New Delhi: With instances of tax evasion on the rise, authorities are keen to bring in fraud analytics to analyse goods and services tax (GST) data.
The GST Network will soon invite proposals from companies specializing in fraud analytics. These companies will be tasked with mapping specific patterns of taxpayers looking to defraud the exchequer.
The move comes at a time when the government is worried about revenue losses due to tax evasion under the GST regime. Data released by the government showed that tax revenues dipped marginally for the second consecutive month in February.
“We are issuing a request for proposal (RFP) very soon for providers who will study patterns (from GST data collected) and look at whether there is tax evasion. We were thinking of doing it after one year but the government has asked us to advance the process,” Prakash Kumar, chief executive officer at GST Network (GSTN) said. “Trained investigators will be able to look for both known and unknown patterns of fraud.”
Tax authorities and GSTM have already discovered many innovative ways in which taxpayers are evading taxes.
In one instance, the same e-mail ID was used for multiple registrations across four states in an attempt to evade taxes. There have also been instances where there has been massive underreporting through collusion between buyers and sellers.
Tax authorities are hoping that anti-evasion measures like the e-way bill and invoice matching will curb evasion and improve revenue buoyancy.