Govt making all efforts to fool proof GST from evasion: Hasmukh Adhia

Finance secretary Hasmukh Adhia on Tuesday said government is making all efforts to make the GST regime "full proof" with the help of technology to check all possibilities of tax evasion. Addressing a state-level seminar on GST, the top finance ministry official said, "GST is an end-to-end IT-based tax system.

We are making all efforts to make it full proof with the help of technology. "A technology-based tax system will prevent tax evasion. We are also making efforts in the direction of making it more simple," Adhia said. Stating the new taxation regime is more business friendly, he noted that a businessman doesn't want to evade tax provided three things are according to his desire, which include appropriate tax calculation, tax should be reasonable, it protects his interests. Citing the example of Chhattisgarh, he said credit for the successful rollout of GST in the state goes to businessmen of the state. There was situation of uncertainty and anxiety when GST was introduced on July 1 last but gradually all basic problems which had arisen during the initial stages were overcome. Strong political will coupled with efforts of the Central and state officials have led to the effective implementation of GST, he said. In July 2017, the revenue shortfall of the state was 49 per cent but within seven months, this has come down gradually to 29 per cent, thanks to the GST, he said. He also said, the state average of filing returns is 57 per cent while the national average is 67 per cent.