GST: Tax evasion over Rs 5 cr a non-bailable offence
PrintListen to this Article
The Central GST (CGST) Act provides that if the offences relating to taxable goods and/or services where the amount of tax evaded or the amount of input tax credit wrongly availed or the amount of refund wrongly taken exceeds Rs 5 crore, shall be cognizable and non-bailable.
In a 223-page FAQ on Goods and Services Tax (GST), the CBEC said other offences under the act are non-cognizable and bailable.
The government has set a target date of July 1 for roll out of the GST, which will subsume central excise, service tax, VAT and other local levies.
As per the FAQ, cognizable offence means serious category of offences in respect of which a police officer has the authority to make an arrest without a warrant and to start an investigation with or without the permission of a court.
Non-cognizable offence means relatively less serious offences in respect of which a police officer does not have the authority to make an arrest without a warrant and an investigation cannot be initiated without a court order, it said.
Outlining the safeguards to be taken during arrest, the FAQ said if a person is arrested for a cognizable offence, he must be informed in writing of the grounds of arrest and he must be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours of his arrest.
If a person is arrested for a non-cognizable and bailable offence, the Deputy/ Assistant Commissioner of CGST/SGST can release him on bail and he will be subject to the same provisions as an officer in-charge of a police station under section 436 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
The FAQ provides that, if a person does not appear before a CGST/SGST officer who has issued the summon, he is liable to a penalty of up to Rs 25,000.
Also, the tax department have guidelines to ensure that summon provisions are not misused by field officers.
As per the guidelines, summons are to be issued as a "last resort where assessees are not co-operating and this should not be used for the top management.
"Also the language of the summons should not be harsh and legal which causes unnecessary mental stress and embarrassment to the receiver," it said.
Further, summons by the superintendents should be issued after obtaining prior written permission from an officer not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner with the reasons for issuance of summons to be recorded in writing.
"Senior management officials such as CEO, CFO, General Managers of a large company or a Public Sector Undertaking should not generally be issued summons at the first instance.
They should be summoned only when there are indications in the investigation of their involvement in the decision making process which led to loss of revenue," the guidelines said.
The Central GST (CGST) and State GST (SGST) Act have empowered the officers from Police, Railways, Customs, village officers, and any other government officers to assist CGST and SGST officers under the GST regime. #casansaar (PTI)
Category : GST | Comments : 0 | Hits : 481
Dear Taxpayers, 1. GSTN is pleased to inform that an enhanced version of the GST portal would be launched on 3rd May 2024. The effort is to improve user experience and ensure that the information you need is accessible and easy to navigate. 2. Key Enhancements Include (PDF with screenshots attached): i. News and Updates Section: We have introduced a dedicated tab for all news and updates. This section now includes a bet...
The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the central government, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the Goods and Services (GST) Council and the National Anti-Profiteering Authority (its functions have been taken over by the Competition Commission of India) on a petition challenging a Delhi High Court verdict, upholding the constitutional validity of anti-profiteering provisions filed by a real estate company. The petition, filed by Swati Realty, says the high court ...
The delectable Malabar Parota will taste even better with the Kerala High Court ruling that the popular flatbread will attract GST at 5 per cent and not 18 per cent. With this the court has turned down order by the State’s Authority of Advance Ruling (AAR) and Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling (AAAR). Disposing a petition by Kochi-based Modern Food Enterprises, a single judge bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh said if key inputs (cereals, flour, starch, etc) and preparations are s...
Businessman arrested in Rs.15,000 Cr GST fraud case, Claimed ITC through 35 fake Companies
A businessman from Delhi was taken into custody by the Noida police for his alleged involvement in a massive Rs 15,000 crore GST fraud that was exposed last year, TOI reported. Tushar Gupta, aged 39 and residing in Tilak Nagar, was arrested as the 33rd suspect in this case. The police revealed that Gupta had exploited input tax credit (ITC) using 35 fake companies, resulting in a loss of Rs 24 crore to the exchequer over the past two years. He was reportedly part of a syndicate that utiliz...
Govt extends implementation of special registration, return filing for pan masala, gutkha companies
The government has extended the deadline for implementation of special procedure for registration and monthly return filing of manufacturers of pan masala, gutkha and similar tobacco products till May 15. Earlier in January, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) had announced the introduction of a new registration and monthly return filing procedure effective April 1, 2024. The move to overhaul the registration, record-keeping, and monthly filing of such businesses was aim...
Comments