Commercial taxes dept cracks down on culprits using GSTINs to evade tax

The Karnataka Commercial Taxes department had cracked a tax evasion case where the accused was using two Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTINs) to evade tax on money earned through government contracts. The department suspects that the accused could have evaded taxes to the tune of
Rs 2.5 crore. 

According to a statement by the department, the accused was under reporting the value of taxable supplies by using two GSTINs, out of which one was cancelled in 2019 and another is active. Based on a tip off, the department conducted a comprehensive probe in Kalaburagi, which unveiled a well-structured scheme devised by entities to evade GST payments.

“The taxable person was providing both the GSTIN to TDS authorities and collecting taxes out of which taxes were only paid related to active GSTIN transactions. The taxable person is purposely doing this to evade tax on the contract amount received from Government authorities. These actions resulted in a substantial loss to the government exchequer and created an uneven playing field for compliant businesses,” a statement by the department said. 

The department has seized incriminating documents and initiated proceedings for recovery of the evaded tax amount.