GST Department Employees selling GST Sales Purchase Data: Know More

Many industrialists in the city are concerned about the open availability of their sales and purchase data. Some businessmen have accused GST Department employees of sharing data with their competitors in exchange for money.

Badish Jindal, head of FOPSIA and All Industries Trade Forum, told The Tribune that business owners were struggling owing to recessionary trends. Furthermore, they were burdened by a new fear: their sales-purchase data was no longer secure. Some GST Department employees have begun ‘selling’ the data, Jindal claimed, adding that previously, Ludhiana businessmen received calls from agencies in Delhi offering comprehensive sales-purchase data of their competitors for roughly Rs.20,000. Many brokers in Ludhiana are now offering to provide data at lower prices, possibly as low as Rs.1000.

“The recession is already a major challenge, but this new scam has added to the woes of business owners. Nowadays, there are many agents wandering the market that will provide you with the whole sales-purchase data of your competitors for around Rs.1000 per month. The majority of such data is published on the GST Department’s website, and it is relatively simple to steal information from there. Employees of the department with access to the website may readily provide the information,” Jindal claimed.

Lalit Shorey, vice-president of the Oil Mill Manufacturers Association here, admitted that he was a victim.

“Competitors quoted lower rates after reviewing our sales and purchase histories. Even the auto parts sector is upset because their consumers were taken by parties in Delhi. The government should come to the rescue of the businessmen, or we will be in serious trouble,” he stated.

“Recently, businessmen in Industrial Area C convened a conference to condemn the scam. They claimed that the businessmen gave their data to the government with the expectation that it would be protected, but due to the GST Department’s lax approach, log-in information is being shared with accountants and clerks. Later, things are leaked,” Jindal added.

Varun Rujam, Excise and Taxation Commissioner for Punjab, said such cases had not come to his attention, but if businessmen were experiencing such problems, the government would investigate at the local level. He added if there were any specific examples, they should be brought to his attention.