2nd National GST Conference held for curbing evasion and augment revenue

Source: pib.gov.in

Under the chairmanship of Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, 2^nd National GST Conference was held on Tuesday of the Chief Commissioners of Central Tax and Commissioners of State Tax. The state and central tax officials have decided to take action on streamlining Goods and Services Tax (GST) system and plugging revenue leakages.

During the conference, several measures were discussed in this regard such as curbing false refund claims, investigating false Input Tax Credit (ITC) cases by the Income Tax Department, linking foreign exchange remittances with IGST refund, and a single bank account for foreign remittance receipt. In this second edition of all India conference, both tax administrations came together to collaborate on bringing uniformity in tax administrations and share their knowledge and best practices.

With the objective of achieving efficiency in curbing evasion and augmenting revenue collection, deliberations were held during the conference to create a mechanism and machinery for sharing inter-departmental data among various agencies including GST Council, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the revenue department and various other governmental enforcement agencies.

Nine-point plan to plug revenue leakages under the indirect tax regime

1. Constituting a committee of centre and state officers to examine and implement quick measures to curb false refund claims.
2. Linking foreign exchange remittances with IGST refund for new and risky exporters.
3. Compulsory investigation of all major cases of false ITC, export/import and refunds by the investigation wing of the Income Tax Department.
4. MoU to be signed among CBDT, CBIC, and GSTN to exchange data on a quarterly basis through API, from CBDT to GSTN and CBIC and vice-versa.
5. Explore access to banking transactions including the bank account details by the GST system, in consultation with RBI and NPCI.
6. Proper profiling of people involved in evasion and false refund by sharing data of such cases between CBIC and CBDT.
7. Maintaining a single bank account for foreign remittance receipt and refund disbursement.
8. In case of closure of businesses, a self-assessment declaration to be prescribed by making suitable assessments in GSTR Forms.
9. Undertake verification of unmatched ITC availed by taxpayers.

The meeting also decided to form a committee of Centre and State officers which will examine and implement quick measures to curb false refund claims. The committee is tasked to come up with a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) within a week, which could be implemented across the country by the end of January.