Daily E-Way bill generation has crossed 16 lakhs in June. This is better than not just May numbers, but also June last year. This shows gradual unlocking in various States has benefitted trade and businesses.
Data at the week ending June 13 showed average E-Way bill generation was over 16.12 lakh as compared to around 12.15 lakh during week ending May 16. For the full month of May, average daily generation was around 12.74 lakh. This number was around 14.47 lakhs in June last year. The average number here includes both inter-State and intra-State E-Way bill generation which are prepared on a weekly basis.
E-Way bill is required to be generated by a registered GST taxpayer for the movement of goods if the value of the consignment is more than ₹50,000 for inter-state movement. For intra-State movement, limits vary from State to State. The generation of E-Way bill also reflects how trade and businesses are progressing.
Though, India did not impose nationwide lockdown this year, many States and Union Territories went for localised lockdown mainly during April and May. Also, manufacturing activities were going on, albeit in a limited capacity. Since demand was low and normal, commercial activities were shut down in cities and towns affecting supply chain. All these affected E-Way bill generation till third week of May.
GST revenue
Now, as States are unlocking in phases, business and trade are picking up and the current trend of E-Way bill is one of the key indicators for that. 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 pursuant to decline in Covid-19 cases. “It is expected that the businesses would regain momentum over the course of next 3-4 months, especially considering the compliance relaxations announced recently by the GST Council, good monsoons, as well as the upcoming festive season in the country. This in turn could translate into higher GST revenue collections, which had seen a dip in the month of May,” he said.
GST collection in May dipped to around ₹1.03 lakh crore as against record ₹1.41 lakh crore in April. Now, collection in the month of June for business activities taken place in May likely to be subdued as an impact of local lockdown. This collection number will be made public on July 1. However, collection in July for activities in June is expected to be buoyant and that number will be out on August 1.
In the budget estimates for the year 2021-22, it has been assumed that the GST revenues will grow at 17 per cent over the previous year’s low base. This translates to average monthly gross GST revenue of ₹1.1 lakh crore. This will depend upon various factors including trend in E-Way bill generation and compliance beside others.