Blocking of E-way Bill after 15/10/2020

As of today, every person knows about E-way bill under GST. Basically, E-way bill is a document required for movement of goods through motorised vehicle.

To ensure better compliance rate in filing of returns under GST and to ensure timely payment of taxes to government exchequer, the provisions of E-way bill are now linked with GST returns’ filing profile of registered person. Thus, where a registered person fails to file returns for specified period, he could not use E-way bill generation facility untill he files his due returns. The generation of E-way bill facility will remain blocked till that time.

In this article, we will go through the provisions of Blocking of E-way bill.

Rule 138E of CGST Rules, 2017 as amended from time to time, provides that no person shall be allowed to furnish the information in E-way bill in respect of a registered person, who :-

• Being a person registered under Composition Scheme, has not filed CMP-08 for consecutive two quarters; or
  

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• Being a person registered as regular dealer, has not filed GSTR-3B for consecutive two tax periods; or
  

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• Being a person registered as regular dealer, has not filed GSTR-1 for two months or quarters as the case may be; or
  

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• Being a person, whose registration has been suspended under the following provisions of rule 21A of CGST Rules 2017:-
  • Where a registered person has applied for cancellation of registration under rule 20, the registration shall be deemed to be suspended from the date of submission of the application or the date from which the cancellation is sought, whichever is later, pending the completion of proceedings for cancellation of registration under rule 22.
  • Where the proper officer has reasons to believe that the registration of a person is liable to be cancelled under section 29 or under rule 21, he may, after affording the said person a reasonable opportunity of being heard, suspend the registration of such person with effect from a date to be determined by him, pending the completion of the proceedings for cancellation of registration under rule 22.
  • Where, a comparison of the returns furnished by a registered person under section 39 with
    • (a) the details of outward supplies furnished in FORM GSTR-1; or
    • (b) the details of inward supplies derived based on the details of outward supplies furnished by his suppliers in their FORM GSTR-1,
      or such other analysis, as may be carried out on the recommendations of the Council, show that there are significant differences or anomalies indicating contravention of the provisions of the Act or the rules made thereunder, leading to cancellation of registration of the said person, his registration shall be suspended and the said person shall be intimated in FORM GST REG-31, electronically, on the common portal, or by sending a communication to his e-mail address provided at the time of registration or as amended from time to time, highlighting the said differences and anomalies and asking him to explain, within a period of thirty days, as to why his registration shall not be cancelled.”;

W.e.f. 18th May 2021, the provisions for blocking of e-way bill shall be applicable only for outward supplies by a registered person who has not complied the above provisions. Refer CGST N/N 15/2021

Due to Corona virus pandemic, the provisions for blocking of e-way bill were kept in abeyance. As per Notification No. 79/2020 dated 15/10/2020, following proviso has been added w.e.f. 20th March 2020: –

“Provided also that the said restriction shall not apply during the period from the 20th day of March, 2020 till the 15th day of October, 2020 in case where the return in FORM GSTR-3B or the statement of outward supplies in FORM GSTR-1 or the statement in FORM GST CMP-08, as the case may be, has not been furnished for the period February, 2020 to August, 2020.”

GSTIN Advisory for Blocking of E-way Bill Facility w.e.f. 15th October, 2020

So, till 15th October 2020, there was no blockage of E-way bill facility even though returns were not filed.

Recently, GST Council in its meeting has decided that Blocking of E-way Bill will be made applicable for the taxpayers whose Aggregate Annual Turn Over (AATO, PAN based) is more than Rs 5 Crores.

On 10th October, GST portal has issued an advisory that if the GSTIN associated with the respective PAN (with Aggregate annual turnover over Rs 5 Cr.) has failed to file their GSTR-3B Return for 02 or more tax periods, up to the tax period of  August, 2020, their EWB generation facility will be blocked on the EWB Portal after 15th October 2020.

However, these provisions are not yet incorporated in CGST Rules. This time, GST portal has acted before the law. Whereas most of times, it acts too late that the provisions in law becomes too old to memorise the same.

Thus, effectively, w.e.f. 16th October 2020, E-way bill blocking provisions will be applicable on registered persons having Aggregate annual turnover over Rs 5 Crore in previous financial year.

To correct the position as per existing provisions of law, GSTIN come back with an update on 16/11/2020 regarding blocking of E-way Bill, which is reproduced below:-