SC declines interference in the matter of absence of e way bill and intent to tax evasion

Is an e-way bill violation automatically tax evasion? Not quite.

The Allahabad High Court held that after 1 April 2018, e-way bill generation is mandatory, and its absence creates a rebuttable presumption of evasion. 

But here, the case went further, the goods were also allegedly misclassified to pay GST at 5% instead of 18%. The Supreme Court has now declined to interfere, leaving the ruling intact. The message: no e-way bill is one thing; no e-way bill plus tax-rate manipulation is quite another.