Karnataka starts new system to streamline GST collection

The present GST registration system where one can register in three days is also available.

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BENGALURU: Karnataka, which stands second in the country in collection of Goods and Services Tax (GST), on Tuesday started a new system to streamline GST collection to eliminate bogus tax payers.

In a pilot study, the new system was found to have eliminated about 30 per cent of bogus tax payers, said Commercial Taxes Commissioner C Shikha.

Bogus tax payers, after they were detected and deleted from the system, used to hoodwink the department by registering themselves with alternative details. But the new system will weed out such instances.

Shikha said, “We have launched 120 GST Seva Kendra biometric centres and these will avoid fake registrations. New registrants have to provide Aadhaar authentication.’’

The present GST registration system where one can register in three days is also available. The GST Seva Kendra, however, will allow biometrics and those who register here are considered genuine as they would have complied with a whole host of necessary compliances.

Already, 10.40 lakh have registered traditionally and the new system will be beneficial for all the new registrants. They would qualify for input tax credit and other benefits and the enquiries against them would be lesser, said BT Manohar, who is from FKCCI’s GST cell.

Shikha said, “The central and state team members launched GST Seva Kendras. We launched them in about 2-3 minutes in real time. This will be useful for those who have high-risk parameters.”

Inaugurating GST Seva Kendras, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said these centres have been started to help in ease of doing business.

Sources said, “The number of registration of high-risk bogus entities will come down in the coming days. Physical verifications are still done by the tax department. Wherever there is a doubt, the department follows it up and violators are penalised. The new system will block it at the source itself. In Gujarat, new registrations came down by about 30 per cent. Will Karnataka too see the same trend is the question.”