New Delhi, 30 June (Hindustan Times). The implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), the biggest indirect tax reform law in the country, completed six years on Friday. GST was implemented on July 1, 2017 under One Country One Act. The purpose of bringing this law was to control tax evasion and tax. In this journey of six years, there has been success on the revenue front, but many challenges still remain.
In the initial phase of implementation of GST law, the average monthly revenue collection used to be 85-95 thousand crore rupees. Now the monthly revenue collection of Rs 1.5 lakh crore has become normal in a way. The GST collection in April, 2023 had reached an all-time high of 1.87 lakh crore. Although new methods of cheating are also being tried in GST, but the tax authorities are trying to deal with them.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has detected 11,140 GST bogus cases in a month. Tax evasion of Rs 15 thousand crore is being estimated from these cases. GST Council, the apex body of GST, has held 49 meetings since 2016. Since its implementation in July 2017, tax evasion is estimated to be Rs 3 lakh crore. GST authorities have also started using data analysis, AI and machine learning to crack down on those creating shell companies on the basis of forged documents to claim Input Tax Credit (ITC).
Despite all this, GST has proved to be very effective in controlling tax evasion. However, issues like rationalization of GST rates, imposition of GST on petrol, diesel and jet fuel are yet to be decided. At the same time, clarity is awaited on issues like online gaming, crypto transactions, EV charging framework and setting up of GST Appellate Tribunal.
