MM TAX CLUB

The taxation authority has issued notices to 324 businesses and retailers for allegedly dodging taxes and breaching GST regulations.

This issue came to light through the ‘Bill Leyao, Inaam Pao’ initiative, where customers provided the department with bills and receipts from their purchases. Complaints were also raised against vendors who failed to issue these documents.

Launched on August 22 of the previous year by the tax department, this program aimed to combat GST evasion and improve tax compliance, thereby boosting state finances. It encouraged consumers to demand receipts for their purchases from merchants.

Darvir Raj, the Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner for State Taxes, noted that they discovered discrepancies in 324 instances upon examining the receipts and bills submitted by consumers. “Since the start of this program, we have sent out 324 notices based on these bill verifications. In 35 of these cases, we've levied fines totaling Rs 1.03 crore, with the rest under review,” she stated. She mentioned that the department has collected Rs 67.24 lakh out of the total fines levied so far.

To date, the department has received 13,533 bills, with 12,240 already scrutinized, leading to notices being sent out to the relevant merchants and shopkeepers. It was also found that four companies had not registered under the GST Act, prompting immediate action and compulsory registration.

Raj also highlighted that the scheme includes cash incentives of up to Rs 50,000 for consumers. Those holding a receipt for a purchase of Rs 200 or more can sign up for this scheme and upload their receipt online to enter a draw.

Winners can receive a prize worth five times the taxable value of the item purchased, with a cap of Rs 50,000 on the reward. For this purpose, the department has introduced the Mera Bill app, enabling customers to upload their purchasing bills and receipts.

Jaipur’s Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) has unearthed a widespread GST fraud in the copper scrap industry. Two alleged masterminds have been apprehended for orchestrating a complex scheme involving bogus firms to illicitly claim input tax credit under GST regulations.

After months of investigation, officials recovered Rs 23 crore from the accused, who operated through multiple layers of companies to conceal their activities. The scam involved fictitious transactions, where goods were circulated among firms without actual sales or purchases, resulting in a GST evasion of Rs 371 crore across 53 fake entities.

The arrested individuals, Dheeraj Singhal and Ashish Goyal, have been remanded to judicial custody after seizure of electronic devices

The Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) is conducting an investigation into a suspected tax evasion totaling approximately ₹850 crore for the fiscal years 2020-21 and 2021-22 by major commercial tutoring institutions. Officials report that the inquiry, which started in January 2023, is focused on uncovering discrepancies in student enrollment figures and the failure to remit collected taxes to the government.

Officials are examining the financial activities of numerous large and medium-sized tutoring centers throughout India. They have identified over 145 such institutions involved in a wide array of academic disciplines, including preparation for medical and engineering entrance exams as well as language and aptitude tests like IELTS and GRE, which are under investigation for tax evasion.

The centers under scrutiny are located in various Indian cities, including notable education hubs like Delhi, Mumbai, Kota, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, and several tier-2 cities. While specific names of the centers have not been disclosed due to the ongoing nature of the probe, there have been arrests linked to these investigations.

These tutoring centers reportedly charged an 18% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on their fees but either failed to deposit this amount with the treasury or falsely claimed these services as exempt from tax. Some centers offered discounts equivalent to the GST charged, omitting such transactions from their tax returns, in direct contravention of the CGST Act, 2017, specifically Section 132(1)(d). The investigation has also unearthed discrepancies between the reported earnings and actual earnings among these institutions. The DGGI has instructed its zonal offices to identify and list any coaching centers that have not registered for GST.