Union government planned to implement e-way bills from 1st Feb 2018 but it was postponed. Click here to know more GST e-way bill.
The challenges in implementing the e-way bill can be addressed using RFID technology.
What was the decision on e-way bill?
The e-way bill is virtually an electronic version of the way bill in the value-added tax (VAT) regime which required to be carried as a physical printout for the benefit of the checking authorities.
Union government had made a compulsory introduction of the electronic way (e-way) bill from February 1, for the movement of consignments above Rs 50,000.
The decision was even accepted by 15 states to follow the same deadline for the introduction of intra-state e-way bills.
But due to practical challenges of patchy implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) the decision was postponed indefinitely.
What are the challenges incurred in e-way bill operation?
The network which is being used for the e-way bill was ill-equipped to bear the increased load points.
The GST Network portal had crashed in several states two days before, bringing truck movements to a virtual standstill.
This e-replication of the provision of the VAT regime created an interminable queues at inter-state checkpoints.
The failure escaped media scrutiny due to the tabling of Union Budget.
What are measures being considered by the government?
Government is planning to introduce e-way bill system for intra-state movements first and testing the network’s load-bearing ability before rolling it out for inter-state movements.
The possibility of initially limiting the e-way bill to higher value consignments is other one.
RFID tags for goods or consignments is also on the discussions as a useful alternative.
How a RFID tag will address the issue?
Radio frequency identification (RFID) these tags are being used in our day today life from supermarkets to toll collection.
RFID tags has been already introduced in India for improving traffic management, for new vehicles registration etc.
RFID tags for e-way bill can be used through loading the information about the consignment which is being carried through the vehicle which already has a RFID.
When a vehicle crossing any toll gate the RFID will be scanned and information regarding the consignment with precise GST number will be gathered.
The collected information will be updated through an online portal and can be used further by any concerned agencies.
