For the first time, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has detected the highest-ever number of tax evasion cases, totalling approximately 6,084 cases involving ₹2.01 lakh crore of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2023-24.
According to the annual report of the DGGI, the central investigation and anti-evasion arm of the GST, the sectors with the highest evasion were online gaming and BFSI (Banking, Financial Services and Insurance) in services, followed by iron, copper, scrap, and alloys in goods.
The evasion detected in FY24 is double the ₹1.01 lakh crore reported in 2022-23 across 4,872 cases.
In FY24, evaders made voluntary payments towards due taxes totalling ₹26,605 crore, an increase from ₹20,713 crore in 2022-23.
The report reveals that around 46% of the evasion cases were related to non-payment of tax (via clandestine supply and undervaluation), 20% involved fake Input Tax Credit (ITC), and 19% concerned the wrongful availment or non-reversal of ITC.
In terms of sectors, online gaming witnessed the highest evasion in 2023-24, with ₹81,875 crore evaded across 78 cases, followed by BFSI, which saw evasion of ₹18,961 crore across 171 cases. Works contract services and pharmaceuticals reported 343 and 22 cases of evasion, with tax amounts of ₹2,846 crore and ₹40 crore, respectively.
Additionally, in 2023-24, 1,976 cases of GST evasion were detected in the iron, copper, scrap, and alloys sectors, involving ₹16,806 crore in evaded taxes.
Pan masala, tobacco, cigarettes, and bidi ranked second, with 212 cases involving an evasion of ₹5,794 crore. Plywood, timber, and paper accounted for 238 cases, amounting to ₹1,196 crore in evaded taxes. Electronic items had 23 cases (₹1,165 crore), followed by marble, granite, and tiles with 235 cases (₹315 crore).
During the 2023-24 fiscal year, the total GST evasion detected by DGGI officers and Central GST zones exceeded ₹2.37 lakh crore across 20,576 cases. This included ₹2.01 lakh crore identified by the DGGI in 6,084 cases and ₹35,377 crore by CGST zones in 14,492 cases.
What is concerning is the growing trend of evasion, although the DGGI continues to work diligently to help curb revenue leakage, sources said.
Since the implementation of GST in 2017, the detection of tax evasion by the DGGI has been steadily rising, with ₹7,879 crore detected in 2017-18, ₹19,319 crore in 2018-19, ₹21,739 crore in 2019-20, ₹31,908 crore in 2020-21, and ₹50,325 crore in 2021-22, according to the report.
Source: CNBCTV18
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