E-way bill generation surged to a record 140.6 million in March, reflecting buoyant business activity and improved compliance under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, according to data from the GST Network portal. The figure marks a 12.9% year-on-year increase. It surpassed the previous all-time high of 138.39 million recorded in December last year.
An e-way bill is an electronic document generated on the portal that evidences the movement of goods and indicates whether tax has been paid on them. Under Rule 138 of the CGST Rules, 2017, every registered person must generate an e-way bill for the movement of goods (not necessarily on account of supply) with a consignment value exceeding ₹50,000. The threshold can be lower for intra-state movements.
Saurabh Agarwal, Tax Partner at EY India, attributed the high volumes to strong on-ground economic activity, including year-end dispatches, inventory rationalisation, and robust trading momentum. “The data clearly indicates that consumption-led demand remains resilient across sectors, despite geopolitical tensions across the globe,” he said.
Krishan Arora, Partner and Indirect Tax Leader, Grant Thornton Bharat said that the increased e-way bill activity in March could be attributable to contingency and panic demands, larger inventorisation of raw material and finished goods across the country. “It needs to be seen whether this spike will continue with continued uncertainties for the time being despite the temporary war ceasefire,” Arora said.
Ikesh Nagpal, Lead–Indirect Tax at AKM Global, described the record as an encouraging sign of strong business activity and improved compliance, particularly driven by year-end commercial momentum. However, he cautioned that any sustained rise in goods movement could exert pressure on logistics costs, given the volatility and elevated levels of international crude oil prices. “This is something businesses will need to watch closely in the coming months,” Nagpal said.
Arora said that the continued surge in e-way bills until February signified sustained business activity in India coupled with increased momentum in supply chain activity. “While some of the surge continued as a spillover in March, with escalated war-related global disruptions and economic uncertainties, the increased e-way bill activity could be attributable to contingency and panic demands,” Arora said.
Agarwal noted that the government’s continued push for technology through e-invoicing, real-time GSTN integration, and tighter compliance frameworks is deepening formalisation and expanding the tax reporting base. While some manufacturing sentiment indicators have moderated, the divergence appears largely technical, as e-way bills reflect actual goods movement across the broader economy, he added.