GST evasion of Rs 1.51 lakh crore detected in current fiscal
The central GST officers have detected GST evasion of about Rs 1.51 lakh crore in the current fiscal year, while the recovery stands at Rs 18,541 crore as on December 30, 2023, against the internal target of Rs 50,000 crore. The finance ministry on Sunday said that since mid-May 2023, a total of 29,273 bogus firms involved in suspected input tax credit evasion of Rs 44,015 crore have been detected.
Fake invoice crackdown
The ministry said that the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) and the Central GST (CGST) formations have launched a nationwide drive against fake invoices since mid-May 2023. The drive has resulted in the identification of over 29,000 fake firms and detection of over Rs 44,000 crore of GST tax evasion. The ministry said that the drive has also led to the arrest of 1,072 persons and attachment of assets worth Rs 2,500 crore.
Measures to curb GST evasion
The ministry said that several measures have been taken to curb GST evasion, such as e-invoicing, e-way bills, data analytics, blocking of input tax credit in case of mismatch between GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B returns, Aadhaar authentication for new registrants, and cancellation of registration of non-filers. The ministry also said that it is using end-to-end analytics to examine entire supply chains and gap analyses of taxes paid in those chains.
Impact on GST collections
The ministry said that the anti-evasion measures have contributed to the robust growth of GST collections in recent months. The GST collections have crossed Rs 1 lakh crore mark for 13 consecutive months since November 2022. In April 2024, the GST collections stood at Rs 1.87 lakh crore, the highest ever monthly collection since the introduction of GST six years ago. The ministry said that the collection of Rs 1.5 lakh crore every month has become a new normal.
The gross GST revenue collected in the initial nine months of this year (April-December) was Rs 14.97 lakh crore, reflecting a 12% increase compared to the corresponding period in FY23, which had an average of Rs 13.34 lakh crore . The revenue from domestic transactions (including import of services) was also 12% higher than the revenues from these sources during the same period last year . The CGST component was Rs 2.71 lakh crore, SGST Rs 3.42 lakh crore, IGST Rs 7.77 lakh crore (including Rs 3.54 lakh crore collected on import of goods), and cess Rs 1.07 lakh crore (including Rs 9,360 crore collected on import of goods) .