60,000 companies under scrutiny, CBIC expects to catch fake input tax credit worth Rs 50,000: Fin Min Sources

A few days ahead of GST Council meeting, sources from the Ministry of Finance revealed that Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBIC) has kept around 60,000 companies under scrutiny and is also expecting that fake input tax credit (ITC) worth of Rs 50000 crore will be detected. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council will be holding its 50th Council meeting on July 11 at Vigyan Bhawan and will be directed by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The upcoming GST Council meeting would be special as it is the 50th GST Council Meet and will mark the 6th anniversary of the Goods and Services Act, 2017.

Sources further revealed that the prime focus for the meet will be to ensure how fake registrations and fake input tax can be minimized and curbed.

It is also likely that there will be provisions to make physical verification mandatory. CBIC will also make biometric and physical registration mandatory and hefty fines will be imposed in case of fake registration and ITC.  

Sources also revealed that the authority is considering doubling the fake registration penalty and ITC.

Some of the major issues that are up for discussion during the upcoming GST meeting pertain to setting up of the GST Appellate Tribunals (GSTATs), GST on Casinos, Online Gaming, and Horse Racing, amendments in the e-Invoicing Timelines, automation of GST Return Scrutiny and Expansion of the Taxpayer Base and inverted Duty Structure (IDS) on Textiles.