GST data may be used to book trucks

NEW DELHI: E-way bills were meant to speed up shipments on road and improve tracking to check leakages. But it is throwing up data, which can now be used by transporters and companies for better logistics management.

The GSTN, which has put in place the technology backbone for the new tax regime, is now toying with the idea to set up a platform where companies can use the data on truck movement to ship their goods. “With the help of eway bills, we know the number of trucks that are headed to a particular city or town. This can be used to help people book trucks, if the government permits,” said GSTN CEO Prakash Kumar.

The tax filing portal and the e-way bill platform are generating tonnes of data, which can help track trends in the economy besides checking evasion and leakages. He said GSTN has developed tools that will improve compliance.

Kumar said analysis of HSN code used to classify products in e-way bill helps track the movement of commodities and also analyse pockets where there is a surplus. “We know which are the hubs,” he said. He said the potential of data analytics is huge as it helps not only to improve compliance but also helps in policymaking.

The data analytics can be done on how same kind of taxpayers are behaving and also on circular trade for tracking actual movement of goods. “Once you have data at one place, there are techniques and we have started analysing. We will be developing tools for our tax officers so that they can do it themselves,” Kumar said.