The Goods and Services Tax Network ( GSTN ) has issued an advisory to the Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) Taxpayers on the extension of e-way bills expired on 31st December, which could not be renewed due to a portal glitch on New Year’s Eve.
Read More: GST e-Way Bill, e-Invoice Generation: The Year End Mess Up
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The advisory issued on New Year by the GSTN states as follows: —
“It is hereby informed that the technical challenges encountered in the e-way bill generation process have been resolved, and the portal is now functioning smoothly. In connection with the technical issues faced earlier, the following facilitation measures have been put in place:
1. Extension of Expired E-Way Bills:
(a) As per the existing procedure, e-way bills that expired at midnight on 31st December, 2024, could be extended either within 8 hours prior to the expiry or 8 hours after the expiry..
(b) Due to the technical glitch, this process was disrupted. To mitigate the impact, the window period for extending the e-way bills expiring on 31st December, 2024, has been extended up to 1st January, 2025, midnight. Taxpayers and transporters are advised to utilize the “Extend EWB” facility on the portal to extend these e-way bills, if required.
2. Generation of E-Way Bills for Goods Moved During the Glitch:
(a) payers and transporters who moved goods on 31st December 2024 without generating e-way bills due to the technical issues are hereby advised to generate the necessary e-way bills on 1st January 2025 using the existing facility on the portal.
Your cooperation in ensuring compliance with the e-way bill requirements is appreciated. For any assistance, taxpayers may contact the helpline or visit the portal support page.”
To mitigate the inconvenience and address immediate concerns, GSTN had implemented the following emergency measures:
Extension for Expiring e-Way Bills: e-Way bills set to expire on December 31, 2024, will be granted a one-day extension once the portal is operational again. This ensures that taxpayers do not face penalties or compliance issues due to the portal outage.
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Permission to Move Goods Without e-Way Bills: Taxpayers and transporters unable to generate e-way bills during this period are permitted to move goods. However, they are required to generate the necessary e-way bills once the portal is restored. This measure aims to avoid disruptions in supply chains while ensuring compliance after the resolution of technical issues.
The GSTN had assured taxpayers that communication regarding the restoration of the portal will be issued promptly. In the meantime, the authorities have requested patience and cooperation from the stakeholders. In the meantime, users were allowed to use the GST e-invoice and e-waybill secondary URLs to access the functionality.
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