GST e-way bill — a new complex digital document
and tracker for cargo transportation by road — has left the logistics and
transportation industry in the lurch. The time given to adapt to it is
definitely less. There are several aspects that are not clear and several
issues that need to be resolved. Majority of these activities are carried
out by some data entry operators sitting in the warehouse and expecting him to
train on new systems and be error-free in only 15 days will be a major
challenge,
There's still quite a bit of uncertainty on the e-way bill. We have been seeking clarity, but we still don't know what it will look like. As per indications, we will have some clarity only by mid-January which means the industry has just 15 days to be ready for it. It would have been good if the application developer had done stakeholder consultations with industries like express industry, since our processes and needs are different from full truck operators, GST will likely have far-reaching consequences on the logistics and supply chain sector, transforming warehousing and cargo transportation in the country.
The e-way bill, envisaged as an effective mechanism to track cargo and ensure tax compliance, has however been one of the contentious issues, especially as companies say it will complicate processes rather than simplifying them. An e-way bill is generated every time a cargo item worth more than Rs 50,000 crosses 10 kilometers. Any entity under GST, the shipper/consigner, the logistics firm or the transporter can generate the bill. Unlike earlier, when only an invoice was generated on cargo transportation, the bill marries the cargo and its vehicle. This means each vehicle number has to be registered with the GST network and a new bill is generated every time the vehicle is changed.
All this, given India's road conditions and the unorganised nature of the country's transportation industry, will make compliance complex. For instance, generating a fresh bill online may be impossible if a vehicle breaks down in the middle of a highway, far from internet connectivity. There is a time-bound validity of the bill, which is much shorter than the earlier bill. What if a vehicle breaks down in the middle and has to be repaired? A new bill cannot be generated and the current one may lose its validity, Also the consigner generates the bill and the transporter validates it. What if one of them isn't there at the time of transportation?
If some expensive items are ordered by the dealer for one customer, it will be shipped by a truck from the factory to the dealer, and then further by the dealer to the customer. That will need 2 e-way bills. If the customer cancels the order before it reaches him, another e-way bill will have to be generated,
As of today, there isn't sufficient clarity on the e-way bill and its implementation. Our only option is to wait for more details on the same. But we hope the bill will be simplified enough for it to be easily implemented by its target date of February 1, Road transport traditionally being a technically challenged sector in India, adoption to new processes is a challenge for companies. Generally, whenever there's a change in processes, companies need time to adapt. Even in case of extensions, companies face challenges: GST is a case in point. The government has in recent months been aggressive in implementing new processes and it's in the best interest of the sector to strive to achieve these targets,
There's still quite a bit of uncertainty on the e-way bill. We have been seeking clarity, but we still don't know what it will look like. As per indications, we will have some clarity only by mid-January which means the industry has just 15 days to be ready for it. It would have been good if the application developer had done stakeholder consultations with industries like express industry, since our processes and needs are different from full truck operators, GST will likely have far-reaching consequences on the logistics and supply chain sector, transforming warehousing and cargo transportation in the country.
The e-way bill, envisaged as an effective mechanism to track cargo and ensure tax compliance, has however been one of the contentious issues, especially as companies say it will complicate processes rather than simplifying them. An e-way bill is generated every time a cargo item worth more than Rs 50,000 crosses 10 kilometers. Any entity under GST, the shipper/consigner, the logistics firm or the transporter can generate the bill. Unlike earlier, when only an invoice was generated on cargo transportation, the bill marries the cargo and its vehicle. This means each vehicle number has to be registered with the GST network and a new bill is generated every time the vehicle is changed.
All this, given India's road conditions and the unorganised nature of the country's transportation industry, will make compliance complex. For instance, generating a fresh bill online may be impossible if a vehicle breaks down in the middle of a highway, far from internet connectivity. There is a time-bound validity of the bill, which is much shorter than the earlier bill. What if a vehicle breaks down in the middle and has to be repaired? A new bill cannot be generated and the current one may lose its validity, Also the consigner generates the bill and the transporter validates it. What if one of them isn't there at the time of transportation?
If some expensive items are ordered by the dealer for one customer, it will be shipped by a truck from the factory to the dealer, and then further by the dealer to the customer. That will need 2 e-way bills. If the customer cancels the order before it reaches him, another e-way bill will have to be generated,
As of today, there isn't sufficient clarity on the e-way bill and its implementation. Our only option is to wait for more details on the same. But we hope the bill will be simplified enough for it to be easily implemented by its target date of February 1, Road transport traditionally being a technically challenged sector in India, adoption to new processes is a challenge for companies. Generally, whenever there's a change in processes, companies need time to adapt. Even in case of extensions, companies face challenges: GST is a case in point. The government has in recent months been aggressive in implementing new processes and it's in the best interest of the sector to strive to achieve these targets,
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