e-Way bill generation has exceeded the 22-crore mark in approximately five-and-a-half months. The electronic document is one of the key utilities for curbing Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion.

“As many as 24.06 lakh taxpayers and 30,547 transporters have registered with the e-Way bill system so far. On July 31, we witnessed the highest activity in a day so far with 21.77 lakh e-Way bills being generated,” Prakash Kumar, CEO, Goods & Services Network (GSTN), said here on Friday. Till September 13, a total of 22.48 crore e-Way bills were generated. While the first 10 crore e-Way bills were generated in 83 days, it took just 68 days to add another 10 crore.

e-Way bill is mandatory for the transportation of goods valuing ₹50,000 or more between States (inter-State) and within a State (intra-State). In the event of non-compliance with the mandates of the e-Way bill, the GST law provides for confiscation of a vehicle or imposition of a penalty (that is equal to the tax payable on the goods being transported) on the owner of the conveyance transporting the goods. The new system was introduced across the country in a phased manner and by June 16 all States had adopted the system.

Flow of goods

Out of total e-Way bills, the inter-state transport of goods have accounted for 10.89 crore of the bills while the intra-State transport has contributed to 11.58 crore. The share of intra-State and inter-State transport is gradually attaining parity and is expected to reach a ratio of 50:50 in the coming months. GSTN claimed that the new tax system effectively making the flow of goods between States borderless, the e-Way bill furthers the GST objective by making tax compliance easier and reducing time spent at check posts for tracking and inspection of goods.

Maharashtra has generated the highest number of e-Way bills ( EWBs) so far with a count of 3.13 crore, cementing its reputation as India’s leading business hub. Gujarat (2.45 crore), Haryana (2.05 crore), Karnataka (1.98 crore) and Uttar Pradesh (1.90 crore) are the other States among the top generators of bills. While Gujarat topped the list in generating the most inter-State transport EWBs (1.78 crore), Maharashtra followed with a total of 1.52 crore inter-State EWBs. On the other hand, the list of intra-State EWBs was led by Maharashtra with 1.61 crore bills, followed by Karnataka with 1.34 crore.

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