DATE EXTENDED ! Modi government takes this big decision - All you need to know

In a major development, the Modi government has extended the validity of all e-way bills that were set to expire during the period of the first lockdown to May 31. As per a notification issued by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the validity has been extended for all e-way bills which were generated on or before March 24 and were to expire between the period from March 20 to April 15.

The extension will be a big relief for traders who secured e-way for inter-state/intra-state movement of goods but were unable to utilise the bill as lockdown prevented any movement. 

E-Way Bill is a unique document/bill, which is electronically generated for the specific consignment/movement of goods from one place to another, either inter-state or intra-state. It is an important aspect of the GST regime.

Earlier on Wednesday, a notification was issued by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) that any registered person during the period from the April 21, 2020 to June 30, 2020, will be allowed to furnish the return under section 39 in Form GSTR-3B verified through electronic verification code (EVC). What it means is that the Modi government has allowed businesses to verify the return through EVC till June 30, keeping in view the requirement of digital signature delaying monthly GST return filings and tax payment.
Currently, businesses are required to digitally sign GSTR-3B form while filing monthly return and paying taxes. However, with offices shut due to the lockdown, businesses are unable to generate digital signature which has led to delay in filing returns.

Further, the CBIC has also introduced a new rule in Central GST rules stipulating furnishing of 'Nil' return by short messaging service (SMS) facility. This means businesses with nil or no entry in all the tables in form GSTR-3B can file return through SMS using the registered mobile number and the said return will be verified by a registered mobile number based one time password (OTP) facility.