RTI revealed that Government spent Rs.1379.70 crores on GST Portal Development and Maintenance

In a recent response to a Right to Information (RTI) application filed under the RTI Act of 2005, the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) revealed that the Government of India spent a total of Rs. 1,379,70,96,763/-. (Rupees One Thousand Three Hundred and Seventy-Nine Crore Seventy Lakh Rupees and Ninety Six Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty-Three Rupees Only).

The following questions were included in the RTI Application: –

1. Amount spent on constructing the GST Portal (including infrastructure and software) from conception to launch?

2. How much does the Portal’s annual/recurring maintenance cost?

3. Please submit information on additional operating expenses such as payroll, rent, office expenses, and internal IT facilities for the fiscal years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022.

4. Since the Portal’s inception, how much money has been spent on Fraud Analytics Tools, security audits, and other security functions (as outsourced through tender)?

In answer to RTI enquiry as submitted by the applicant at Serial No. 1, it was stated that the “total amount of the contract is INR 1,379,70,96,763/- which also includes Application Development and Operation & maintenance for 05 years of GSTN Portal.

However, in regard to the remaining questions, it was answered that, “The information sought by the RTI Applicant at S.no-2 to 4 cannot be disclosed by GSTN as the information sought comes under Section 8(1)(d) of RTI Act, 2005.

It was also noted that the material related to the GST site, which contains commercially sensitive information as well as proprietary information, trade secrets, and intellectual property, the publication of which could be harmful.