The intelligence wing of the State Goods and Services Tax Department detected 17,262 tax evasion cases in the 2021-22 fiscal.
Inspections carried out across the State revealed absence of proper documentation and attempts to evade tax payment using papers bearing incomplete or incorrect information. A sum of ₹79.48 crore came to the government by way of recouped tax and fine, the department said on Monday.
The cases were detected through inspections carried out by intelligence squads, the 24-hour surveillance squads operating with the help of number-plate recognition cameras on the State borders, and inspections at parcel agencies and railway stations.
As many as 2,881 test purchases were made by the department last fiscal to make sure that consumers are issued bills in accordance with the GST Act.
Cases were registered against 1,468 establishments and a fine of ₹2,000 each was imposed in this regard. This was the first time that such a large number of test purchases had been made. It would continue in the current fiscal, the department said.
The department would continue its efforts to detect fraudulent activities such as 'benami' registration, bill trading, circular trading and fake input tax credit, Taxes Commissioner Rathan U. Kelkar said.
The department's intelligence wing is supervised by Mr. Kelkar and Special Commissioner Veena Madhavan, and a Joint Commissioner (Enforcement) at the Taxes Commissionerate and three zonal joint commissioners (Intelligence) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, and Kozhikode.
