New Delhi (Agency): GST authorities are making significant strides in their ongoing two-month campaign against counterfeit GST Identification Numbers (GSTINs), a senior tax official revealed on Wednesday. The operation, which concludes on July 15, has thus far resulted in the cancellation of more than 4,900 fake GST registrations and uncovered tax evasion exceeding Rs 15,000 crore.
Shashank Priya, a member of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), expressed the urgency for policy reforms to tighten the GST registration and return filing process, given the considerable number of fraudulent registrations discovered during the operation.
The ongoing pan-India special drive has flagged over 69,600 GSTINs for physical verification. Out of this, field officers have verified 59,178 cases. “16,989 GSTINs are found to be non-existent. 11,015 GSTINs have been suspended and 4,972 have been cancelled,” Priya disclosed at Assocham’s National Conclave on GST.
In terms of financial impact, the tax evasion amounts to Rs 15,035 crore, while the blocked Input Tax Credit (ITC) stands at Rs 1,506 crore since the operation commenced on May 16. Authorities have managed to recover approximately Rs 87 crore.
Reflecting on these findings, Priya emphasized the necessity to fortify the registration and return filing system, and fine-tune the risk parameters for registration verification. He reminded that businesses require a unique GSTIN for claiming ITC and filing tax returns, and those with operations spanning multiple states must secure a GSTIN in each respective state.
On the trade facilitation front, Priya announced that the GSTR-3B monthly return form will be made more trade-friendly by accommodating additional fields to report more specific data.
Since the implementation of the GST regime six years ago, the number of registered taxpayers has more than doubled to 1.40 crore. The special drive, aimed at curbing fake registration under GST, exposes the menace of fraudsters wrongfully claiming ITC via counterfeit invoices, thereby defrauding the exchequer.