FM Sitharaman Urges For Enhancement Of GST Registration Process

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has instructed officials to enhance the registration process of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) using technology in order to prevent the infiltration of fraudulent entities into the GST system. She has urged for a nationwide campaign to clarify the objectives of this special initiative, aimed at eliminating counterfeit entities. 

Yesterday, on 16 June, the Minister presided over a review meeting in New Delhi regarding the ongoing efforts to combat GST evasion through fraudulent billing. Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra and Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes, Vivek Johri, were present at the meeting. 

During the meeting, the FM was provided with an update on the actions taken against deceptive registrations. She was informed that more than 11,000 registrations had already been identified and action had been initiated against them. The FM took note of the current measures in place, such as Aadhar-based verification using One-Time Passwords (OTPs), as well as the pilot program utilising biometric-based Aadhar authentication for high-risk registrations. Officials also informed the FM about the extensive use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning tools to detect potential counterfeit networks.