LUDHIANA: In a major showdown with the Punjab government, the Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST) Commissionerate has strongly opposed its September 13 decision to change provisions of the intrastate e-way bill.The Chandigarh Zone commissionerate, which has jurisdiction over Punjab, Chandigarh and other states in the region, claimed the decision was taken without must consultation with its officials — a violation of state government’s rules under the Punjab Goods and Service Tax Rules, 2017.Manoranjan Kaur Virk, the Chandigarh-based chief commissioner, has written a formal complaint to Union government special secretary John Joseph, a member of the Central Board of Excise and Customs.‘Notification issued sans discussion’V irk alleged in the letter, a copy of which is with TOI, that the Punjab government and its taxation department had “unilaterally” made changes in the e-way bill rules and issued a notification without mandatory consultation with her office. She described the Punjab government’s move as a “flagrant disregard and contravention of rules.”“As no consultation was done with the undersigned, despite the undersigned having flagged several reservations, the notification has been issued contrary to provisions of the rules,” Virk wrote in the stronglyworded letter.She also requested guidance from Jospeh on the matter since “any action on her part may lead to a Centre vs state scenario".On August 29, Punjab excise and taxation commissioner Vivek Pratap Singh had written to Virk about the proposed changes to the e-way bill and had sought her views.In her reply on September 13, Virk wrote, “I fully concur with you that it should be our common endeavour to address problems being faced by some sector verticals... Given the sensitivity of the issue, it is requested that this matter be discussed in detail before a final decision is taken.”However, the Punjab government issued the notification on the same day without discussing the details as suggested by Virk.Despite repeated attempts, TOI could not contact Vivek Pratap Singh for his comments on the issue that is now becoming a major controversy.In her letter to Singh, the chief commissioner, according to a source, had written that the CGST department’s relaxation of doubling the exemption limit of e-way bill for all sectors would lead to some unscrupulous elements misusing the system without actually supplying goods and services She also gave the example of GST evasion on account of misuse of e-way bill and trading invoices unearthed in Mandi Gobindgarh recently to support her argument.The Centre is likely to take a call on Punjab’s unilateral decision to make changes in the e-way bill provisions at the GST Council meeting or directly in consultation with Punjab finance minister Manpreet Badal, the source added.The Punjab government is likely to have to reconsider the latest notification on the changes in the eway bill provisions.

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