CBIC to increase departmental audits to boost GST compliance

Johri expects the central government’s indirect tax revenue sources to change, increase green mobility and reduce fossil fuel consumption over time.

This would mean that more services such as electric vehicle charging stations and service centers are emerging as sources of GST collection, while the emphasis on tax compliance in domestic transactions and a wider tax base will help meet the reduced use of fossil fuels for revenue collection. helps.

In an interview, the Chairman of CBIC said that the compliance improvement measures taken by the department are already reflected in the GST collections and there is scope for further increase in the revenue by taking some more measures in GST.

He said that the CBIC is already focusing on them.

“Apart from verifying that people who fall into the tax base file their returns and pay their taxes, what should we be looking at now – and we have already started because that is a very important part of any tax administration. Part – it needs to be checked returns properly to see that the data that has been turned in is valid and compares well with the financials that the business has reported. Will deal with the audit.”

He said that these are two parts of the compliance management strategy of CBIC. He said that the states are also focusing on that.

Presently, CBIC conducts investigation and departmental audit on the basis of some red flag reports raised by the system due to discrepancies. Efforts are now being made to make investigation and departmental audit cases more systematic and structured on the basis of risk parameters.

“We are also setting out the methodology for how that investigation should be carried out. That is, what tests need to be done for a particular type of risk and we will mention it to the field officer. Similarly, we will take up matters for audit,” Johri explained.

Scrutiny is different from audit, as the audit will examine the financial position of the assessees, to see whether it is in conformity with the information disclosed in the GST return.

“In this day and age, it goes without saying that it will be technology-driven,” Johri said, adding that the process would be data-driven and automated, to give transparent inputs to the investigating officers that they should What do you want. Examine the tax return and what the potential risk areas will be.

Departmental audits have been happening in the earlier Excise and Service Tax regime and even in the GST regime, but now there is an attempt to leverage extensive data and IT skills to enable the tax authority to broaden the tax base. To make it more strong. ,

Anti-theft measures taken by the central and state administrations have already helped in improving GST collections. State administrations are also keen to adopt measures to increase compliance with the GST compensation of states expiring in June