Anti-profiteering authority orders GST audit of e-commerce firms, but this is what happened

The GST audit of e-commerce companies ordered by the National Anti-profiteering Authority is stuck over the issue of jurisdiction, as the CBIC is of the view that the NAA has no powers to give such directions, an official said.

The NAA, earlier this month, wrote to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) saying that DG Audit should scrutinise the accounts of all e-commerce companies to see if they have refunded to the customers any excess GST collection.

The CBIC, the official said, is also of the opinion that it is not technically feasible for DG Audit to scrutinise books of all e-commerce companies because some of them might be registered with the state governments.

“The NAA has said that all e-commerce companies should be audited. But it is not feasible since DG Audit can only audit those companies which are registered with the Centre. Those who are registered with states, the state tax officials would have jurisdiction over them,” an official said.

The CBIC, the official further said, will soon be sending its response to the letter written by NAA.

Elaborating further, the official said that tax authorities of Centre and states can undertake cross enforcement actions, but jurisdiction would come into play in case of assessment and regular scrutiny of assessees.

In May, the NAA had directed the Directorate General of Audit to scrutinise the books of e-commerce platforms.