More e-Way Bills During March 2022 Hints Rise in GST Collections

The massive 78.1 million e-way bills raised during March 2022 indicate that Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections in April 2022 might surpass the all-time high collections of March 2022. e-Way bill is generated for the moment of goods, and the number of e-way bills generated during a month indirectly indicates the GST collections.

The GST Network showed that e-way bill generation increased by 13% in March 2022 compared to February 2022. Also, the GST collections for March 2022 stood at 1.42 lakh crores which were 9% higher than February 2022.

Taxpayers file March 2022 GST returns and pay respective taxes in April 2022, indicating a further increase in GST revenue collection. Usually, there will be a spike in e-way bill generation during the festive seasons. However, businesses put in more effort to reach annual sales commitments and the same is reflected in the number of e-way bills generated during March 2022.

The improvement in GST collections reduces the pressure on policymakers as it eases the revenue mobilisation through non-tax revenue measures such as divestment. Also, it proves to be a relief to state governments that are likely to lose GST compensation from June.

The improvement in GST collections helps the central and state governments while considering rationalisation in the GST slabs and revenue augmentation. Two Groups of Ministers (GoM) were appointed by the GST Council and are working on GST rate rationalisation and on improving the efficiency and productivity of the indirect tax system.

Also, from 1st April 2022l, the government has extended the e-invoicing to all businesses having more than Rs 20 crore turnover. e-Invoicing eliminates fake invoicing and curbs bogus ITC claims, thus improving the collections. e-Invoicing will also improve direct tax collections as the taxpayers now have to report sales more accurately.

For any clarifications/feedback on the topic, please contact the writer at dvsr.anjaneyulu@cleartax.in