E-Way bill: What it means

India is a big country, the seventh largest in the world to be exact. With such a size comes a huge amount of goods and supplies traffic that flows through the country.  At any given time of day, one can expect over a million tonnes of goods that are being moved in and around the country. Such voluminous movement is important for the development of our nation. There are certain resources and raw materials, which are not available in the country but are essential for development and vice versa.

The movement of consignment, however, is limited and restricted in certain states. This creates a problem where almost every time a shipment crosses state lines it is bound to get inspected. Although for security purposes it is a great idea, it causes unnecessary delays and the routine halt means shipments arrive later than usual. The GST E-way bill is a step designed to help eliminate the stoppage at state lines and grant access to the free movement of goods across the country. The bill is valid for one day for every hundred kilometers traveled.

This is a bill which can be utilized by all people. Generally big businesses and companies often use this; however, even commoners can generate a bill to ferry their personal goods across state lines without any checking at state lines. The bill consists of two parts; the first part contains the details of the consignment, GSTIN number, place of delivery, invoice number, transport document number, HSN code and reasons for transport. The second part contains the details of the transporter vehicle, such as the vehicle number and so on.

A stipulation in the new bill requires a person who is moving goods with a value of over 50000Rs is required to furnish an E-way bill; failure to do so may result in a fine of 200% of the GST. Oftentimes one three people have to generate an E-way bill, the consigner or the buyer is the one who generally does this. However, in the case that they elicit the help of a transporter, the transporter has to generate the bill. The question remains how to generate e-way bill?

Well, it is a rather simple process, which requires a person to go on the government website and register their consignment, by providing various details such as address, GSTIN number, item details and truck details. This bill can be generated even on mobile phones and presents a handy way to track the progress of the shipment and see if any unnecessary detours are being made.

The main idea behind the bill is to conveniently keep a track of the movement of goods in and around the country and to speed up the transport process by giving out a document which affirms the genuineness of the goods being carried. It also stops unnecessary checking at state lines. A simple bill like the GST E-way bill can be beneficial for the government in more ways than one. There is a good check of the goods being ferried, it is accounted for and it eliminates the risk of fraudulent activities.