A year after GST~I
GST may have eliminated the odious Inspector Raj of the previous tax regime, but it has not ended tax evasion as was anticipated earlier. Indians in general are clever enough to beat any system when it comes to payment of taxes.
The All India Tax Advocates' Forum (AITAF) on May 4 asked Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to ensure confidentiality of the details furnished by the assessees with the tax authorities under the new tax regime of the Goods and Service Tax (GST).
“While framing the GST Rules, adequate safeguards of the information provided by the assessee like records, accounts, returns and statements to the tax under the new tax system must be ensured and penal provision be made for unauthorised disclosure or leakage of such information ,” AITAF president MK Gandhi said in a statement.
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Such a provision for protection of information submitted by an assessee to the tax authorities already exists in the DVAT Act, he said.
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Under the present Delhi Value Added Tax Act, all particulars contained in any statement made, return furnished or account or documents produced in accordance with this Act are being treated as confidential, Gandhi said.
“Protection of confidentiality of information submitted to the tax authorities is of extreme importance. Any compromise on this front will jeopardise the competitiveness of business enterprise, which holds key to economic growth,” he said.
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