The tax authorities in India have launched a special two-month drive to detect bogus Goods and Services Tax (GST) registrations and identify fraudsters who claim bogus Input Tax Credit (ITC).
They do it by making fake registrations on the GST platform and depositing the amount in their account without supplying any service or product.
The GST Policy Cell of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has issued a notice saying that the problem of wrongly availing input tax credit by way of fake registration and issue of fake receipts has become serious, causing huge loss of revenue to the government through dubious and complex transactions.
All the tax departments of the Center and the states will run a special campaign from May 16 to July 15 to identify suspicious GST accounts and take action under a master plan.
Detailed data analysis and risk parameters on GSTN will be used to identify bogus registrations, and on receipt of information about such registrations, steps will be taken to verify the suspected GST Identification Number within a stipulated period.
If the concerned taxpayer is found to be fictitious, the registration will be cancelled immediately.
The growing problem of creating fake GST accounts in the names of other people was noticed in the national coordination meeting of the GST officers of the Center and the States held on 24 April.
Currently, there are 1.39 crore taxpayers registered under the GST system across the country.
Record GST Revenue Collection in April 2023
In other news related to GST, the Indian government has achieved a new record regarding the collection of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in a single month.
The gross GST collection in April 2023 reached Rs 1,87,035 crore, which is 12% higher than the collection in the same month last year and the highest ever since the implementation of the GST system in July 2017.
The previous record of highest tax collection was Rs 1.68 lakh crore, made in April 2022.
According to the Finance Ministry, the gross GST collection in April 2023 included Rs 38,440 crore of Central GST (CGST), Rs 47,412 crore of State GST (SGST), Rs 89,158 crore of Integrated GST (IGST), and Rs 12,025 crore of cess.
This significant increase in GST revenue collection is attributed to the revival of economic activities after the COVID-19 pandemic-induced slowdown and the government’s efforts to improve compliance and curb tax evasion.
