Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Government has decided to redeploy a large number of employees in the Good and Services Tax (GST) Department to make the functioning of the department more effective in view of the rise in tax evasion and decrease in tax collection.
Though such a move was planned at the time of the introduction of GST in the State and announced in the last State Budget, the implementation was delayed due to many factors.
Now, the Finance Department has decided to give sanction for reconstituting the GST Department. The State Cabinet will soon ratify this move.
As part of the reconstitution, an audit wing will be formed and around 750 employees will be redeployed there. More attention will be given to the functioning of the GST Intelligence wing.
The Finance Department's assessment is that the decrease in the GST revenue happens mainly due to tax evasion. This is the reason why the auditing department is going to be strengthened by the government.
Training will be given to the officials redeployed on how to do the GST return audit. This will help find out the exact amount of tax evasion and tax dues.
Instead of squads inspecting vehicles and seizing goods all the time, the Intelligence set-up will be strengthened. Tax evasion will also be countered by proper checking of e-way bills.