Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs
North Block, New Delhi-110 001
Tel. No. : +91-11-23092849, Fax No. : +91-11-23092890
E-mail : ajit.m@gov.in
M. Ajit Kumar, Chairman
D.O.No.04/CH(IC)/2020
2nd March, 2020
Dear Colleague
It is indeed heartening to begin this letter with news of some note-worthy work by our officers. The Delhi West GST Commissionerate has unearthed a network of 23 non-existent firms involved in trading of fake invoices worth around Rs. 7896 crores involving fraudulent ITC to the tune of Rs.1709 crores. Two persons involved have since been arrested. This is perhaps the largest single case of attempted availment of ITC based on fake invoices detected so far. My congratulations to Ms. Shubhagata, Commissioner, and her team.
The detection of such cases emphasises the need for us to further intensify the steps we have already taken to prevent such fraudulent availment of ITC and duty evasion. The use of data analytics and risk management in weeding out of dubious elements are measures which we need to persist with. Further initiatives such as the introduction of e-invoices would also strengthen this effort. All steps, technological and otherwise, need to be taken to detect such fraudsters as they try to game the system.
The Hon’ble Finance Minister has virtually travelled the length and breadth of the country to discuss the proposals contained in the Union Budget with the trade and industry with one more meeting being held at Guwahati last week. During the course of this meeting, she has indicated that officers at Guwahati should be available in office between 4 to 6 pm so as to render assistance to the trade. The visit to Guwahati also gave me an opportunity to interact with the trade as well as officers in the Zone. It was encouraging to see that this zone has the credit of being the second highest in terms of revenue growth compared to the same period last year (21%), after Thiruvananthapuram Zone (28%).
Hyderabad GST Zone has chalked out an outreach program titled “Central GST in every district for you” as part of our commitment to reach out to taxpayers no matter how small or far-flung they are. Its heartening to see the Chief Commissioners personally leading the effort in the districts of Telangana.
NACIN, Mumbai, has come out with flying colours in explaining Customs and GST for the officers of the Air Force Logistics wings from all around India. Such efforts are laudable and in line with our aim of enhancing ease of doing business for our stakeholders.
The introduction of DIN for every correspondence issued by the department to tax payers has been widely appreciated. This guards against any misuse by mischievous elements. Further to this, I would also like to draw your attention to the need for effective communication and for avoiding issue of loosely drafted letters, notices, etc. The image of the department ultimately depends on the level and nature of communication with taxpayers.
‘We are now in the last month of the financial year and, needless to say, all eyes are on revenue collections.
with best wishes
Yours sincerely
(M. Ajit Kumar)
Chairman
To
All Officers and Staff of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs