Palanivel Thiaga Rajan inducted into GoM on GST system reforms
MADURAI: The Union Ministry of Finance has inducted Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan as a member of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on GST system reforms. The development, announced in a letter dated September 24, comes amid a controversy over his absence at the recent GST Council meeting in Lucknow.
At the meeting on September 17, the Council acknowledged that IT systems have stabilised and there is a need for IT base checks and balances in the GST IT system. The Council also spoke about the uses of data analyses like the Business Intelligence and Fraud Analytics system of GSTN, and stressed on expanding the use of data analytics in improving the efficiency of GST administration.
Subsuming the previous two GoMs on IT challenges and revenue mobilisation, the Union Finance Ministry formed an eight-member committee, with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar as convenor of the GoM.
The GoM on GST system reforms will review the IT tools and interface available with tax officers and suggest steps to make the system more effective. It would identify potential sources of evasion and suggest changes in business processes and IT systems to plug revenue leakages.
It would identify mechanisms for better coordination between the Union and State tax administration. The GoM would also work on identifying the possible use of data analysis towards better compliance and revenue augmentation, and suggest the use of such data analysis.
Sources close to Thiaga Rajan claimed right-wing leaders unleashed a series of lies and fake news about the minister for not participating in the GST Council meeting at Lucknow, so his appointment in the GoM is a fitting response.