BENGALURU: Around 70 per cent of the tax payers have given a positive feedback to the new simplified GST return scheme which will come into effect from April next year, D P Nagendra Kumar, Principal Chief Commissioner of Central Tax, Bengaluru Zone, said has said.
Speaking to media here on Saturday, he said this was ascertained at the ‘Stakeholder Feedback Diwas on the new GST Return’ observed at eight centres across the state where 1000 demo returns were filed and feedback was obtained from 13,500 taxpayers using the online mechanism.
The major feedback from tax payers was the difficulty in entering the harmonised system of nomenclature (HSN) codes in the invoice and technical glitches. The taxpayers also pointed out that they needed more training and hand holding in filing GST online and ease in the process of filing returns.
Kumar said in the last 28 months of the introduction of GST, a total tax evasion of Rs 80,000 crore was detected of which the states’ and the central shares were Rs 40,000 crore each in India. In Karnataka, the evasion was Rs 800 crore of which Rs 300 crore was under the central GST. He added they were hoping to double the recovery.
Kumar said the finance ministry was assessing the Korean model where tax payers chosen on a lottery basis were rewarded or given a 0.1 per cent rebate or any other scheme to draw more people to file returns.
Tax evasion by bookies
Kumar said Bangalore Turf Club had to pay Rs 140 crore tax under GST for the last one and half year and the amount was paid just two months back after a legal battle. On the CCB raid on the club, he said no report was yet obtained. He said the major problem was with bookies and others who would deal in cash.
There was intelligence information that the bookies and others were not disclosing the actual amount earned and taxes paid. This was being examined, he said. He added that there was information about peak days when payments varied in a pattern. All the information was being assessed and the next course of action will be decided based on it.
Meanwhile, following the police action at the BTC, bookmakers resorted to a protest and did not accept any bets.