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NIC may get GST e-way bill software making job

The GST Council is likely to ask the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to develop the software to generate e-way bills for movement of goods under the GST regime.
There will, however, be no relaxation to the industry in respect of the Rs 50,000 threshold set for registration of goods for inter- and intra-state movement to plug tax evasion.
Initially, GST Network -- the IT platform for the goods and services tax (GST) regime -- was entrusted with the task of developing the software for e-way bill, but it was estimated that the exercise may take up to 6 months.

"The revenue department has held discussions with the NIC for developing the software. The NIC can develop it faster and at a lower cost than the private agencies which would be roped in by GSTN. The final decision would be taken by the Council in its next meeting," an official told PTI.

The GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising his state counterparts, will meet on June 18 to finalise the rules regarding e-way bill, among other things. GST Network has already floated a tender inviting companies for developing the system.

The official said selection of private agencies, which is a long-drawn process, the hardware may cost approximately Rs 200 crore. The NIC may get the hardware at a lower cost, given its own procurement agencies.

Over the last three decades, the NIC has implemented many network centric application software for programme implementation in various ministries and departments.
GST is scheduled to take effect from July 1. With lack of software preparedness, the Centre was in favour of delaying 'e-way bill' provision by a couple of months as states are keen to continue with their own present dispensation.

The draft e-way bill rules made it necessary for any movement of goods, within or outside the state, having value of more than Rs 50,000 to be registered with the GST-Network (GSTN) website.
GSTN would generate e-way bills that will be valid for 1 -15 days, depending on the distance to be travelled -- one day for 100 km and 15 days for more than 1,000 km transit. The tax officials can inspect the 'e-way bill' anytime during the transit to check tax evasion.

The draft rules provide that the person in-charge of the vehicle will be required to carry the invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan, and a copy of the e-way bill or its number should either be physically carried or mapped to a radio frequency identification device (RFID) embedded on to the vehicle.
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