Ahmedabad: Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has deferred proposed changes to the e-way bill system that were scheduled to take effect from Aug 1, providing businesses and logistics operators more time to prepare for the new compliance requirements.In an advisory dated July 29, GSTN said the proposed enhancements were kept in abeyance until further notice. The move means taxpayers can continue generating e-way bills under the existing process, without making immediate changes to their accounting software, ERP systems or API-based platforms.The deferment is particularly significant for businesses involved in “Bill-To, Ship-To” transactions. Under this arrangement, an invoice is raised in the name of one buyer while goods are delivered to a third party at the buyer’s instructions.The proposed system change required businesses to mandatorily report the “Ship-To GSTIN” while generating an e-way bill. Where the consignee was unregistered, the field was required to be marked “URP” (Unregistered Person).Chartered accountant Deep Thakkar, co-chairman of the Indirect Tax Committee of the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), said the postponement would prevent immediate operational disruptions.“A Bill-To, Ship-To transaction under GST involves a three-party chain where the invoice is raised to the buyer, but goods are physically delivered to a third party on the buyer’s instruction. The proposed system change requiring mandatory reporting of the Ship-To GSTIN while generating an e-way bill has not been implemented from Aug 1. GSTN has deferred the proposal, and the existing e-way bill generation process continues unchanged,” he said.Thakkar said the additional time would be particularly useful for MSMEs that depend on transporters for e-way bill generation. It would allow businesses and technology providers to modify systems for field-level validations and reduce the risk of inadvertent non-compliance.GSTN also deferred a proposed voluntary facility for closure of e-way bills.Industry stakeholders had raised concerns that the changes would require accounting software providers, ERP platforms and API-based systems to undergo significant reconfiguration, potentially affecting dispatch operations.Chartered accountant Karim Lakhani said businesses should use the deferment to clean and map master data, particularly delivery addresses and consignee identifiers, so that any future rollout can be implemented with fewer errors and disruptions.
