Wednesday 4 April 2018


E-way Bills :Over 17 lakh e-way bills generated in 3 days

Over 17 lakh e-way bills for inter-state movement of goods have been generated by businesses and transporters since the launch of the GST anti-evasion measure on April 1, an official said today.

The number of e-way bills generated on its platform has been steadily rising with 2.59 lakh bills on April 1, followed by about 6.5 lakh and 8.15 lakh bills in the subsequent two days.

Among states, Gujarat tops the list of e-way bill generation with 3.6 lakh bills generated during April 1-3, followed by Karnataka at 2.65 lakh bills. Karnataka is the only state which has also launch e-way bill for intra-state movement of goods, along with inter-state.

"Going by the trend, the total number of e-way bills generation is likely to touch 9 lakh today. On a daily basis, we are expecting a 5-10 per cent increase in the generation of bills," an official told PTI.

From April 1, transporters of goods worth over Rs 50,000 have been mandated to generate an e-way bill, which would be required to be presented to a GST inspector, if asked.
This is being touted as an anti-evasion measure and would help boost tax collections by clamping down on trade that currently happens on cash basis.

The GST Council, last month, decided on a staggered roll out of the e-way bill starting with inter-state from April 1 and intra-state from April 15.
The official said a decision on which states should be in the first phase of intra-state roll out would be decided after stabilisation of the current e-way bill system for movement of goods from one state to another.

"We are seeing an uptrend in e-way bill generation. Once the number of such bill generation plateaus, a decision on intra-state launch would be taken," the official added.
Abhishek Jain, Partner at EY, said the e-way bill roll out has been smooth, in line with the government's promise of setting in motion a stabilised system. "The strategy of the government to introduce inter-state e-way bills in phase 1 and intra-state in later phases has worked out pretty well," Jain said.

The e-way bill provision of the goods and services tax (GST) was first introduced on February 1. However, its implementation was put on hold after the system developed glitches in generating permits. With several states also starting to generate intra-state e-way bills on the portal, the system developed a snag. Since then, the platform has been made more robust so that it can handle as many as 75 lakh inter-state e-way bills daily without any glitch. "Second innings of e-way bills is having a smooth run, and overall response from trade and industry is encouraging. In the last couple of days, not even a single grievance has come in on the technology front," AMRG & Associates Partner, Rajat Mohan, said.

Data retrieved from e-way bills would also support the government build analytics around tax collections on a real-time basis, Mohan added.The implementation of the nationwide e-way bill mechanism under GST regime is being done by GST Network in association with the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

Source : https://www.outlookindia.com   Dated 04-04-2018

Thursday 1 February 2018

Generate e-Way Bills on E-Way Bill Portal- Road Transportation
  1. Registration first time on the https://ewaybill7.nic.in/ewbnat1/
  2. Keep login/password (Confidential)
  3.  For new eway bill, Login to portal
  4.  Click on “Generate New” under new e-way bill
a)    Transaction Type:
       Select ‘Outward’ for supplier of consignment
       Select ‘Inward’ for recipient of consignment.

b)  Sub-type: Select the relevant sub-type applicable to you:

c)    Document type: Select either of Invoice / Bill/ challan/ credit note/ Bill of
  entry or  others if not Listed

d)   Document No. : Enter the document/invoice number

e)  Document Date: Select the date of Invoice or challan or Document.
      Note: The system will not allow the user to enter the future date.

f)  From/ To: Depending on whether you are a supplier or a recipient,
     enter the To / From section details.

Note: If the supplier/client is unregistered, then mention ‘URP’ in the field GSTIN, indicating that the supplier/client is an ‘Unregistered Person’.

g) Item Details: Add the details of the consignment (HSN code-wise) in this section:
·         Product name    
·         Description
·         HSN Code
·         Quantity,
·         Unit,
·         Value/Taxable value
·         Tax rates of CGST and SGST or IGST (in %)
·         Tax rate of Cess, if any charged (in %)
Note: On the implementation of E-way bills, Based on the details entered here, corresponding entries can also be auto-populated in the respective GST Return while filing on GST portal. 

h) Transporter details: The mode of transport(Road/rail/ship/air) and the approximate distance covered (in KM) needs to be compulsorily mentioned in this part.
Apart from above, Either of the details can be mentioned:
1.    Transporter name, transporter ID, transporter Doc. No. & Date.
                                                OR
1.    Vehicle number in which consignment is being transported.

Note: For products, clients/customers, suppliers, and transporters that are used regularly, first update the ‘My masters’ section also available on the login dashboard and then proceed.

    5   Click on ‘Submit’ system validates data and throws up an error if any
         
          Otherwise, your request is processed and the e-way bill in Form EWB-01 form with a 
          unique 12 digit number is generated. 

