NEW DELHI : Federal indirect tax body the goods and services tax council on Saturday decided to extend the interim procedural relaxations available to exporters, small businesses and e-commerce firms by three to six months and made e-way bills compulsory for inter-state shipment of goods from 1 April.

The council also decided to retain the current tax return filing system for another three months before it could be replaced with a simpler version with safeguards against tax evasion.

The decisions to roll out electronic permits for inter-state shipment of goods from the beginning of next fiscal and to build in new safeguards in the proposed new return filing process indicate that the risk of tax evasion is worrying members of the council.

Briefing reporters after the GST Council meeting here, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said electronic way or e-way bill for movement of goods between states will be implemented from April 1. However, for intra-state movement the e-way bill would be rolled out in a phased manner beginning April 15 and will cover all the states by June 1.
The Council could not decide on a simplified GST return form and entrusted the ministerial panel under Sushil Modi to chalk out a single page form which is simpler and evasion proof. Jaitley said the current system of GST return filing has been extended by three months. Besides, tax exemptions to exporters have also been extended by six months to September.(With pti Inputs).