Delhi govt sends notices to over 5,500 firms for not filing tax returns

The Delhi government sent notices to over 5,500 companies for not filing tax returns on Friday.

The government is also preparing a list of tax defaulters, it said in a statement.

"Nine sectors, including e-commerce, insurance and financial services, were not affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, but around 935 companies in these sectors have paid zero tax and 2,017 have paid 50 per cent tax," Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the charge of the finance department, said.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government will strictly scrutinise the reasons behind these companies not filing tax returns, he added.

An analysis has found that the government has received around Rs 2,015 crore less tax compared to the corresponding period last year. In 2019, it had collected around Rs 5,792 crore in tax returns, but from January to March this year, the tax collection has been only Rs 3,777 crore, the statement said.

The city government is working round the clock to increase its revenue, which will help it take up various development and pandemic-related works, it added.

In a review of the tax collection of the last quarter, it was found that 10,800 companies registered under the GST (Goods and Services Tax) have either paid no tax or lesser tax to the Delhi government, the statement said.

"The Delhi government has initiated action against these companies and notices were sent on Friday to 5,584 companies under GSTR Act 3A for not filing tax returns and VAT notices to 36 companies for not filing tax returns," it said.

Sisodia has directed the Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC) of Delhi to conduct a detailed study to improve the revenue base in Delhi, the statement said.

In a bid to improve Delhi's revenue deficit situation, the trade and taxes department of the government, under directions from Sisodia, has started analysing the return-filing status of the taxpayers registered under the GST.

The deputy chief minister held a meeting with the officials of the department, where it was informed that around 15,000 taxpayers were analysed and nearly 970 of them had not filed returns for 2020-21 from January to March, the statement said.

"The Delhi government has also found that this year, nearly 10,800 companies paid lesser or zero tax from January to March. Taking cognizance of these findings, the Delhi government has prepared a list of defaulters," it added.

Sisodia appealed to all the companies to immediately deposit the taxes, while warning the defaulters of stringent action.

The government has evaluated 15,000 companies so far and in the future, seven lakh companies registered under the GST will be evaluated, the statement said.