MCA, CBIC to exchange data to improve regulatory enforcement, ease of doing biz

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) for exchanging data such as import-export transactions and financial statements of companies registered in the country.

The move, expected to enhance ease of doing business, will use data analytics and artificial intelligence to improve regulatory enforcement. The MOU will enable sharing of specific information such as details of Bill of Entry (Imports), Shipping Bill (Exports) summary from CBIC and financial statements filed with the Registrar by firms, and returns of allotment of shares for regulatory purposes.

“In addition to regular exchange of data, the MCA and CBIC will also exchange with each other, on request, any information available in their respective databases, for the purpose of carrying out scrutiny, inspection, investigation and prosecution,” the MCA said.

Experts said the move could help prevent revenue leakages. “Earlier during 2020, the CBIC had signed an MOU with the CBDT and now has signed another with MCA. The key objectives here seem to sufficiently leverage the technological developments, and ensure that true and correct data is being furnished by the taxpayers to government bodies. Overall this definitely is a step in the right direction,” said Abhishek Jain, tax partner at EY.