Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman Launches E-Bill System

Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman Launches E-Bill System On the 46th Civil Accounts Day, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, introduced the e-Bill system for Central Government Ministries here today. The new technology, which will be introduced in stages, will eliminate paper from the bill submission and backend processing processes. As a result, it is an important step in achieving the aim of "Digital India" and increasing the ease of doing business. The system's goals are as follows:

a) Allow all government vendors/suppliers to file bills/claims at any time and from any location.

b) Remove all physical contact between suppliers and government officials.

c) Increase the efficiency with which bills/claims are processed.

d) Reduce discretion in bill processing by using the "First-In-First-Out" (FIFO) procedure.

Suppliers of various goods and services to the government are currently required to produce physical, ink-signed copies of their bills to the respective Ministries/Departments/Offices of the Government of India. Similarly, government employees must present paper copies of their claims as well. Bills are processed in the backend using a hybrid system of physical and digital modalities. As a result, suppliers/vendors or their representatives must come to the offices to deliver bills. Furthermore, they are unable to track the status of their bills' processing. Vendors/suppliers can upload their bills online along with supporting documents from the comfort of their homes/offices at any time using a digital signature under the newly released e-Bill system. For those who do not have a digital signature, the option to e-sign using Aadhaar has been made available. As a result, suppliers will no longer be required to visit the relevant offices for this reason. At the backend, the electronic bill received will be processed digitally by the authorities at each stage, and the payments will be credited digitally to the vendor's bank account. The vendor/supplier would be able to track the status of their invoices' processing online. As a result, the new method would increase efficiency and transparency in the system, and it is a significant citizen-centric decision by the Government of India. The e-Bill system was created by the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) Division in the office of the Controller General of Accounts in the Ministry of Finance's Department of Expenditure. The bills will be processed according to the First-In-First-Out (FIFO) principle. The system was initially implemented in the nine Pay and Accounting Units of the nine Ministries/Departments listed below:

1) PAO Ministry of Food Processing Industry

2) PAO, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemical and Fertiliser

3) PAO, Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology

4) PAO (CGA HQ), Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance

5) PAO (PFMS Division), Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance

6) PAO, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

7) PAO (Census), Ministry of Home Affairs

8) PAO M/o Steel

9) PAO (NIC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

The e-Bill system will be rolled out in other Ministries/Departments in a phased manner in 2022-23. Aside from encouraging ease of doing business and providing convenience to lakhs of vendors/suppliers, the e-Bill system will be environmentally beneficial, removing the need to submit crores of paper invoices annually and thereby saving tonnes of paper each year. The e-Bill system has a sophisticated digital storage facility for document retrieval as well as a rigorous audit trail.