GST tax system to be faceless: Atishi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 4

Finance Minister Atishi outlined the state’s plan to strengthen its Goods and Services Tax (GST) administration, aiming for a faceless system.

“In the fiscal year 2023-24, the tax collection for GST and VAT until January 2024 witnessed a growth of 13.96 per cent, compared to the previous year (until January 2023), reaching Rs 31,445 crores,” she said.

“Now, the next step of the Kejriwal government is to make the IT infrastructure of GST state-of-the-art and the entire GST Tax administration faceless,” she added.

The Finance Minister said that government was working on data analytics and automation software in collaboration with IIT Hyderabad. This would help in tracking, monitoring and simplifying the refund process through AI and data analytics, besides reducing processing time and errors in files.

Despite a slight decrease in the budget estimate compared to the previous year, Atishi underscored Delhi’s “unique” fiscal situation. She highlighted the state’s ability to remain fiscally surplus while providing free-of-cost facilities like electricity, water, and bus rides to women.

Atishi revealed insights into the tax landscape, she said that Delhi has a total of 7.88 lakh GST taxpayers, with 4.82 lakh under the jurisdiction of the state government.

“The government’s conducted 167 special audits, resulting in the detection of a tax deficiency of Rs 5,321 crore. Additionally, field verification led to the suspension of 2,911 fake firms and the detection of tax evasion amounting to Rs 1,316 crore,” the minister said. The budget estimates for 2024-25 allocate Rs 6,400 crore to state excise revenue, with other major components including stamps and registration (Rs 7,750 crore) and taxes on motor vehicles (Rs 3,600 crore).

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