Industry is concerned whether e-way bill would again lead to stoppage of trucks, impeding movements and delaying delivery timelines, which had started to improve with no check posts in GST. Photo: Hindustan TimesWith the introduction of the e-way bill scheduled for 1 February 2018, a contentious debate has begun on how this measure can be a serious impediment for goods movement, supply-chain efficiencies, harassment and rent seeking. With industry already grappling to come to terms with GST compliance, this e-way bill process they believe will be another arduous process to contend with in the initial months. But for the interim, industry will have to contend with the e-way bill process and bear this burden. In some of these clusters, tax arbitrage was the reason for their competitiveness and existence, and with GST attempting to formalize these sectors through processes like invoice matching, e-way bill and reverse charge, there will be some collateral damages in the interim.

Source: Mint January 15, 2018 20:26 UTC