A customer seeking confirmation of payment of Goods and Services Tax (GST) as part of his food bill, under the Right to Information Act, 2005, has been informed that no data were maintained by the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, on the remittances from individual bills.
Replying to a petition filed by S. Paulraj of Chennai under the RTI Act, the Chief Public Information Officer (CPIO) said the department did not have details of the payment of taxes with respect to individual bills. The taxpayer was mandated to file the details in a consolidated form for all the supplies made to unregistered persons.
The petitioner had referred to a bill issued by Anjappar Chettinad Restaurant in Chennai on June 8, 2022, and wrote to the office of the Principal Commissioner of GST&Central Excise.
According to the response he received, the payment fell under the ‘Business to Customer’ category, and hence, the department was not having details of the taxes paid for individual bills.
Dissatisfied with the response of the CPIO and the First Appellate Authority, Mr. Paulraj filed an appeal before the Central Information Commission (CIC). He said the supplier (the restaurant) was using a billing software to maintain details of payments made in electronic format.
Since the department was the receiver of the e-filing from the e-filer, the information he had requested was covered by the provisions of Section 2(f) of the Act.
Citing various provisions of the CGST Act, 2017, the CPIO reiterated that the information sought was unavailable with the department.
After hearing both sides, Information Commissioner Saroj Punhani said the Commission found no infirmity in the reply and the clarifications given by the CPIO were in consonance with the RTI Act.
However, the Commissioner added, “The Commission empathises with the concern of the appellant and advises him to pursue his grievance through proper channels.”