Print and carry the e-way bill for transporting the goods 

Sunday 28 January 2018


This is what logistics sector startups expect from the FY19 Budget

ith the GST, and a newly-accorded infrastructure status, what will this February 1 Budget mean for logistics?
The February 1 Union Budget will have all eyes trained on it; and not just for the usual reasons. This will be the first Budget after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, and the last for the current BJP-led NDA government before the general elections in 2019.
The FY19 budget will also hold higher relevance for the logistics sector as it was accorded infrastructure status in November last year.
While Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said the upcoming Budget would not be populist, industry experts believe otherwise, and many are sceptical of the sops that might be announced.
Budgetary allocations aside, the one announcement in the last Budget that roused a good deal of excitement in the startup space was that logistics startups, like HipShip, and young logistics companies like Delhivery, Blackbuck, Rivigo, and Shadowfax, were allowed to use railways for end-to-end solutions.


The logistics sector includes road transport - comprising small businesses, truck fleets, and large transport companies - the warehousing sector, and third-party logistics companies, both big and small. With the growth of technology and digital commerce, logistics has a stronger role than ever before, and naturally, the focus on it is greater.
What lies in store for the logistics sector this Budget?
The Union Budget for 2017-18 earmarked Rs 2.4 lakh crore for the transport industry, of which Rs 1 lakh crore was for the Railways, and Rs 64,000 crore for national highways.
Jayaram Raju, Co-founder of LOBB, a logistics startup, explains:
“Imagine a startup has to ship one ton of oranges from a farm to the closest railway station at Rs 3 per km, and be loaded onto special perishable containers. When the train reaches its destination, the same startup picks up the items, and ships them off to warehouses. From there, the produce is sent out to kirana stores and retailers. All these services today are based on technology, and will have the smartphone at the centre of the ordering mechanism.”
So, what are startups expecting from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley?
  • Better representation of issues and a seat at the table in the ministry 

Ajay Rao, Co-founder, Emiza, a Mumbai-based third-party logistics firm, says:


The recognition of logistics with industry status was a major milestone for the sector. We expect to see a lot of sector-specific policies, and better representation of our issues. More importantly, a seat at the table in the ministry. It is still early days, but the path has been laid for the sector's development.
  • Increase allocation for infrastructure and agriculture 

Venu Kondur, Co-founder, Lobb, a Bengaluru-based logistics tech startup, says:
The key expectations are to increase allocation for infrastructure and in agriculture. If this happens, the logistics sector will benefit going forward as domestic consumption is rising.
  • Reforms, rules, and taxes for the e-commerce industry 

Nishith Rastogi, Co-founder, Locus, Logistics startup, says:
With the emphasis on the data penetration boom, e-commerce is a major opportunity for the entire logistics industry. The upcoming budget will see reforms, rules and taxes being framed for the entire e-commerce industry, which, if done properly, can boost the entire sector, as has happened across the world.A populist FY19 budget?
The 2017-18 budget was balanced, industry participants say, and did not cater to populist demands. However, if the fear of a populist budget this time comes true, one can expect an increase in indirect taxes, huge waivers of agricultural and SMEs loans, and higher government spending on agriculture, and textile industries.
“If the budget is populist, then banks may tighten up credit for other sectors, and it could slow the economy,” says Jayaram.
Road Logistics India.Image credit: Irfan

The growth of Logistics

Cost of logistics in India is higher as compared with the US and China, and an Assocham report suggests India can save close to $50 billion if logistics costs drop to 9 percent of GDP from 13 percent now. This, in turn, would also bring down prices of products.
A report in the Mint newspaper, which analysed data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy’s industrial base, says that between 2010 and 2015, all logistics subsectors saw a decline in profitability. The average operating efficiency during the period was seven percent for the road transport sector, and 20 percent for the storage sector.
In 2017-18, the government, initiated several public-private infrastructure projects with major players which has led to faster execution, creation of a stable ecosystem, and a boost to the job market, and the economy.
“The government has been bullish on reforming the logistics and infrastructure sector, which was evident from the 10 percent increase in transport infrastructure budget allocation in 2017-18. In addition, funds were allocated for the Sagarmala project, to build multimodal logistics parks, and to develop coastal roadways,” explains Nishith.
He says these measures gave a boost to the shipping industry, and would lead to around 20 percent year-on-year growth.
Rail logistics sector.Image credit: Irfan

