Verification drive is for dealers identified for scrutiny by GSTIN, not for all registered dealers:Vijay Risi,Commissioner, CGST
Delegation of Chamber of Association of Maharashtra Industry & Trade (CAMIT) led by President & Member, GST Grievance Redressal Committee Nagpur Zone, Dr Dipen Agrawal called upon the Vijay Risi, Commissioner CGST, (Nagpur-1) and welcomed him with CAMIT dupatta and floral bouquet on behalf of business community of Maharashtra State.
Dr Dipen Agrawal, welcoming Vijay Risi said that, the media reports and the viral social media messages regarding recent Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) directions for Special All-India drive against fake registrations has created panic among the trading community fearing harassment at the hands of revenue officers. Dr Agrawal expressed that the instruction issued on 4th May, 2023 is self-explanatory about the intention of the department. He requested Vijay Risi to clarify departments stand so as to calm down the tax collectors (traders) from the fear due to misinformation being circulated on social media about the verification drive.
Vijay Risi, Commissioner, CGST (Nagpur-1), appreciating the concern raised by the delegation assured that the present guidelines issued by CBIC for Special Drive to detect suspicious/fake registrations and to conduct verification is in the interest of and for the protection of compliant taxpayers in addition to prevent revenue loss to the Government. As per guidelines the cases identified by GSTIN after detailed data analytics and risk parameters and shared with State and Central Tax authorities shall only be verified. There is no proposal to verify each and every assessee/taxpayer. As of now only few hundred taxpayers have been identified for verification in Nagpur Zone which includes Vidarbha, Nashik & Aurangabad, Vijay Risi added.
Responding to the issue that social media post is suggesting heavy penalty shall be levied for petty defaults noticed during the verification drive, Commissioner CGST, (Nagpur-1) said that department and trade associations are on same page i.e. to make taxpayers more compliant. To facilitate compliance by taxpayers he assured that for minor default(s) not concerning government revenue shall be dealt sympathetically and taxpayers shall be given time bound opportunity to rectify the same. But the default directly affecting government revenue shall be dealt with in accordance of law.
Spontaneously responding to the discussions and suggestions offered by delegation, Vijay Risi, Commissioner CGST (Nagpur-1) directed department to create a Cell and circulate the contact details of the Cell among taxpayers to facilitate verification and easy compliance by traders and to address their grievances.
Prominently present in the meeting were Additional Commissioner, CGST, Nem Singh and Deputy Commissioner, CGST, Ravi Jarpula. Sanjay K. Agrawal, Vice President, Steel & Hardware Chamber of Vidarbha, Ashok Sanghvi, President, The Nagpur General Merchant Association, Gopal Bhantia, President, The Wholesale Cloth & Yarn Merchant Association, ShambudayalTekdiwal, Chartered Account (CA) and Kanhyalal Motwani, Joint Secretary, The Vidarbha Pen & Stationary Association were part of the delegation, informs a press release issued by CAMIT.
