E-way bills generated by businesses for the movement of goods in August touched an all-time high of 78.21 million, up 19% on the year, suggesting an acceleration of shipments as the festival season commenced.

The rise in e-way bills, which commenced in 2018, in August suggests that goods and services tax (GST) collections will continue to be robust at about Rs 1.5 trillion in September. It was 78.16 million in March 2022, resulting in a record Rs 1.68 trillion gross GST receipts (reflecting March transactions).

Given the buoyancy in GST collections due to increased compliance, FY23 gross GST receipts may exceed the target by Rs 3 trillion, of which the Centre may account for Rs 1.4 trillion extra in gross receipts.

“Automotive sales have picked up substantially in August. Also, wholesalers are stocking up for the festive season which has already begun with Ganesh Puja,” All India Transporters Welfare Association (AITWA) joint secretary Abhishek Gupta said.

Intra-state e-way bills, generated when moving goods within a state, crossed 48.83 million in August while inter-state e-way bills stood at 29.38 million.

An e-way bill is a document required to be generated from the GST portal before the commencement of movement of goods having a value above Rs 50,000 and Rs 1,00,000 for inter-state and intra-state, respectively.

Given that an incipient pick-up in consumption has resulted in a more-than-proportionate jump in GST revenues, a stronger economic recovery could allow the collections to settle at an elevated level, proving the high revenue productivity of the broad-based consumption.

Source: Financial Express
https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/e-way-bills-at-all-time-high-in-august/2660299/