On Saturday, the J&K Finance Department issued an order requiring contractors to verify the validity of their GSTINs and GST-3B returns before receiving any contracts or payments. This may be done via the Peridot App, which is accessible on the Play Store, or by contacting the State Taxation Department.
The commercial entities that register for GST receive a unique 15-digit number called a GSTIN, or Goods and Services Tax Identification Number. All Administrative Departments received circular instructions in this regard, directing their subordinate officers to obey these rules.
Additionally, The DD0s have to check the contractor’s most recent status by utilising the data either from the State Taxation Department or the Peridot App. It was also ordered that payments should not be made to contractors who are not meeting their legal obligations under the GST Taxation Law.
The Finance Department issued these instructions after discovering that vendors or contractors whose GSTINs had been suspended or deactivated were using fraudulent or phoney GST reports to apply for government contracts.
The department noticed it with concern and stated, “Such practise occurs because tender inviting departments do not cross-verify documents presented by the tenderer with the State Taxes Department. According to the General Sales Tax Act of 1962, contractors were required to obtain NOC from the State Taxes Department prior to submitting a bid.
Nevertheless, with the passing of the GST Act in 2017, this practice was abolished. The State Taxes Department recently built a web app titled “APNA TDS” portal with the assistance of NIC Jammu in order to have timely compliance of returns by contractors as well as DDOs. This portal aids in identifying payments made to work contract service providers by DDOs through the JK Paysys portal, according to the instructions.
Before granting any work contracts, it was advised that the status of the contractor’s GSTIN and the validity of the GSTR-3B return that the contractor had submitted may be checked through the Peridot App (available in the Playstore) or with the State Taxes Department.
“Furthermore, before making payment to the contractor, DDOs must verify the latest status of the contractor’s GSTIN by using the information provided in the Peridot App or through the State Taxes Department to ensure that the contractor has not defaulted in GST tax compliance,” the department directed.
