State Tax Department Strengthens Action Against GST Defaulters

The state government wants to collect GST more quickly and stop people from delaying payments. So, it is preparing a new policy that will allow authorities to take fast action against those who do not pay their taxes on time (GST defaulters). Under this plan, action can be started in the same year if someone fails to make mandatory payments, instead of waiting for years. This will help the government recover money faster and reduce tax evasion.

According to Section 73(10) of the Telangana Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, the GST department can pass an order demanding tax, penalty, or interest within three years from the last date of filing the annual return for that financial year if they find that tax was not paid properly or input tax credit was wrongly claimed.

A senior official said, “Now this provision gives a three-year window for tax defaulters. Even in the cases of issuance of notices and speaking orders, the tax defaulters have a legal remedy to further delay the remittance of tax. They can challenge the orders in tribunals and appeal to a court of law, which takes a long time.”

The proposal approach aims to stop the long delays in settling tax payments. Right now, businesses can take up to three years to finish paying their taxes, which means taxes due in 2025 might not be fully settled until 2028. During this time, some dealers delay paying by filing appeals in courts and tribunals. The new approach wants to shorten this process so taxes are collected faster and more fairly.

The Commercial Taxes Department is stepping up action against about 20,000 dealers who did not pay their taxes in 2021 by taking advantage of loopholes in the law. To deal with this, officials are preparing strong and legally correct notices. These notices are being written very carefully so that they will remain valid even if the dealers challenge them in court.

The state’s Commercial Tax Department is sending out around 20,000 tax notices for the year 2021-2022. These notices could bring in around Rs 1,000 crore to the government. This move is part of the government’s push to increase GST mobilization and recover dues faster.