E-way bill to soon be integrated with NHAI’s FASTag to track GST evasion

To check Goods & Services Tax (GST) evasion, the government is planning to integrate the GST e-way bill system with the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI’s) FASTag mechanism, from April. The revenue department has set up an officers’ committee to integrate the e-way bill, FASTag, and DMIC’s Logistics Data Bank (LDB) services, after consultation with transporters. “It has come to our notice that some transporters are doing multiple trips by generating a single e-way bill. Integration of the e-way bill with FASTag would help find the location of the vehicle, and when and how many times it has crossed NHAI’s toll plazas,” an official told PTI. Karnataka is implementing an integrated system on a pilot basis, and integration at a national level would be highly beneficial in terms of tracking of goods and ensuring that e-way bill has been generated for the correct duration of travel. “The officers’ committee would explain the benefits to all stakeholders,” the official said, adding that the move would also improve operational efficiencies across the country’s logistics landscape. Currently, lack of harmonisation under the ‘track and trace’ mechanism in terms of sharing information among different agencies is affecting the ease of doing business. Besides, it is leading to misuse of e-way bill. This would also help in preventing GST evasion by traders who take advantage of the loopholes in the supply chain.