Karnataka Commercial Taxes Department has decided to go for physical verification of registered taxpayers under Goods and Services Tax (GST) to determine their credentials, potentially beginning ‘inspector raj’ in the new tax regime.
Reportedly, this directive could be precedence and other states may follow Karnataka’s footsteps.
This measure is taken to control tax evasion for sensitive commodities. Some of the sectors in priority include arecanut, cashew, rubber, auto parts, electrical goods, electronic goods, edible oil, readymade garments, timber, cement and construction material.
Sources suggest that the entities that have generated electronic way (e-way) bills despite being a non-filer of returns are most likely to face such checks.
Entities that have generated higher number of e-way bills as compared to average e-way bills generated during preceding periods and those with gap between inward and outward supply e-way bill are expected to witness a visit by a tax officer.
“There is a need to verify the credentials of the newly registered person by visiting the business premises to verify the documents uploaded and to record the geo coordinates of the business concern along with other details,” the directive said.
A special IT module has also been developed for this purpose.
