Traders under-reporting their volume of trade to evade taxes are in for trouble; the state commercial taxes department has started using data generated by the GST network to detect such cases. Explaining the method being used, a senior commercial taxes department official revealed that in the old system when VAT (value added tax) used to be collected, businessmen used to declare their purchase and sale quantity in their tax returns but under the GST (goods and services tax) system they are supposed to declare the volume and value of sale whereas the purchase value is auto-populated in the return filed by the supplier in his return.
In case of major mismatch in these two figures, the defaulters are easily identified. “Some senior officials have been deputed to constantly monitor the data being provided by the GST network to identify the traders who are indulging in such acts, and based on the input collected our department teams are conducting raids to nail the malpractice,” the official said. Similarly, the e-way bill system too is helping the department identify those who under-report the volume and value of goods while generating the e-way bill. “Once the value of the e-way bill is matched with the figures provided by the supplier in his return, the mismatch easily gets identified leading to detection of irregularities,” said the official.
The department has so far conducted two major rounds of raids in the state leading to unearthing of unaccounted goods worth Rs 6 crore. While one such raid conducted at 50 places on July 10 against transporters had led to recovery of unaccounted goods worth Rs 2 crore, in the second round of raids conducted on September 13 against biscuit traders at 21 places, unaccounted goods worth Rs 4 crore were recovered. The commercial taxes department official revealed that the GST network was in the process of developing a mechanism which would further strengthen the system. “The new system would help in generating reports which would help in identifying the areas and trades in which tax evasion are taking place in large number,” the official said. “Once this system would become functional, the number and frequency of raids would increase.”
Read More at: https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/bihar/govt-glare-on-traders-who-dodge-taxes-259840