The previous record was set in December 2025 at 138.39 million.

On a month-on-month basis, March saw a 6.04 per cent rise from February's 132.59 million.

E-way bills have been consistently touching new peaks since the government carried out GST rate rationalisation in September.

The electronically generated document is mandatory under the GST regime for transporting goods worth more than Rs 50,000 and is designed to curb tax evasion while enabling real-time tracking of consignments across states.

Experts offered a mixed reading of the numbers. Abhishek A Rastogi, founder of Rastogi Chambers, said the spike reflects better compliance and robust goods movement but cautioned against reading it as a direct indicator of economic growth.

"Going forward, the focus must shift from volume to quality, ensuring ease of compliance through system stability, faster dispute resolution, and uniform enforcement. This will determine whether the trend reflects genuine formalisation or compliance-led inflation in reporting," Rastogi said.

Prashanth Agarwal, partner with Price Waterhouse & Co LLP, said, "The surge in e-way bill generation to a record high in March clearly reflects the impact of GST rate rationalisation which is ensuring a larger drive towards formalisation of economy. The trend reflects a stronger consumption demand coupled with deeper GST compliances."

Krishan Arora, partner at Grant Thornton Bharat, noted that while some of the March activity reflects continued business momentum, part of it could stem from panic demand and inventory buildup amid global uncertainties. "It needs to be seen whether this spike will continue with the uncertainties for the time being despite the temporary war ceasefire," Arora said.

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