(Representational Image, Source: PTI))

Both the businesses as well as the transporters moving goods worth Rs 50,000 from one state to another will have to carry an electronic or e-way bill from April 1, except for Karnataka having notified the e-way bill for both inter-state as well as the intra-state movement of goods. The e-way bill is being touted as an anti-evasion measure that would help boost tax collections by clamping down on the trade that currently happens on the cash basis. It was first introduced on February 1 but the implementation was put on hold after the system developed glitches in generating permits.

The system reportedly developed a snag after many states also started to generate intra-state e-way bills on the portal. The GSTN, meanwhile, has activated only that facility on its portal where the e-way bill can be generated when goods are transported from one state to another by either road, railways, airways or vessels. The step was taken to ensure a foolproof system.

“We will block any attempt to generate e-way bill for intra-state movement of goods,” an official said.

The platform has been made more robust and as many as 75 lakh inter-state e-way bills could be generated daily without any glitch. The system has been designed and developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC).

The Karnataka state government officials, however, said that the state has been running the e-way bill system for both inter-state and intra-state movement of goods since September and the decision to continue for both the levels of movement of goods was taken in the previous GST Council meeting.

“We have been running the e-way bill system since September for both inter-state and intra-state movement of goods and now, we will just continue the same after April 1. The decision was taken in the last GST Council meeting,” a state government official told IE.