GST evasion of Rs 14,302 crore detected in April-May; 28 persons arrested
As many as 2,784 cases of GST evasion involving Rs 14,302 crore were detected in the first two months of the current fiscal, while Rs 5,716 crore was recovered during the period, Parliament was informed on July 31, 2023. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply in the Lok Sabha gave details of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and income tax evasion, as well as the detection of outright smuggling by the Customs department.
As per the data, GST evasion of over Rs 2.68 lakh crore was detected in 43,516 cases between 2020-21 and 2023-24 (April-May). A recovery of Rs 76,333 crore was made during the period while 1,020 persons were arrested.
In the current fiscal (April-May), 2,784 cases of evasion of Rs 14,302 crore were detected. As many as 28 persons were arrested and Rs 5,716 crore was recovered during the period.
As per the statistics on surveys, searches, and seizures carried out by the Income Tax Department in the last 5 years, searches were conducted on 3,946 groups while assets worth Rs 6,662 crore were seized.
In the 2022-23 fiscal alone, 741 groups were searched and Rs 1,765.56 crore assets were seized.
In the last four years, 42,754 cases of outright smuggling were detected by the Customs Department, involving the value of about Rs 46,000 crore.
In the April-May period of the current fiscal, 2,986 cases of outright smuggling involving goods valued at Rs 1,031 crore were detected by the Customs Department.
About 12,259 cases of commercial fraud were also detected in the last 4 years, having a duty implication of Rs 21,225 crore.
Sitharaman said with the availability of information in electronic form, the Income Tax Department has developed a wide range of non-intrusive methods for detecting tax evasion.
Besides, the GST department too is taking several steps to tackle evasion, including using robust data analytics and artificial intelligence to identify and track risky taxpayers; sharing data with partner law enforcement agencies for more targeted interventions; reducing in threshold limit for issue of e-invoices for B2B transactions from Rs 10 crore to Rs 5 crore from August 1, 2023.
CBIC through its customs field formations, along with DRI, is actively engaged in detecting and curbing import-export-related commercial frauds.
Data analysis-based risk management and intelligence development along with human intelligence are being employed by said formations to gather actionable intelligence, which has resulted in substantial detections of tax evasion in recent years, Sitharaman said.
