More tools on anvil for tax sleuths to check GST evasion

Almost a year into providing platform for tax collection, GST Network (GSTN) is now developing applications and tools for tax officers to help analyse data of their assessees and check possible evasion, a senior official said.

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

GSTN Chief Executive Prakash Kumar said the next focus of the company 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 GSTR-3B 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," Kumar said.

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," 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," Kumar said.

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

Kumar further said that GSTN has been sending Management Information System (MIS) reports to tax officers 27 states which are categorised as model 2 states for better understanding of taxpayers in their jurisdiction.

"We have provided 27 different MIS report for model 2 states. The tax officers get to see their own jurisdiction data, who their assessees are, return filed, taxes paid. The report has daily, monthly revenue collection list in the jurisdiction, ward-wise collection list, registration details, taxpayers with outstanding liability, disposal of cases, among other things," he said.