The daily e-way bill generation crossed 16 lakh in June. This is better than not just the May number, but also June last year. This shows that the gradual unlocking in various States has benefited trade and business.
Data as of the week ending June 13 showed an average daily E-Way bill generation of 16.12 lakh compared to around 12.15 lakh during the week ended May 16.
For May, the average daily generation was around 12.74 lakh. This number was around 14.47 lakh in June 2020. The average number here includes both inter- and intra-State E-Way bills generated, on a weekly basis.
An e-way bill is required to be generated by a registered GST taxpayer to move goods between States of value more than ₹50,000. For intra-State movement, the limit varies between States.
Though India did not impose nationwide lockdown to curb the Covid-19 second wave, many States and Union Territories opted for localised lockdown mainly in April and May. Also, manufacturing activity was on, albeit in a limited capacity.
But as the demand was low and normal commercial activity had come to a halt in cities and towns, supply-chains were affected, impactingE-Way bill generation till May third week.
GST revenue
Now, as States are unlocking in phases, business and trade are picking up as indicated by the E-Way bill generation also. Saket Patawari, Executive Director (Indirect Tax) with Nexdigm, says the rise in E-Way bill generation is primarily due to the easing of lockdown restrictions across States and gradual resumption of commercial activities with the decline in Covid-19 cases.
“It is expected that the businesses will regain momentum over the next 3-4 months, especially considering the compliance relaxations announced recently by the GST Council, the expected good monsoon, as well as the upcoming festival season. This, in turn, could translate into higher GST revenue collections, which had seen a dip in May,” he said.
GST collection in May dipped to around ₹1.03 lakh crore as against record ₹1.41 lakh crore in April.
The mop up in June for business activities of May likely to be subdued. However, the collection in July for activities in June is expected to be buoyant.
The Budget Eestimates for 2021-22 has assumed that the GST revenues will grow at 17 per cent over the previous year’s low base. This translates into average monthly gross GST revenues of ₹1.1-lakh crore. The actual mop up will depend upon various factors including the trends in E-Way bill generation and compliance.