MANISH GUPTA
Ranchi, Aug 5: The Central Goods and Service Tax Commissionerate (CGST), Ranchi has identified a new segment to augment its revenues. It is recovering Input Tax Credit (ITC) claimed under GST by people on their purchase of passenger cars.
“We have started focusing on provisions that were not much looked into earlier. We find people claiming input tax credit on passenger cars whereas passenger cars are in the negative list,” CGST Ranchi Principal Commissioner SK Singh told latagar24.com.
The CGST officials have started their new initiative by first targeting the owners of high-end luxury cars like Mercedes and Audi. “Soon we are going to identify even the owners of Toyota, Hyundai and Maruti. Recoveries have started coming,” said an official.
Sources in the commissionerate informed that they have already collected Rs 67 lakh from such illegal claimants till date in the current fiscal. “We have given notices to many more and expect another Rs 2.50 crore to Rs 3 crore in next few months,” the official said.
It may be noted that vehicles used for transportation of passengers having capacity of 13 or less than 13 persons including the driver are ineligible for ITC under the GST. Officials inform that several people have claimed ITC on multiple cars in the state.
Apart from this, new avenue and the recoveries being made from illegal ITC claimants using fake invoices, the CGST has got busy with another segment.
“In January 2022, the GST rate on goods and services supplied to state corporations was raised from 12 per cent to 18 per cent. We have now started collecting the differential tax from these private parties (vendors). We have recovered Rs 3.25 crore till date and have given notices for another about Rs 9 crore,” the official said.
As for the vendors, who could be MSMEs in large numbers and working on thin margins based on calculations of their contract with the state corporations, the CGST official said that they can take the matter up with the state companies and get it resolved.
