VAT Cases: GST Dept serves Notices on 8000 Assessees

The State GST Department issued notices on approximately 8,000 assessees in the state in its assessment of old VAT cases for 2015-16 and 2016-17, 60-70 percent of whom had not even been told about the assessments, according to counsel for many industrialists.

FOPSIA president writes to chief minister

Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association president Badish Jindal has written to the Chief Minister, requesting intervention in the matter. “The GST Department sent notices and reminders of old VAT cases on the email IDs of lawyers and advocates who no longer work with businessmen. In most of the cases, the businesspersons did not receive the notices because either the old email IDs were inoperative or the advocates/lawyers did not inform them,” Jindal said.

According to advocate Arun Kanwal, who spoke, the agency has sent notifications to 8,000 assesses, over 4,000 of whom are in Ludhiana.

“After VAT was repealed and the GST regime was implemented, many industrialists switched accountants and CAs. The GST Department notified accountants and CAs of the assessment via email, but notices should have been personally delivered to assessees because their workers had moved. The truth is that 70% of assessees are unaware of the assessment process, and they have been left in the dark as fines are imposed. This is pure harassment,” Kanwal stated.

Badish Jindal, head of the Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association (FOPSIA), has also written to the Chief Minister seeking intervention in the issue.

“The GST Department sent notices and reminders of old VAT cases to the email addresses of lawyers and advocates who no longer work with businessmen. The agency never attempted to confirm whether or not the assesses received the notifications. In most cases, businesspeople did not receive them because either the old email IDs were inactive or the advocates/lawyers did not notify them,” Jindal said.

“After conducting these partial VAT assessments, the department imposed huge interest and penalties and began tracing the addresses and mobile numbers of these businessmen for tax recovery.”

He went on to say that these assessments had been deemed time-barred, and that the assessees had been refused their right to reassessment in these instances. Dependents of dead assesses are required to submit dues. According to him, in many instances, the penalties are so severe that assessors are unable to pay the taxes.