CEO of Fortigo, said: “It should not be delayed, but should be implemented uniformly across the country, including the date for implementation.”

While businesses are prepared for it, he, however, noted that instead of April 1, the E-Way Bill could have started from April 10 or 12 so that there is enough time for all shipments of the previous financial year to have left the factory and reached their destination.

XaTTaX: Your automated E-Way bill compliance is just a click away!

Source :  The Hindu Business Line