GST 2.0 pushes eway Bill volumes to third-highest ever at 129.8 mn in Nov

E-way bill generation climbed to 129.8 million in November, the third-highest monthly total so far, rising 28 per cent year-on-year as trade activity strengthened and controls to curb misuse tightened

The e-way bill — an electronic permit generated for the movement of goods worth over ₹50,000 under the goods and services tax (GST) framework — stood at 129.8 million (in number) in November, the third-highest monthly total so far.

 

It grew by nearly 28 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) and 2.4 per cent sequentially from 126.85 million in October. It touched a record high in September at 132 million.

 

The surge in goods movement mirrors the broader macroeconomic momentum, with the economy expanding a robust 8.2 per cent in the July-September quarter of FY26. This is the fastest pace in six quarters. It was 5.6 per cent a year ago.

 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had also recently raised its full-year FY26 gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection to 7.3 per cent from 6.8 per cent. Asian Development Bank has lifted its forecast to 7.2 per cent, citing strong domestic consumption supported by rural economy and GST-related reforms.

 

Abhishek Jain, partner at KPMG, said 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 after the significant rate cuts.

 

“From a broader economic standpoint, the trend points to a pickup in economic activity and supply-side momentum,” he added.

 

Stock momentum picked up in November, aided by festival season demand, stronger-than-expected economic growth, and the impact of GST 2.0 reforms, according to Manoj Mishra, partner at Grant Thornton Bharat.

 

Reflecting the pickup in trade activity, e-way bill generation rose 28 per cent Y-o-Y in November, reinforcing signs of a broad-based recovery in consumption and logistics movement, he added.

 

In addition, the government has also acknowledged earlier systemic deficiencies in the e-way bill system flagged by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. It said that corrective measures have now been put in place.

 

In a recent written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that 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 goods & services tax identification numbers (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.

 

It also 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.