(a) whether incidents of Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion through fake firms have come to light in the country;
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3508
TO BE ANSWERED ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2022/SRAVANA 17, 1944 (SAKA)
"GST EVASION"
SHRIMATI RANJANBEN DHANANJAY BHATT:
Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:
(a) whether incidents of Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion through fake firms have come to light in the country;
(b) if so, whether the Government proposes to take concrete steps to check GST evasion;
(c) if so, the details thereof along with the time by which the said steps are likely to be taken; and
(d) if not, the reasons therefor?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR FINANCE
(SHRI PANKAJ CHOUDHARY)
(a) Yes, Sir.
(b) & (c) Government takes several steps from time to time to check GST evasion and it is an ongoing exercise. Some of the recent measures taken by the Government to check tax evasion are as under:
1. Using robust data analytics and artificial intelligence to identify and track risky taxpayers and detect tax evasion.
2. Carrying out a nationwide special drive against unscrupulous entities for availing and passing on input tax credit (ITC) fraudulently on the strength of fake/bogus invoices. Further, availment of ITC has been restricted to invoices and debit notes furnished by the supplier in their statement of outward supplies.
3. Sharing of data with partner law enforcement agencies for more targeted interventions.
4. Mandatory Aadhaar based authentication for new GST registrations as well as centralized suspension of registrations of registered persons who default in timely filing of returns.
5. Reduction in threshold limit for issue of e-invoice for B2B transactions from Rs. 20 crore to Rs. 10 crore w.e.f. 01.10.2022. Similarly, generation of e-way bills by non- compliant taxpayers has been restricted.
6. Beneficial owner made liable for penal action and prosecution similar to that of actual supplier/recipient, in cases where a supply has been made without the issuance of an invoice, or invoice has been issued without supply, or excess ITC has been availed/distributed.
(d) Does not arise in view of (b) and (c) above.