THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A statewide raid conducted by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Department has detected irregularities including tax evasion in goods transportation through parcel agencies. The department’s intelligence wing registered 238 cases and collected a fine of `5.06 lakh from the offenders.
The raid on Tuesday followed tip-offs on tax evasion and related malpractice in goods transportation through parcel lorries. This is the first-ever statewide action on the parcel service sector, said a senior officer.
The raid focussed on major players who contribute for over 80% of the business. The detected offences include goods transportation without mandatory documents, non-possession of e-way bill and making false disclosures on actual amount of goods.
“Several businesses in the state resort to illegal transportation through parcel lorries to evade tax,” sources said. Electrical, electronics and textiles were the sectors that mostly use this illegal mode. These are the major sectors contributing to the GST. Electronics alone contributed to 14% of the GST revenue of the state in 2019-20.
Parcel service via road is a big business in the state with major players having 5 to 10 huge godowns in cities. During the raid, officers intercepted vehicles immediately after they entered the state. Many of them were inspected at GST offices while a few of them had to be examined at the parcel offices. The lorries came from different locations in the country.