In a shocking development, the officers of the Central GST have detected tax evasion of Rs 1.95 lakh crore in 25,397 cases during the April-January period of the current fiscal year, Parliament was informed on Monday. According to the data shared in the Lok Sabha, the total number of GST evasion cases detected by central government officers in the last five years has reached 86,711, with a cumulative value exceeding Rs 6.79 lakh crore.
In the current fiscal year (up to January 2025), the number of evasion cases identified stands at 25,397, with a total amount of Rs 1,94,938 crore. Meanwhile, during the same timeframe, a voluntary deposit of Rs 21,520 crore was made concerning tax evasion cases.
In the current fiscal year, there were also 13,018 cases of Input Tax Credit (ITC) fraud, amounting to Rs 46,472 crore. A voluntary deposit of Rs 2,211 crore was made during this period. According to data from the GST Investigation Wing, in the fiscal year 2023-24, 20,582 evasion cases were detected with a combined value of Rs 2.30 lakh crore.
The previous fiscal year, 2022-23, witnessed detection worth Rs 1.32 lakh crore, while in 2021-22, it was Rs 73,238 crore, and in 2020-21, it amounted to Rs 49,384 crore. Pankaj Chaudhary, the Minister of State for Finance, stated that the Central Government and GST Network (GSTN) have initiated various measures to enhance compliance and prevent tax evasion. These include providing intelligence inputs, detecting fraudulent registrations, monitoring suspicious e-way bill activities, and selecting returns for scrutiny and audits based on various risk parameters.
These measures are beneficial for safeguarding revenue and apprehending evaders. Several projects have also been launched, such as ‘Project Anveshan’ (Analytics, Verification, Shortlisting of Anomalies), leveraging newer techniques like Facial Recognition System (FRS), e-way bill data, and more for early identification of GSTINs prone to fake or fraudulent activities, generating intelligence reports,” Chaudhary added.