Sarabjit Kaur
The government has notified 1 April as the implementation date for the electronic way or e-way bill, which will be required for transporting goods valued over Rs 50,000 between states.
Besides, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has also notified the requirement of filing summary return GSTR-3B till June.
The GSTR-3B for a month is required to be filed by the 20th day of the succeeding month.
The GST council, headed by finance minister Arun Jaitley and comprising his state counterparts, had in its meeting on 10 March decided on e-way bill roll out and extension of 3B filing facility.
Wary of system collapsing like it happened when the e-way bill was first introduced on 1 February, the council decided to rollout the requirement of carrying the permit for intra-state movement in a staggered manner.
While inter-state e-way bill being implemented from 1 April, there would be a phased roll out for intra-state movement of goods beginning 15 April.
The e-way bill, which would be required to be presented to a GST inspector if asked for, is being touted as an anti-evasion measure and would help boost tax collections by clamping down on trade that currently happens on cash basis.
With e-way bill roll out, from 1 April, transporters of goods worth over Rs 50,000 will have to generate an e-way bill.
As regards return, the council had discussed on the ways of simplification and with states divided in their views, it was decided that the present filing system was extended for another three months.
Accordingly, businesses will continue to file summary sales returns GSTR-3B and final sales return GSTR-1 till June.
Traders are ready for pan-India inter-state e-way bill roll out from 1 April but said it should be phase wise for smooth implementation.
“We do not want deferment of e-way bill roll out but if it comes for all at one go then there is a high probability of system crash. We have seen this on 15 February when the government made such an attempt. Hence, we have suggested that there should be phase-wise roll out,” Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) national president B C Bhartia said.
The e-way bill should be made applicable for companies with a turnover of in excess of Rs 100 crore among others.
This will take care of a large number of tax payers. In phases, the slabs could be reduced to cover all, he said.
He said, “The e-way bill system is to plug tax evasion and with our proposal government could plug tax evasion up to 90 per cent. But implementing for all goods carriage of Rs 50,000 and above in value is expected to clog the server.”
CAIT said despite GST council assurance, traders were still apprehensive.
The trader’s body finds a lot of problems and harassment for small traders to comply with the system as they are not as easy as the government claims, he said.
In GST regime, a document called e-way bill, or electronic way bill, is required to transport goods worth more than Rs 50,000.
