A senior tax official said on Wednesday that the two-month campaign to get rid of fake GSTINs, which will end on July 15, has already resulted in the cancellation of over 4,900 GST registrations and the discovery of tax evasion totaling over Rs 15,000 crore.
Shashank Priya, a member of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), stated that the large number of fake registrations discovered during the campaign highlights the need for policy changes to tighten the Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration and return filing process.
Over of 69,600 GST Identification Numbers (GSTINs) have been chosen for actual confirmation, of which 59,178 have been checked by field officials during the continuous container India unique drive.
"16,989 GSTINs are found to be non-existent. 11,015 GSTINs have been suspended and 4,972 have been canceled," Priya said at Assocham's National Conclave on GST.
In addition, he stated that tax officials have stopped Rs 1,506 crore in ITC since May 16 and discovered Rs 15,035 crore in tax evasion.
"This shows that we need to plug the loopholes in registration and return filing. More refinement in the risk parameters for registration verification is required," Priya said.
Businesses that sign up for GST receive a unique GSTIN, which they need to use to claim ITC and file tax returns. A GST identification number is required by each state for businesses that operate in multiple states.
Regarding trade facilitation, Priya stated that the monthly return form GSTR-3B will include additional fields for reporting more granular data, making it more trade-friendly.
The number of GST taxpayers who have registered has increased to 1.40 million dollars since the tax system was put in place six years ago.
The special effort to reduce fraudulent registration under the GST, which began on May 16 and will end on July 15, will last for two months.
Fake registration is a hazard under GST as fraudsters unfairly profit ITC by giving phony solicitations and swindling the exchequer.
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