Source: The Times of India
The anti-evasion wing of the CGST Commissionerate , Kolhapur, launched a major crackdown on Wednesday, conducting simultaneous searches and inspections at the establishments of seven prominent builders and developers across the city. The action was initiated over alleged misuse of input tax credit (ITC) and large-scale tax evasion.
Senior officials stated that the crackdown was executed following an extensive technical data analysis and risk assessment of the firms involved.
In a statement, the department said: “Preliminary inspections and document verification during the raids have clearly established serious violations of GST Law. The investigation revealed several lapses, including developers paying taxes at concessional rates without properly reversing ineligible ITC, and violations of the mandatory requirement to purchase at least 80% of goods and services (and 100% of cement) from registered suppliers.”
The department further noted that the builders were found under-reporting tax liabilities on construction services and incorrectly utilising ITC to offset external tax liabilities.
During the searches, official seized financial transaction records, purchase-sale ledgers, digital evidence, and computer data. A thorough scrutiny of the seized material is currently underway to calculate the Total amount of tax evaded.
“Protecting the interests of hones taxpayers and maintaining transparency in the tax system is our primary goal. Strict legal and audit action against tax evaders will continue.” the CGST office added.
The operation was carried out by seven dedicated teams comprising 23 officials. The mission was monitored by Kolhapur CGST commissioner Sumit Kumar Yadav, along with joint commissioner Rohit Joshi and assistant commissioner Ramniwas Meena.
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