GST base will be more wide and Audits to be more Strict: CBIC Chairman Vivek Johri

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) is developing a roadmap to expand the tax base through tighter audits and inspections after record goods and services tax (GST) collection. With the active use of digital forensic technologies, data integration, and artificial intelligence, there is a lot of potentials to increase the revenue base and reduce tax evasion, according to CBIC Chairman Vivek Johri in a post-budget engagement.

The department is very vigilant in detecting Tax Evasion. On the anti-evasion side, based on extensive data analysis, officers of Central Goods & Services Tax, Delhi Zone detected a case of availment of ineligible Input Tax Credit and short payment of tax in excess of Rs. 218 Crores. Out of this, an amount of Rs. 84 Crore has been since recovered.

In another case, acting on a specific intelligence, officers of ORI intercepted three arriving international passengers at the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru. Examination of their checked-in baggage resulted in the recovery of eighteen non-indigenous animals (4 primates and 14 reptiles). Further follow-up, resulted in the recovery of an additional 139 animals belonging to 48 different species from a farmhouse in Bengaluru. This information was given by Johri in the weekly CBIC newsletter.

Source: Economic Times