The government has implemented the blocking of the e-way bill generation facility with effect from December 2, 2019, to curb tax evasion and non-filing of GST returns. Taxpayers who for the previous two or more consecutive tax periods have not submitted their returns are barred from generating the e-way bill.
What is the reason for the blocking of e-way bill generation?
There are about 20.75 Lakh GSTINs, according to the GSTN data, that have not filed GSTR-3B for September and October. In addition, out of the maximum of 20.75 Lakh GSTINs, approximately 3.47 Lakh GSTINs had transactions in the e-way bill portal for September and October 2019. The tax authorities find the non-filing of returns to be a primary reason for the decreasing collection of GST revenue. For taxpayers who did not submit their Form GSTR-3B return for two consecutive months, therefore, the ability to generate e-way bills had to be blocked.
How will the blocking of e-way bill generation work?
GSTR-3B is a return form containing a summary of the outward and inward supply details and the final tax payable after the input tax credit has been claimed. Each GST-registered taxpayer should file it on a monthly basis.
Under the new e-way bill generation facility blocking rule, a taxpayer who fails to file GSTR-3B return on the GST portal for two or more consecutive months will be prevented from generating an e-way bill. A blocked GSTIN can not be used as a supplier, recipient or transporter to generate an e-way bill. For e.g., if a taxpayer for September and October 2019 did not file GSTR-3B, his / her e-way bill generation facility would be blocked from December 2nd 2019.
In the case of blocked GSTINs, facilities, like updating the vehicle and transporter details or extending the validity of these e-way bills, will not be affected for e-way bills that are already created.
How to get your e-way bill generation facility unblocked?
If a taxpayer files his / her pending GSTR-3B for the default period(s), the e-way bill generation facility would be automatically unblocked, reducing the default period to less than two consecutive tax periods. On the next day, the block will be lifted automatically on the e-way bill portal.
The taxpayer can visit the e-way bill portal for immediate status updates and select the ‘ Search Update Block Status ‘ option, enter the GSTIN and then click ‘ GO. ‘ Click on the ‘ Update Unblock Status from GST Common Portal ‘ option if the status reflects as ‘ blocked. ‘ This will get the most recent filing status from the GST portal, and the e-way bill status will be updated as ‘ unblocked ‘ if the pending returns are filed.
Not providing an e-way bill while the goods are being shipped will lead to an interruption in a business ‘ daily operations and deliveries. This move would enable taxpayers to be more compliant and ensure that they make their returns/tax payments on time. By ensuring that their GSTR-3B is filed within the deadline, businesses need to be more careful so that their business-related operations do not disrupt. This new development can help to improve the collection of GST revenue within the e-way bill system.