GST impact 

The logistics sector has seen a paradigm shift post implementation of the GST as various indirect taxes made way for the unified tax. In fact, the indirect tax regime changed the way companies strategised their supply chain operations as they did not need to worry about local taxes like Octroi. Citing an example, Nishith says Nagpur saw land prices skyrocket as warehousing opportunities opened up following the scrapping of local taxes.
Also, with the GST, there was consolidation of warehouses across clients, resulting in fewer full truck load stock transfers, and increased direct billing from a central warehouse to the customer. “This has resulted in a direct growth in lower truck load business opportunities for Emiza,” says Ajay.
The last budget also allowed 100 percent foreign direct investment in warehousing, making it easier for foreign players to comply with the single point GST norms.
“In the GST regime, it is imperative for every stakeholder in the ecosystem to upload tax. If one does not, the party that has sold the goods forces the receiving party to do so immediately, or else faces the burden of not getting input tax credit,” says Nikhil Rungta, Managing Director of Intuit India.
He says the indirect tax regime has made every member in the chain more accountable to pay tax.
Nishith believes the efficiency of the supply chain can be improved by as much as 30 percent due to the goods and services tax going forward. Locus, for instance, has helped several major corporations save 10-25 percent by applying innovative, technological solutions to the supply chain.
Companies, however, negotiate margins with their sales channels, including e-commerce channels, as margins fall under the GST.
Vikas Lachhwani, Co-founder of MCaffeine, a skincare brand, says:
“The first quarter showed us that many brands lost money because a lot of the goods were being sold under pre-GST rates. We renegotiated contracts again with e-commerce companies.” He adds that with GST, he is still bullish because Indian domestic consumption is on the rise, and capturing tax at each source is essential for growth of the economy.
The FY19 budget still needs to address some issues around GST. Also, there is a lot of confusion about transportation companies operating as General Transport Agencies (GTA) or as a courier service, and therefore the applicability of GST on them.
“Companies that operate as a GTA do not get the benefit of offsetting GST expenses incurred by them, thereby increasing their costs. To me, if the government came up with a single tax GST tax structure for GTAs like 5 percent, and allowed us to collect that from our clients and deposit it on their behalf, it would allow us to offset the GST charged to us. If the upcoming budget can address some of these concerns, it could be a game changer for the sector,” says Ajay.
(With inputs from Vishal Krishna) 
Source :  https://yourstory.com/

Sunday 26 November 2017

Why these 5 industries will soon pick virtual assistants instead of hiring you

Monday 20 November 2017

The LOBB Story: Bringing Digital experience and efficiency in to Logistics

A year ago Bhaskar Bonepalli, a veteran agent of the logistics industry, would be troubled with calls throughout the day to arrange trucks to meet requirements of operators. He often had to call these truckers and head to the truck stop in Hoskote, where he is located, to arrange trips. Entered LOBB, the two year old startup, which went ahead and took away the headache of physical discovery of business from operators. Today Bhaskar sits at home and he knows how many logistics companies or operators require trucks and he absolutely knows how many trucks in his network are available. LOBB is an acronym for Logistics Business to Business. It is a technology company that brings truckers, agents,logistics companies and businesses all under one platform where there is seamless integration of business and flow of money.

The logistics company puts in its request on LOBB and this information is available to agents who immediately provision a certain numbers of trucks. From there on LOBB pays the truckers an advance and provide them details of the shipment and the destination for dropping the cargo off. This system makes everyone in the ecosystem agree upon a price and service. The trucker gets his money and also has a diesel card, which allows him to redeem for fuel in any HP bunk across PAN India. Being a powerful tool it has now more than 10000 truckers on its platform along with more than 200 large companies integrated on the platform. “My asset utilisation has increased thanks to the company,” says Bhaskar Bonepalli, who owns Bhavya Roadlines.

What can LOBB do for you?

It is estimated that India spends 13 percent of its GDP on logistics. This is a very high number because globally in a developing economy the logistics cost is around 8 percent. The Indian number is very high because of the lack of transparency in the ecosystem.
 Shivkumar, Head of South Region, for Inland Logistics in Chennai says that with LOBB’s app there has been absolute price transparency and availability of business. “I always found trucks serving us through their ecosystem and they help a company like us who are in constant need of trucks to move items,” he says. The availability on a real time basis is made possible only because there are a number of agents who have taken to this system because their asset utilisation has increased and they want to receive money digitally.

Thingal, the manager of fleet company VR links, agrees with Bhaskar. He says “Truck utilisation, transparency and digital payments are key features of LOBB. They are a very disruptive company” 

Today LOBB has all its agents receiving money through NPCI’s BHIM app, which makes the 
 system accountable. If you ask the LOBB founder Venu Kondur and Jayaram Raju about their journey to make this system go digital, they will tell you that they addressed the problem by figuring out the pain points in the entire ecosystem. The pain points were:

For the trucker: It was to increase asset utilization.
For the Agent: It was to increase revenues with asset utilization.
For the operators: It was to provide timely trucks.
For companies: It was to ensure price efficiency and digital transparency across the system.

“We had to integrate all these processes on to our system,” says Jayaram Raju. He says that they have even been able to decrease graft in the system. With LOBB putting the entire system together there is absolute information symmetry. Today the company has grown 20X in last 10 months and is already making a dent in the logistics ecosystem in trucking centres across south India. 

With 90 percent of Indian logistics being disorganised, LOBB is definitely a refreshing model that can map consumption and demand through trucking trips, and has the potential to scale up soon. Now, only time will tell if the truckers and agents take to using this technology. 

Monday 6 November 2017

One Year after Demonetisation,  100% Cashless Transactions@LOBB


SMBs exorcise the demonetisation demon, make a slow comeback





















Source : https://yourstory.com/2017/11/one-year-demonetisation-smbs-slow-comeback/