SGST Department Raided Four Tobacco Units for Tax Evasion

The State GST (SGST) Department with four teams simultaneously raided the homes, godowns, warehouses, and business locations of alleged tax evaders who were engaged in the tobacco business at Sri Muktsar Sahib and one each in Malout and Jalalabad.

As per the officials, the action has taken stock from every location, and the proper verification will be done in due time with the firms’ cooperation.

According to a department source, “The four teams concurrently conducted search and seizures at the homes, godowns, warehouses, and company locations of probable tax evaders. Since tobacco is a product that attracts the most GST and has a significant amount of cess, the department has received information regarding potential tax evasion by tobacco dealers. As a result, most manufacturers or traders attempt to avoid paying taxes, which reduces government revenue.”

The source further stated, “The raids were carried out concurrently over four locations in three distinct cities: two in Sri Muktsar Sahib, one in Malout, and one in each of Jalalabad and Malout. Officers have been working on the data and information that was compiled from a number of sources and served as the foundation for this exercise. It was observed that the enterprises appear to display a far lower level of external supply than the actual level. Only when the findings are compared to their actual account books will the picture become obvious.”

Source: Times of India