E-way absence won't affect goods movement: official

After the goods and services tax (GST) roll out, movement of goods will not be impeded even if e-way system is not place, a senior finance ministry official said on Monday.

The all powerful GST Council cleared six draft rules on Sunday, but left the e-way bill for more consensus between states. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said there were two opinions on e-way bill, so the Council decided to have more deliberations.

The GST Council is meeting again on June 30, but it is too early to say whether a consensus can be reached in such a short period in the wake of wide differences between states. “I must candidly state that there was no consensus on e-way bill. Till we reach a consensus, the Council has authorised the existing systems of states to continue,” Jaitley said after the meeting.

Under the GST regime, e-permit is required for moving goods over Rs 50,000 within a state or between states. E-way bill envisaged to do away with border check posts which hinder the movement of goods.

However, the transition to seamless movement of goods does not appear to be a reality in the GST regime anytime soon in absence of e-way bill clearance, analysts said.

Meawhile, Karnataka already has its e-way system called e-sugham, and Uttar Pradesh has e-suvidha, but other states are yet to move to the new system. Maharashtra does not have the concept of e-way bill.