Launching a crackdown on evasion of goods and services tax
(GST), the UT excise and taxation department has formed teams to challan
retailers not issuing bills to customers.
At the same time, the
department is working on launching a mass awareness campaign to exhort
buyers to demand GST bills on every retail purchase.
It has formed teams for all nine wards under it to keep a tab on retailers not issuing bills, a major cause of revenue leakage.
“The
departments aims to issue at least one challan in every ward every
month to send out the message to violators. A fine of ₹25,000 can be
imposed on violators for every violation found,” said a senior UT excise
and taxation department official, requesting anonymity.
The shopkeepers will be also penalised if they don’t mention the break-up of GST – UT GST and central GST.
Confirming
this, Ajoy Kumar Sinha, UT finance secretary, said, “The excise and
taxation department will be taking steps to increase the incidence of
bill issuance by retailers. Shopkeepers violating the provisions of GST
will be penalised as per law.”
EYE ON COMPOSITION DEALERS
The
department has also decided to take action against composition dealers
who charge GST from buyers. A composition dealer is a retailer with less
than ₹2.5-crore annual turnover, and is required to pay tax at 2% on
the total sales.
“It has been observed that some composition
dealers are illegally charging GST from consumers. In fact, they must
have display boards outside their shops stating ‘No GST is charged
here’. Such violators will be penalised as per law,” the official added.
WORKING ON CAMPAIGN
The
department plans to start a mass awareness campaign targeting different
segments of consumers. People will be encouraged to demand bills at the
time of a purchase.
“For this purpose, poster-making and
slogan-writing competitions are being planned. Besides, workshops for
students and teachers are in the works in association with the education
department. Awareness messages will also be shared through newspaper
advertisements and radio broadcasts,” the official said.