A high-level group of ministers (GoM ) lead by Goa CM Pramod Sawant met on Friday to assess the state of GST revenue collections and ways to prevent tax leakages. In this meeting, the finance ministers of several states discussed tax evasion and coordinated efforts to curb fraudulent practices.
“we have discussed revenue trends and GST collection in detail. Special attention was given to tax evasion and many states shared their actions and experiences to deal with it.” said Goa CM Pramod Sawant.
Punjab Finance Minister and GoM member Harpal Singh Cheema raised concern over the large-scale input tax credit (ITC) fraud taking place across the country. “There is an ITC fraud of about Rs 2 lakh crore in the country. Due to this fraud, Punjab is facing a loss of Rs 47,000 crore. All the states discussed and proposed various measures to control it,” the minister said.
Harpal Singh Cheema said concrete recommendations for strong enforcement are likely to be finalised in the next GoM meeting, which will then be presented before the GST Council. Sources present in the meeting said this could include stringent scrutiny, data integration across states and better use of analytics to detect anomalies.
When asked about the date of next GST Council meeting , the minister said that there will be a meeting of officials before the GST Council meeting. The date of the next council meeting is yet to be decided.
What is ITC fraud?
GST was introduced with the promise of seamless credit for goods and services through the supply chain. One of the key components of the GST system is Input Tax Credit (ITC), which represents GST paid by registered taxpayers on the purchase of goods and services for business purposes. ITC is considered a crucial element of the GST regime, as without it, taxes would have a cascading effect, leading to increased costs for businesses.
Source: ET NOW
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