Officials at the West Bengal tax department have raised issues with the GST Council relating to difficulties in implementation of e-way bills.

The Council had made e-way Bill mandatory from February 1 for all inter-State movement of goods. For intra-State movement of goods, it would be from a date to be announced separately by each State but not later than June 1, the GST Council had announced.

‘Practical issues’

While 12-odd States have notified that e-way bills will get implemented for intra-State movement of goods from February 1; West Bengal is among the few that have decided to delay the rollout.

According to Sumon Ghosh, Deputy Commissioner, State Tax, some of the practical issues faced include merger of multiple invoices into a single e-way bill, treatment of intra-State movement of goods through designated corridors and so on.

According to e-way bill rules, one e-way bill is issued against one invoice. Transport of goods via multiple trucks mean multiple invoices. But, when these goods are to be stacked in a rake (from the trucks), then one e-way bill has to be issued. So this means multiple bills have to be merged in one. This provision is currently not there.

Crossing the border

Similarly, intra-State movement of goods could mean crossing State boundaries for a short period. For example, in travelling a 220 km distance between Malda and Siliguri in West Bengal, one has to cross the Kishanganj district in Bihar. Currently, there is no provision on how such movement of goods should be categorised.

“We have raised some issues that have to be resolved before implementation of e-way bills. We are awaiting the response of the Council,” Ghosh said on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry.