E-way bill generation surges to record high of 10.48 crore in July

Although GSTN has not given any reason for the record rise, it could be attributed to multiple factors including improvement in consumption as well as compliance. Although there is no straight co-relation between e-way bill generation and GST collection, the former could have some positive impact on collection. Tax collected for goods consumed and services availed in July will be known on September 1, when the government releases monthly data.

This is the fifth time since the introduction of the e-way bill in 2018 and third successive time in the current fiscal when generation has crossed 10 crores in a month.

An e-way bill is an electronic document generated on a portal, evidencing the movement of goods. It also indicates whether tax has been paid for the moving goods. As per Rule 138 of the CGST Rules, 2017, every registered person involved in the movement of goods (which may not necessarily be on account of supply) of consignment value of more than ₹50,000 (can be lower for intra-state movement) is required to generate an e-way bill. Now all eyes will be on collection in August. Rajat Bose, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, said that given the buoyancy in GST collections due to increased compliances particularly generation of e-way bills and e-invoices, GST collections are likely to settle at an elevated level with a more robust economic recovery in the coming months. “However, it is to be kept in mind, that the intra-State e-way bills resulting in CGST plus SGST revenue will be more relevant from the GST revenue point of view as IGST will largely be utilised as input tax credit in B2B supplies,” he cautioned.