The GST was introduced across India in July, 2017 as a very important step in the field of Indirect tax reform. The main objective behind it was to root out the problems which had been plaguing the Indian economy under the VAT era. And one of the problems under the VAT era was the slow movement of goods vehicles due to multiple check points across the country which clogged the highways and put the entire logistics sector under severe strain. Thus, under the GST regime the E-Way bill system was introduced in 2018 which promised to do away with all the check points and significantly streamline the movement of goods. The E-Way bill is nothing but a document generated online and has to be carried by the person in charge of the transportation of goods. This system is much more efficient than the way bill system under the VAT era as the authorities are easily able to check tax evasion and track movement of goods effectively.
But how is it beneficial to the transporters and traders?
There are multiple benefits of the E-Way bill system. It not only saves precious time but also prevents resource loss thus increasing the business potential significantly. Some of the other benefits are:
- Under the VAT era way bill system, the transporters had to visit the tax office several times to acquire blank delivery notes. Under the E-Way bill system no more visits to the tax office is required as the entire process is done online.
- The verification of the E-Way bill is done on a common portal as the information is available to all the stake holders, thus making the process fast and goods carrying vehicles no longer has to wait in long queues outside check posts.
- The consolidated E-Way bill system helps the transporters in preparing a consolidated bill instead of multiple way bills which again is very convenient.
- Currently tax officials use the QR code in E-way bills which enables them to check the bills quickly and saves a lot of time for all the stakeholders. There is also the provision for the use of Radio Frequency Identification tags (RFID) which will allow the verification of E-way bill without stopping the vehicle. UP is already using it with success.
How can you use the E-way bill system to your advantage?
The E-Way bill system offers so many benefits but you need to understand the entire process in order to take advantage of it. Registering yourself to the online government portal and then uploading the transaction details is very easy but it requires error free tasks and precise calculation as any inadvertent mistake can create huge problems. Thus, you can use advanced E-Way bill software to take care of the entire task. An advanced E-way bill software will not only prevent any errors but provide multiple facilities like data validation and alerts which will give you a great business experience and you can easily take advantage of the E-way bill system without any hassle.