Launching a crackdown on evasion of goods and services tax (GST), the UT excise and taxation department has formed teams to challan retailers not issuing bills to customers. At the same time, the department is working on launching a mass awareness campaign to exhort buyers to demand GST bills on every retail purchase. It has formed teams for all nine wards under it to keep a tab on retailers not issuing bills, a major cause of revenue leakage.
“The departments aim to issue at least one challan in every ward every month to send out the message to violators. A fine of ₹25,000 can be imposed on violators for every violation found,” said a senior UT excise and taxation department official, requesting anonymity. The shopkeepers will be also penalized if they don’t mention the break-up of GST – UT GST and central GST. Confirming this, Ajoy Kumar Sinha, UT finance secretary, said, “The excise and taxation department will be taking steps to increase the incidence of bill issuance by retailers. Shopkeepers violating the provisions of GST will be penalized as per law.”
EYE ON COMPOSITION DEALERS
The department has also decided to take action against composition dealers who charge GST from buyers. A composition dealer is a retailer with less than (*₹2.5-crore) [*it should be Rs. 1.5Cr] annual turnover and is required to pay tax at (#2% on the total sales) [it should be #1% of total sales]. “It has been observed that some composition dealers are illegally charging GST from consumers. In fact, they must have display boards outside their shops stating ‘No GST is charged here’. Such violators will be penalized as per law,” the official added.
WORKING ON CAMPAIGN
The department plans to start a mass awareness campaign targeting different segments of consumers. People will be encouraged to demand bills at the time of purchase. “For this purpose, poster-making and slogan-writing competitions are being planned. Besides, workshops for students and teachers are in the works in association with the education department. Awareness messages will also be shared through newspaper advertisements and radio broadcasts,” the official said.