GSTN eyes new tools to stop tax evasion

Focus will be on data analytics, user interface: CEO

New Delhi, June 24: Almost a year into providing platform for tax collection, GST Network is now developing applications and tools for tax officers to help analyse data of their assessees and check possible evasion, an official said.

GST Network (GSTN), the company handling the technology backbone for GST, has over the last 11 months provided a platform for businesses to file their returns and pay taxes every month.

GSTN CEO Prakash Kumar said the next focus of the firm will be on providing data analytics and improving user interface on the GSTN portal, besides developing backend system for assessment, audit, appeal and advance ruling for 27 states. “We are working on the analytics part. We have already started sharing with tax officers simple analytics on differences between GSTR3B and GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and GSTR-2A. This is a broad state-wise data generated by GSTN, based on which the officers can look into the returns filed by taxpayers in his jurisdiction and spot mismatches,” Mr Kumar told PTI.

GSTN currently only provides support to tax officers (on data analysis). And gradually we are providing them tools so that they can do it themselves... We are in the process of developing an application for Commissioners to generate data without any external help, he added.

He said the tools would enable tax officers to do the analysis themselves. “We have started work on it, We had even showed the functionality to state officers. We will be slowly releasing the tools over the next few months,” Mr Kumar added.

GSTN is also working to improve its user interface by providing systematised error messages with ‘error numbers’. Once a taxpayers sees a particular error number pop up on the screen, he can call the GSTN help desk for solutions.

“Now the error message also says what has gone wrong and what you need to do to correct that. It will show a particular error number, which helps the GSTN helpdesk person to quickly identify the error that the taxpayer is committing and can guide him accordingly,” Mr Kumar said.

Since the roll out of the GST from July 1, 2017, GSTN has handled 11.5 crore returns and processed 376 crore invoices.

GSTN has been sending Management Information System reports to tax officers in 27 states which are categorised as model 2 states for better understanding of taxpayers in their jurisdiction. Based on the broad data mining by GSTN, tax officers have...