Inspection raj may increase if the e-Way Bill is not implemented in the right spirit, warned indirect tax expert Monish Bhalla, a day after Gujarat government decided to implement the bill in a full-fledged manner.
Traders have also voiced a concern that just as the festive season is approaching, any high-handedness on the part of tax administration will weaken the confidence of the trading community.
The Gujarat government, on Friday, came out with a notification saying the e-Way Bill will be implemented in the state from October 1. The e-Way Bill is a part of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime to monitor the transportation of goods in the last mile connectivity. All consignments with a value of goods of Rs 50,000 or above will need e-Way Bill. All traders registered under GST need to furnish this document. The move is intended to check evasion of tax in the last mile connectivity.
Inter-state GST is being implemented and the implementation of intra-state GST is left upon individual states. In the first phase, Gujarat had made e-Way Bill compulsory for 19 items, where the likelihood of tax evasion is the highest. Beginning next month all the goods will come under the purview of e-Way Bill. Items of the textile sector, transported for job- work are exempted.
Intra-city transport of goods has been exempted but intercity transport is a part of it.
Experts caution that it could make trading more difficult. "As a part of GST, check posts are to be removed between states. Now you are creating check-posts between cities. This is going back to Octroi days," said Bhalla. City limits are defined as per the Gujarat Provincial Municipalities Act, but Bhalla feels that it is not practicable for a driver or a trader to know exactly where city limits end. "Officers have tremendous discretionary powers. If these are misused, this is going backwards on Ease Of Doing Business, especially ahead of the General Elections in 2019," cautioned Bhalla.
Traders appreciate that this move will streamline tax administration but are apprehensive about certain provisions of the Bill. "The exemption limit of Rs 50,000 is very less. This means that operators of single cargo vehicles will also have to comply. If there are disputes, transporters will not pick up the cargo, affecting the trade," said Jayendra Tanna, president of national executive of Federation of All India Vyapar Mandal.
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Inter-state GST is being implemented and the implementation of intra-state GST is left upon individual states. In the first phase, Gujarat had made e-Way Bill compulsory for 19 items, where the likelihood of tax evasion is the highest. Beginning next month all the goods will come under the purview of e-Way Bill. Items of the textile sector, transported for job- work are exempted.
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