The Belagavi Enforcement Wing of Commercial Taxes Department, Karnataka, unearthed a prominent group operating multiple coaching institutes in Vijayapura district for alleged evasion of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Enforcement officials conducted simultaneous searches at the business and residential premises of the coaching institutes of the group and other commercial coaching facilities in the district.
“The officers seized incriminating records and digital evidence. As a result of the search operation, it is suspected that a substantial volume of turnover has been suppressed, and tax has been evaded. They have voluntarily deposited ₹1 crore in GST pending final quantification of turnover and tax,” said C. Shikha, Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Karnataka), in a press statement on Thursday.
The department has not disclosed the name the group. Coaching institutions are required to pay GST at 18%. “The department is in the pursuit of bringing all such institutes in this sector under the GST net,” Ms. Shikha said.
The department is at the forefront of e-governance, employing software analytical tools to detect fraud and tax evasion.
Last week, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah instructed commercial tax officers to take strict action against tax evaders in cases of tax evasion, tax leakage and tax pilferage in the state. He also said that the growth rate of tax collection by the state commercial tax department is 19.2%, which is higher than the country’s average of 15%. The government has set a target of 24% growth in taxes. He said that officers should not be satisfied and must explore the opportunities to detect tax evasion cases by intensive enforcement to exceed the tax collection target.
