The e-way (electronic way) bill system under GST (Goods and Services Tax) for inter-state movement of goods rolled out on Sunday, the government confirmed. For intra-state movement of goods, the new system would be launched in two weeks’ time, Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia announced on Wednesday. According to an IANS report, the e-way bill applies to inter-state transportation of goods worth over Rs. 50,000 through road, railways, airways and vessels. For the smaller value consignments, no e-way bill is mandated.
5 things to know about e-way bill system under GST:
1. According to the report, a single e-way bill applies even in cases of a break in journey to destination and where more than one transporter is involved in the transportation of goods under this system. In such a scenario, Transporter A will assign the said e-way bill to Transporter B, who will fill the details of his vehicle and move the goods.
2. The validity period of e-way bill starts only after the e-way bill details are updated by the transporter for the first time, said Finance Ministry.
3. In case of movement of goods on account of job-work, the registered job worker can also generate e-way bill, Finance Ministry added.
4. In view of the difficulties faced by the traders in generating the e-way bill due to initial technical glitches in the GST Network, it was earlier decided by the GST Council to extend the trial phase for generation of e-way bills, both for inter-state and intra-state movement of goods.
5. In its meeting last month, a group of ministers headed by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi recommended April 1 as the date for compulsory implementation of the system for inter-state goods movement.