As GST Collection Falls, Government Banks On New E-Way Bill System To Bring Tax Evaders To Task

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in November fell to Rs 80,808 crore from Rs 83,346 crore in October and Rs 92,000 crore in September, according to the data released last week. The government, suspecting massive tax evasion, is now planning to put to use the new e-way bill system to track evaders down, reports Mint.

The e-way bill system for inter-state movement of goods will be implemented by all states from 1 February. After its implementation, for all movement of goods within or outside a state, traders will have to register consignments online and generate an e-way bill for all goods amounting to more than Rs 50,000. To generate a unique e-way bill number, the supplier and the transporter will have to upload the details of the shipment. To check for tax evasion, the tax authorities will be required to compare the details in the e-way bill with the actual shipment.

Government suspects businesses are keeping transactions off the books and are under-invoicing goods to evade taxes as the total collection on GST for November slipped by over Rs 2,500 crore.

According to data, around 600,000 taxpayers who filed tax returns paid only Rs 251 crore for the July-September period.

As taxpayers file the GSTR-1 form for the initial few months by 10 January, the government will be able to use transaction trail bring tax evaders to task. The GSTR-1 carries details of the supply and that of the recipient.