GST Evasion During FY24 Doubles To Rs 2.01 Lakh Crore, Data Reveals

Tax evasion under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime in the 2023-24 fiscal year (FY24) soared to Rs 2.01 lakh crore, official data showed. Comparatively, the tax evaded during the preceding 2022-23 fiscal year (FY23) stood at Rs 1.01 lakh crore, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGCI) revealed on Saturday.

This surge in detected tax evasion pointed out the rising obstacles in the enforcement of the GST regime. Amongst the sectors, online gaming and BFSI in services emerged as the most prone to evasion. Goods such as iron, copper, alloys, and scraps dominated in the category as well, reported PTI.

The online gaming sector reported maximum evasion of Rs 81,875 crore in 78 cases in FY24, followed by the Banking, Financial and Insurance (NFSI) sector which clocked evasion of Rs 18,961 crore in 171 cases.

Meanwhile, in products, goods such as iron, copper, alloys, and scrap logged evasion of Rs 16,806 crore. Meanwhile, pan masala, cigarette, bidi, and tobacco reported 212 tax evasion cases worth Rs 5,794 crore.

The cases of GST evasion stood at 6,084 in FY24, against 4,872 cases reported in the year-ago period, data showed. Voluntary taxes during FY24 stood at Rs 26,605 crore, increasing from Rs 20,713 crore in FY23.

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The annual report of the DGCI stated that nearly 46 per cent of the evasion cases were related to non-payment of tax, while 20 per cent were regarding fake Input Tax Credit (ITC). Meanwhile, nearly 19 per cent of tax evasion was related to wrong availment/non-reversal of ITC.

The overall GST evasion during FY24 as detected by the DGCI officers and Central GST zone surpassed Rs 2.37 lakh crore in 20,576 cases. The data showed that tax evasion has been steadily increasing ever since the GST regime was introduced in 2017.

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