GST e-way bill generation gathers momentum in July

With the impact of the second Covid-19 wave waning and the vaccination drive making progress, parts of the economy are expected to look up from July.

E-way bill generation for goods transportation under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system has improved pace in July, indicating a gradual pick-up in economic recovery.

In the first 25 days of July, average daily e-way bill generation stood at 19.83 lakh, 8.8% higher than the average for June and 54% higher than the May level.

Average daily e-way bill generation was 20.2 lakh in the week ended July 25, compared with 20.4 lakh in preceding week and 19.24 lakh in the first 11 days of July.

Between July 1 and 25, as many as 4.96 crore e-way bills were generated. Higher e-way bills generation will also reflect in GST revenue.

Gross GST collections, after remaining above the Rs 1-lakh-crore mark for eight months in a row, came in at Rs 92,849 crore in June (May transactions), reflecting the blow to the economy from localised lockdowns.

Thanks to reduction in Covid-19 case numbers and easing of the lockdowns, e-way bill generation by businesses rose to 5.5 crore in June from 3.99 crore in May, indicating a recovery of trade and business. About 5.9 crore e-way bills were generated in April.

With the impact of the second Covid-19 wave waning and the vaccination drive making progress, parts of the economy are expected to look up from July.

In recent months, the government’s GST revenue has been robust, thanks to steps taken to curb evasion, increased compliance and also a shift of business away from the informal sector. A nascent economic recovery that appears to have been disrupted by the pandemic’s second surge, also helped.