E-way bill generation set to shoot up 19% in May

The rise signals strong economic activity supported by seasonal, policy and compliance factors.

- Gireesh Chandra Prasad

NEW DELHI: 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.