Finance Ministry should identify high risk taxpayers in GST composition scheme: CAG

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The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has asked the Finance Ministry to identify high risk taxpayers in the GST composition scheme on a periodical basis and verify from other sources, including third parties, their declared value of sales to check tax evasion..

Based on an analysis of 8.66 lakh composition taxpayers under the central jurisdiction between 2019-20 to 2021-22 fiscals, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) found that a significant number of GST taxpayers have a high risk of crossing the turnover threshold for composition levy scheme (CLS)...

These high risk taxpayers were identified by audit from the data contained in GST returns viz..

"The Ministry should identify high risk taxpayers in the CLS on a periodical basis using a risk-based approach and verify their declared value of outward supply from other sources including third parties to minimize the possibility of misuse by ineligible persons," the CAG said in a report tabled in Parliament recently...

The official auditor also suggested that the Finance Ministry may develop a system of identifying ineligible taxpayers and take action to exclude them from the CLS in order to prevent misuse of the intended benefits of the scheme..