A recent performance audit conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has revealed notable systemic issues within the e-way bill system associated with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework. This audit raises important concerns regarding the accuracy and reliability of tax reporting within the system.
In the State Assembly, the report was tabled.
The report highlighted that the e-way bill system was designed to enhance the rapid and efficient transportation of goods. However, it pointed out that a lack of adequate coordination between the e-way bill common portal and the GST common portal led to issues with the automated validation controls, ultimately hindering the system’s effectiveness.
For the movement of goods, an e-way bill is needed, and it is made to capture the information of the goods before they are transported. It was developed as a transformation from a government-monitored tax administration model to a self-reporting model, allowing taxpayers to report their own information.
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For all inter-State movement of goods with values surpassing Rs 50,000, the e-way bills were rolled out dated April 1, 2018. For intra-state movement of goods valued at over ₹50,000, e-way bills were made mandatory from April 15, 2018.
Multiple e-way Bills
The audit revealed that the system permitted the generation of e-way bills by taxpayers who had either failed to file returns or whose GST registrations had been cancelled. It also allowed multiple e-way bills to be created for the same invoice number, highlighting the absence of adequate validation controls in the e-way bill common portal.
The system is unable to differentiate between inter-State and intra-State movement of goods by taxpayers who have opted for the composition scheme under the GST mechanism and allowed generation of e-way bills in both cases. Taxpayers were capable of generating e-way bills for outward supply even after filing a nil return, which consequence in leakage of revenue, the report stated.
The CAG has advised the government to instruct the National Informatics Centre (NIC), which oversees the e-way bill common portal, to address existing system deficiencies.
Additionally, the government has been recommended to establish guidelines for verifying e-way bills and to create a mechanism for identifying taxpayers who transport goods without generating the required e-way bills.
