A couple of days ago, the government had assured that taxpayers will get relief in the first six months from scrutiny and enforcement from the tax authorities given the complex nature of compliance under the goods and services tax (GST). However, here comes a report which states that the government has plans to track tax evaders even while rating taxpayers based on data.
The Economic Times reported that the GST Network (GSTN), the IT backbone for implementing the indirect tax law, will analyse data provided by the taxpayers registered with the body and rate them accordingly. However, it is not clear as to what the ratings would mean for the taxpayers.
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Simultaneously, the GSTN will leverage the data available to keep a tab on tax evaders. "We will compare the data of companies registered on our portal with those of the income tax department to find discrepancies," the business daily quoted GSTN chairman Navin Kumar as saying.
The report needs to be seen in the context of a senior indirect tax department official trying to allay fears of a punitive approach by the government while enforcing the provisions of the GST regime.
"Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has enforcement authorities and I have specifically said the first three to six months are a go-slow.... I don't want small cases to be made," Vanaja Sarna, chairperson of the CBEC said at a CII event in New Delhi on July 19.
"We would like it to be a complete success and we have enough legacy work in enforcement to be busy and we are not plunging into this now," she added.
The GSTN has more than 70 lakh registrations by taxpayers out of approximately 80 existing lakh taxpayers, Kumar had revealed at the CII event.
Meanwhile, the third round of GST registration facility that opened on June 25 will close on July 31.The latest round will enable not only existing value added tax/sales tax/excise taxpayers to register if they have not done so earlier, but also GST practitioners, e-commerce firms and other entities that are liable to collect tax at source, the GSTN said in a statement.
The second round closed on June 15 after opening on the first of the month while the first round lasted from November 8 to April 30, 2017.
