E-way bill not needed under GST regime: Mungantiwar

Nagpur: The state’s finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said the Maharashtra government is of the opinion that there should be no system of issuing e-way bill under the GST regime. Initially, the state was not keen on having e-way bills at all but did introduce it in order to come in tune with the GST regime.
Later, considering the hassles faced by traders, the limit to get an e-way bill issued was hiked for goods under transit worth Rs1 lakh as against Rs50,000 originally.

However, if e-way will has to remain then the GST council should at least ensure that there is uniformity all over the country, he said. The matter would be raised in the GST council meeting due on July 21. Currently, each state has its own rules on e-way bill which defeats the very purpose of ‘one nation one tax’ under GST, he said.

Mungantiwar, however, ruled out chances for the state to reduce the limit back to Rs50,000, as he also stressed for having uniformity in the limits all over the country.

“Maharashtra has increased the limit for carrying e-way bills to goods worth Rs1 lakh as against Rs50,000 from July 1. There are several states however, which are still too rigid. Maharashtra believes in having a hassle free policy towards businessmen. onwards,” said the minster after a meeting with local businessmen at Vidarbha Industries Association (VIA).

E-way bill is a document which confirms that the goods are being transported from one point to another. This helps in preventing leakage in between and the buyer and seller can be taxed accordingly.