Introduction
The government is developing a framework that will eventually provide GST officers with real-time updates on vehicles traveling without e-way bills. It assists in intercepting vehicles stopped at toll booths and monitoring GST evasion. It’s called the ‘Real-time and Analysis Reports on RFID’ study, and it’s designed to help GST officers to capture tax evaders who abuse the e-way bill scheme. Also with the introduction of an e-invoicing scheme for big taxpayers, an e-way bill must be produced and cannot be replaced by an e-invoice.
Under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regulation, e-Way bills are required for inter-state transportation of goods costing more than Rs.50,000 beginning in April 2018. Suppliers and transporters who use the e-way bill scheme must deliver it if a GST inspector at a checkpoint in India requests it. However, gold is exempted from the E-way bills.
Tax officers will receive analytical reports to recognize the production of e-way bills without any goods movement. It would help authorities spot cases of circular trade. Circular trade is a dishonest practice in which a GST licensed individual issues invoices but there is no real transfer of products. The aim is to pass the unlawful input tax credit across the supply chain. In the calendar year 2020-21, which ended in March 2021, 61.68 crore e-way bills were made, of which 2.27 crore were picked up for verification. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka were the top five states in terms of e-way output.
As of January 1, 2021, the government has merged RFID/FASTag with the e-way bill scheme. Any transporter must have an RFID tag in his vehicle, with the information of the e-way bill produced for the goods being transported being uploaded into the RFID. When a vehicle goes through an RFID Tag reader on a highway, the data entered into the device is published on the government’s website. Textiles, electrical machines, machinery and mechanical equipment, iron and steel, and automobiles are the top five sectors that have generated the most e-way bills in the last three years.
Distance estimation based on PIN codes is now possible with the e-way bill process. The system will automatically calculate the distance between the source and destination based on PIN codes. In the coming years, the government will have a real-time update on vehicle movement for selected e-way bills. It will help officers recognize the vehicle’s path of travel. Officers would now have access to a real-time index of vehicles traveling without e-way bills for a particular toll booth, enabling them to intercept only those that do not have e-way bills.
How to Create a GST E-Way Bill Quickly and Easily through the Web or SMS?
The GST E Way Bill came into effect on February 1, 2018, across the country. The government has required that all states use the e-Way Bill for transportation of supplies worth more than Rs. 50,000. Although the GST E-Way Bill generation process can be completed at the e-Way Bill (EWB) portal with single and consolidated options, there are some additional features, such as the ability to adjust the number of vehicles, E-Way Bills that have already been generated on the GST E-Way Bill portal, as well as the cancellation of E-Way Bills.
Step 1: Go to www.ewaybillgst.gov.in and log in to the e-way bill system.
Click on ‘Login’ after entering your username, password, and captcha code.
Step 2: On the left side of the dashboard, under the ‘E-waybill’ drop-down menu, select ‘Generate new.’
Step 3: Complete the following entries on the screen:
1) Transaction Type
2) Sub-type: Select the relevant sub-type applicably.
3) Document type: If no other choices are available, choose Invoice or Bill or Challan or Credit Note, or Bill of Entry.
4) Document No. : Type the number of the document/invoice.
5) Date of Document: Choose the date of the invoice, challan, or document.
6) Item details: In the specified section, add specific details about the consignment (HSN code-wise).
7) Details on the transporter: The mode of transportation (road, rail, ship, or air), as well as the approximate distance, traveled (in kilometers) must be stated in the section.
Step 4: Finally, press the ‘Submit’ button. The device verifies all of the information entered and displays any errors. Otherwise, the request is processed, and an e-way bill in Form EWB-01 is issued, with a unique 12-digit number.
Conclusion
To help intercept stranded trucks at toll plazas and monitor GST evasion, the government will introduce a system that will work on a device that will soon include real-time reports to GST officers for all vehicles traveling without e-way bills.