Revenue Secretary Calls Meeting to Crack Down on Fake GSTIN and Wrong ITC Claims

In a measure to stringent the Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) net, India’s Revenue Secretary, Sanjay Malhotra, is taking the helm in a measure complying with a rise in the tax collections. The same conduct is towards the rise in a record-breaking Rs 2.10 lakh crore collected through GST collection in April 2024, a positive indicator of the economic health of the nation. The concern emerged from the companies that found loopholes in the system to evade their fair tax share.

Such companies enrol for the GST having the objective of claiming the ITC which is a tax benefit that compensates the filed tax on the purchases against the tax received on sales. These companies on system manipulation claim for the GST ITC without actually supplying any goods or services. It deprives the government of essential tax revenue as well as distorts fair competition in the market.

The forthcoming meeting, the Malhotra conducts shall concentrate on executing the stringent registration regulation combating the problem. Such updated law shall lay down the difficulty for the shell companies to designate themselves for the exclusive purpose of tax evasion.

Tax authorities will utilize advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence tools to fetch suspicious taxpayers. Such tools can flag inconsistencies and uncommon patterns that may exhibit fraudulent activity.

There are over 14,600 GST evasion cases across the country as per the government data with states like Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and West Bengal indicating a higher concentration of such activities.

Under Malhotra’s leadership, the upcoming meeting between central and state tax officials expresses a strong approach to attacking this challenge and protecting India’s tax revenue.