For the smooth functioning of a country, there are many reasons why taxation is extremely important. India is one of the fastest developing countries; there should be an even greater emphasis on collecting and the usage of taxes. There are mainly two types of taxes, direct and indirect. Under these categories, there are various other subtypes, but some of the lesser known ones are also very important.
Cargo is essential to the development of a country and the road networks in the country are used to ferry a majority of goods and supplies in and around the country. When a consignment is shipped, it is given something called a waybill, which is a document that has all the details and instructions regarding the goods or supplies. This bill is available nowadays in an online form called an E-way bill. It is a document required to be in person at all times if they are in charge of the conveyance carrying any consignment of goods, whose value exceeds Rs. 50,000; although there are some cases of exceptions.
For those cases where E-Way Bill is not required, even though the value of goods on board may exceed Rs 50,000 are:
- The transportation of some Specified Goods is already mentioned as exceptions in CGST Rules of 2017.
- It is not applicable if the mode of transportation is a non-motorized vehicle.
- It is also not required when the said cargo is being transported from a port, cargo complex, land customs stations or an airport to Inland Container Depot or Container Freight Station for Clearance by Customs.
- It will be deemed mandatory for inter-state movement of all goods and comes into effect from 1stst April 2018.
When is the bill applicable?
There is some confusion as to when these rules might be applicable and how. Some states have started a trial based roll-out of the e-way bill system from 16th January 2018. As for non-government agencies such as traders and transporters, they can voluntary use the trial to roll out facilities. Some states may also choose their own timing for implementation of the e-way bill for intra-state movement of goods on any date before 1st June 2018.
Who is required to register and enroll in e-way bills system?
The stakeholders have to register themselves on the e-way bill system, as they are accountable for their stake in the movement of the consignment from one place to another.
The stakeholders in this case are suppliers, recipients and transporters; they keep a close eye on how the consignment moves from place to place.
The question now remains how to apply way bill in GST? The answer is quite simple, most waybills already account for service charges and it is already mentioned in the bill. The overhead is usually is around 5%. A waybill is critical for all the goods and cargo that moves in and around the country; it helps keep a detailed account of the whereabouts of the packages. The bill is also a receipt that can be used while counting taxes and hence being extremely useful for stakeholders.
