E-way bills rise 19% year-on-year in May

The data also suggested that despite the uncertainty around exports factory output is holding up

- Gireesh Chandra Prasad

Electronic permits raised by businesses and traders for shipping goods within and across states shot up to 122.7 million in May, second only to the record 124.5 million raised in March, suggesting brisk economic activity in the second month of the current fiscal year.

Data from GSTN, the company that processes GST returns, showed that e-way bill generation, which saw a small drop in April, rose nearly 3% month-on-month and 19% year-on-year in May.

The data also suggested that despite the uncertainty around exports in the wake of a 10% universal baseline import tariff imposed by the US—India's largest export market—factory output is holding up. The 10% tariff came into effect on 5 April, but the higher country-specific tariff of 26% on India has been suspended during the ongoing trade talks.