Intra-state e-way bill to be rolled out in Kerala, Gujarat and 3 other states from Sunday

Intra-state e-way bill to be rolled out in Kerala, Gujarat and 3 other states from Sunday

Intra-state e-way bill to be rolled out in Kerala, Gujarat and 3 other states

The government has decided to implement generation of e-way bill for intra-state movement of goods in five states — Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh — from April 15.

Generating an e-way bill for inter-state movement of goods was made mandatory from April 1.

E-way or electronic way bill system under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime promises to enable faster movement of goods through a seamless portal-driven payment system, without lorries having to wait at state borders.

The implementation of the mechanism is crucial as the government believes it to be a key measure to plug revenue leakages.

“With the roll-out of e-way bill system in these states, it is expected that trade and industry will be further facilitated in so far as the transport of goods is concerned, thereby eventually paving the way for a nation-wide single e-way bill system,” the government said in a statement.

Traders, industries and transporters in these states can enroll on the portal -https://www.ewaybillgst.gov.in.

For intra-state movement of goods, Karnataka was the first state to operationalise the e-way bill system when it did so on April 1.

Technical glitches had resulted in an abortion of the e-way bill system’s full-fledged launch on February 1. The government hopes that its introduction will enable tax authorities to track the inter-state and intra-state movement of goods, thus preventing any possible tax evasion.

The second attempt towards the mandatory implementation of inter-state e-way bill from April 1 has remained smooth and glitch-free. Till April 9, more than 63 lakh bills had already been generated.

Last month, the GST Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, had decided that state-wise implementation of the e-way bill system will be done on a weekly basis or in a phased manner.

“States have been divided into four categories. State-wise implementation of e-way bill will be done on a weekly basis (after April 7). Will try to implement it in all the states by end of April,” Jaitley had said.