New Delhi (Agency): In a pivotal move to improve the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, the Central Government of India announced that it will soon notify the rules for establishing GST appellate tribunals. This decision, approved by the GST Council, also includes appointing members to these tribunals, according to a senior official from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
Shashank Priya, the CBIC’s member for GST, shared on Monday that the department is diligently working to expand the taxpayer base. To achieve this, the department is triangulating data with corporate taxpayers under the income tax regime. Surprisingly, only 40% of the corporate income taxpayer base is currently registered under GST.
Under GST, about 1.39 crore businesses are registered, almost doubling the number from the time of GST’s inception six years ago on July 1, 2017.
Priya also touched upon the robustness of GST revenue, which was 1.25 following the indirect tax regime’s introduction in 2017, and has risen to 1.40 over the past two years. The average monthly GST revenue surged from Rs 89,885 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 1.50 lakh crore in 2022-23, and stands at Rs 1.69 lakh crore per month in the 2023-24 fiscal year.
Priya noted, “We are not following a Big Bang approach, we are working in a calibrated manner. We are in the process of taking more trade-friendly steps.” He also mentioned that they are hopeful to complete the tribunal setup process soon, post approval from the Council.
The establishment of these tribunals is expected to significantly expedite the resolution of disputes under GST. At present, taxpayers unhappy with the rulings of tax authorities have to approach the respective High Courts, a process often marred by delays due to the backlog of cases and a lack of specialized GST benches.
Priya also addressed the issue of fraudulent registrations, revealing that 45,000 fake GST registrations involving evasion of Rs 13,900 crore are currently under investigation in an ongoing drive led by central and state tax officers. They have also thwarted wrongful availment of Input Tax Credit worth Rs 1,430 crore.