The e-way bills — an electronic permit generated for the movement of goods worth more than Rs 50,000 under the GST framework — stood at 129.8 million in November, the third-highest monthly total so far. It grew by nearly 28 per cent year-on-year and 2.4 per cent sequentially from 126.85 million in October. It hit a record high in September at 132 million.
How does the spike in e-way bills link to broader growth and forecasts?
The surge in goods movement mirrors broader macroeconomic momentum, with the economy expanding 8.2 per cent in the July-September quarter of FY26, the fastest pace in six quarters, compared with 5.6 per cent a year ago. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently raised its full-year FY26 GDP growth projection to 7.3 per cent from 6.8 per cent, while the Asian Development Bank has lifted its forecast to 7.2 per cent, citing strong domestic consumption supported by the rural economy and GST-related reforms.
Will higher e-way bill generation translate into stronger GST collections?
An tax expert said that while there has been a broad-based increase in supplies at the macro level, it is still too early to predict whether this will translate into higher GST collections, especially in the backdrop of significant rate cuts. “From a broader economic standpoint, the trend points to a pickup in economic activity and supply-side momentum,” he added.
What are experts saying about trade activity and consumption recovery?
Stock momentum picked up in November, aided by festive-season demand, stronger-than-expected economic growth, and the impact of GST 2.0 reforms, according to another tax expert. Reflecting the pickup in trade activity, e-way bill generation rose 28 per cent year-on-year in November, reinforcing signs of a broad-based recovery in consumption and logistics movement, he added.
What corrective steps has the government taken in the e-way bill system?
In addition, the government has acknowledged earlier systemic deficiencies in the e-way bill system flagged by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, and said corrective measures have now been put in place. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said issues such as “generation of multiple e-way bills for the same invoice, e-way bills by non-filers, and e-way bill generation by cancelled GSTINs” had been noted.
He added that the system now “does not permit the use of the same document number with the same date for generating more than one e-way bill”, blocks e-way bill generation for taxpayers who have not filed their previous three returns, and does not allow bills to be generated against cancelled GSTINs.
