Amit Mitra writes to Union FM to control massive GST fraud
On Monday, in a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, former finance minister of Bengal and the current principal chief advisor to the chief minister, Amit Mitra, urged a prompt meeting of the GST Council to address the significant issue of GST fraud and work towards a time-bound solution.
”I write this to you out of extreme concern and deep anguish. The manner in which the news concerning GST frauds are making headlines even after six and a half years of its implementation is appalling,” wrote Mitra.
He referred to the Union government’s press statement on Sunday about the government’s special drive against the fake registration of businesses launched in mid-May last year. The statement said that that drive has resulted in the detection of a suspected input tax credit evasion of Rs 44,015 crore by 29,273 bogus firms.
“In this regard, I would also like to highlight that in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on July 31, 2023, concerning GST evasion, you stated that during the period from 2020-21 till May 2023, a total of 43,516 cases of GST fraud was detected involving ₹2,68,537 crore!!” he further wrote.
Therefore, he said, a “full GST Council” mus be called “immediately” to find out the “root causes of this massive fraud and find timebound solutions to this heinous menace”.
