The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has detected tax evasion of Rs 1.2 trillion, primarily involving the use of fake input tax credit, from 2020 to date, with a special emphasis on identifying and apprehending the masterminds and disrupting syndicates operating across the country, the finance ministry said in a release on Tuesday.
According to the release, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) intelligence department has identified about 59,000 potential fake firms for verification and further enquiry, while 170 individuals involved in fraud have been apprehended, as informed during the National Conference of enforcement chiefs of GST.
This comes in the backdrop of a fresh special drive being undertaken by both Central and State authorities to identify and weed out fake registrations.
The two-month special all-India drive was launched on August 16 and will run until October 15 to detect suspicious/fake GSTINs, conduct requisite verification, and take further remedial action to remove these fake billers from the GST ecosystem and safeguard government revenue.
While addressing the conference, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra stressed the importance of maintaining a fine balance between enforcement actions and ease of doing business. He urged the Central and State GST formations to focus on fake registrations during this special drive and emphasised the need to track the masterminds and beneficiaries of fake ITC so that strict action is taken to create the necessary deterrence effect.
Malhotra noted that recent changes implemented in the GST returns, such as GSTR-1A, would further aid efforts to tackle GST evasion in a systematic manner.
During the event, Sanjay Agarwal, Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), advised the enforcement units to focus on real evasion rather than interpretative issues and general industry practices. “Some of the best practices/guidelines issued to bring in uniformity in action and ensure ease of doing business were also deliberated,” the ministry said.
First Published: Aug 20 2024 | 9:22 PM IST
