After delays, e-way bills likely to go live from April
Two months after initial plans, the e-way bill system for inter-state movement of goods will likely become mandatory from April 1, reports said. There's no information about when it will go live for intra-state transport. The matter will be considered at the GST Council meet on March 10. The planned February 1 launch was delayed due to technological glitches. Here's all you should know.
What is an e-way bill?
An e-way bill is an electronic waybill that transporters need to carry for moving goods under the GST regime. No e-way bill is required for transportation of goods through non-motorized conveyance, or if they are moved from the port/airport/land customs station to an inland container for clearance by Customs, or if the consignment is worth less than Rs. 50,000.
How can you generate an e-way bill?
Visit www.ewaybill.nic.in and log in with your GSTIN. Enter details of the goods to be moved, transporter ID, pin codes and other details. If the vehicle breaks down, its number can be updated. The bill number will be sent to the supplier, receiver, and transporter.
Terms and conditions of the e-way bill system
An e-way remains valid for 24 hours. Cancellation is allowed up to a day of the bill being generated. This is for a distance of 100km. For every 100km thereafter, validity will be one additional day. The recipient can reject an e-way bill within 72 hours of it being generated. Under this system, hold-up of a consignment for over 30 minutes is prohibited.
More than 2.84L e-way bills generated during 14-day trials
The system was launched on trial basis on January 16. In 14 days, over 2.84mn e-way bills were generated, officials said. The system is designed to handle 50L bills every day, 10L for interstate and 35-40L for intra-state.
Infrastructure upgraded after glitches, intra-state system to be implemented phase-wise
Now the infrastructure has been substantially upgraded, said Bihar Deputy and Finance Minister CM Sushil Modi. Two phases of testing have been completed, and the third is likely to be conducted soon. E-way bills for intra-state movement would be rolled out phase-wise. "We are expecting 26L-50L returns to be filed daily, which we expect to go up to 75L in the future," Modi said.
