New Delhi: The pace of a comprehensive review of GST laws has accelerated with a special focus on decriminalising offences and wider use of compounding provisions with the objective of improving business sentiment and reducing litigation.
The government is evaluating removal of clauses in the law that provide officers powers to arrest taxpayers suspected of evasion.
It is also considering revoking powers to arrest in case of claiming undue input tax credit or for want of actual invoicing, leaving out bank accounts from the ambit of attaching properties and limiting the scope of criminal offence to only high values of fraud.
These have been some of the key suggestions by industry bodies in a series of meetings held with the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) last week.