Mandatory Biometric Verification at GST Service Centers keeps bogus applicants away
Gandhinagar: To promote transparency in the GST registration process and prevent bogus registrations, 12 GST Service Centers were launched across Gujarat in November 2023. As a result of this initiative, bogus applicants have been deterred from filing an application with fake credentials. With a large number of bogus applicants keeping away, the number of GST registration applications has witnessed an average monthly decline of about 25% between November 2023 and May 2024.
The introduction of mandatory biometric authentication showed positive results from the very first month as the GST Registration Applications declined by over 55% in November 2023-24 as compared to the data in November 2022-23. The illustrated data shows the number of applications received and the corresponding decrease in percentage for the fiscal years 2022-23 and 2023-24:
As per the Gujarat State Tax Department, there were instances of people taking advantage of the old system by registering for GST using the credentials of poor people and using their fake documents to evade taxes.
