Bajaj Allianz, HDFC Life, Sun Life among 15 insurance companies found to evade Rs.2350 crore GST

According to a report, 15 insurance firms, including HDFC Life Insurance, Bajaj Allianz, and Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance, have been found to have evaded Rs 2,350 crore in goods and services tax (GST). GST officials focused their research on detecting bogus input tax credit claims that lacked the underlying supply of goods and services. The firms studied include both life and general insurance providers, as well as several public sector insurers.

The investigation into these 15 insurance firms is now complete, and they are being served with show-cause warnings. As a consequence of the probe, tax evasion of Rs 2,350 crore was discovered, with Rs 700 crore recovered thus far.

In addition to insurance businesses, the GST officials are looking at online gaming enterprises for possible GST fraud. Approximately 5-6 internet gambling organisations are now being investigated, however the level of evasion has yet to be measured.

To prevent GST evasion and fake invoicing, the Indian government has implemented measures such as identifying and prosecuting bogus registrations. Approximately 11,140 such registrations have been found and addressed. To solve the issue, the Finance Ministry is also using measures like as OTP-based Aadhar verification and piloting biometric-based Aadhar authentication during registration in high-risk situations.