To check the tax evasion in the state and increase the government's income, Punjab Government has decided to set up a Tax Intelligence Unit (TIU). The approval to establish the tax intelligence wing was given by the state government on Tuesday, said the state Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Harpal Singh Cheema.
Cheema, sharing the details, said that apart from preventing tax evasion, the newly-established wing would help in increasing the Government’s income.
Available information suggests that the tax intelligence wing will be headed by an Additional Commissioner. Apart from one centralized unit, two more units will be established.
The centralized unit will consist of a Joint Commissioner, three Excise and Taxation Officers (ETOs), six inspectors and six experts as its members.
The Minister further said that apart from cyber, legal, business, more experts will be included in this wing, which will keep a close watch on the fake or counterfeit bills.
Cheema said that the Chief Minister has established a new Tax Intelligence Unit (TIU) in the State GST Commissionerate to monitor the GSTN platform for better analysis of the digital data available over it.
“The State Government has decided to establish TIU as all services and returns of registered taxpayers are available on GSTN platform in digital mode and it is creating a lot of data. This Unit will work directly under the control of the Taxation Commissioner, and Additional Commissioner (Enforcement) and Director (Investigation) will control it for day-to-day functioning,” he said.
“One Assistant Commissioner State Taxes, Three State Taxation Officers, and Six Taxation Inspectors will work full time in TIU,” said Cheema, adding that special Data Analysts, Legal experts, Cyber experts, and System managers were being recruited to make TIU professionally competent.
Cheema said that a state-level facility with all new technologies and data analysis mechanisms would be set up at the Taxation Office, Patiala. “It will be equipped with the latest hardware, software, and artificial intelligence tools for analysis of data being generated by GST Portal, E-way bill portal, and Toll data of NHAI. The major emphasis will be on identifying and taking strictest action on habitual tax evaders, persons involved in fake billing business, accumulation of bogus Input Tax Credit, etc”, said Cheema.
Disclosing the future plans and actions to improve the state revenues, Cheema said that the State Government has been working on the Department’s proposal to convert all Mobile Wings of State GST into State Prevention and Intelligence Units (SIPU).
“These SIPUs will be having nine different field units in various parts of the state and on Central Unit at Taxation Office, Patiala”, said Cheema while adding that these Units would especially work in coordination with TIU to undertake precise action by way of inspections, searches and seizures against big tax evaders.
The Finance Minister said that the Punjab Government had also decided to use the services of GST Prime, the latest data analysis tool created by NIC. “The GST Prime would help in the creation of specific data analysis reports on various parameters, and the strictest action would be initiated as per these reports,” he said.
He said that the Department has also undertaken a lot of activities to guide and facilitate genuine taxpayers so that they can do their business in a better way.
Reiterating Punjab Government’s commitment to improving the state’s fiscal health, Cheema said that the state government has received more than Rs 250 crores through enforcement actions by way of inspections and checking of vehicles; using data mining for recovery of pending dues from tax evaders and conducting an audit of selected high-volume taxpayers, whereas, during the regime of the previous government the department had received only Rs 600 crores in the past two years.
“It was very unfortunate that the previous government did not pay any attention to improving state finances and remained dependent only on the GST compensation being provided by the Centre Government,” he added.