The State Goods and Services Tax (GST) department has established a virtual cadre consisting of 78 department staff spread across the State for streamlining e-governance initiatives.
Finance Minister K. N. Balagopal, who formally inaugurated the cadre on Monday, called the formation an important step in the department's plans to upgrade itself. The virtual cadre will also help the department keep tax payment under surveillance and prevent irregularities, he said.
The Minister reiterated the concern that Kerala stood to lose out on tax revenues if the Centre declines to extend the GST compensation period by another five years as demanded by various States. He also called for stern action against tax evasion.
The department has formed the virtual cadre by recruiting tech-savvy staff members, and they will be part of the cadre alongside their regular work, Taxes Commissioner Rathan U. Kelkar and Taxes Special Commissioner Mohammed Y. Safirulla said.
The cadre has three important objectives - the creation of a technically competent team that can hand-hold the rest of the department staff in IT-related matters, reduce dependence on outside agencies (the members of the cadre will act as master trainers), and act as a bridge for adoption of new technologies in the department.
''The cadre will help the department in developing an evidence-based and transparent tax compliance regime,'' said Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) Rajesh Kumar Singh.
With support from the Kerala State IT Mission, the cadre will be provided training by the Digital University Kerala (DUK).
At the online function, the Finance Minister also inaugurated the new Regional IT Training Centre of the department at the State GST Complex in Kozhikode. The second centre after the one in Thiruvananthapuram, it will cater to the training needs of department employees in northern Kerala.
