1.63 Lakh GST Registrations Cancelled In Two Months And 1,430 Cases Against 4,586 Fake GSTIN Entities

In order to handle the menace of fake firms, fly-by-night operators and circular trading entities, the GST field formations have cancelled 1,63,042 registrations in October and November this year due to non-filing of GSTR-3B returns for more than six months.

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Tax officials for non-filing of returns have cancelled GST registrations of over 1.63 lakh entities in October and November, sources said. According to the sources, out of the 720 deemed GST registrations were granted between August 21, 2020, to November 16, 2020, where Aadhaar authentication was not done, 55 have been identified for discrepancies and the process of cancellation has been initiated in these cases. In order to handle the menace of fake firms, fly-by-night operators and circular trading entities, the GST field formations have cancelled 1,63,042 registrations in October and November this year due to non-filing of GSTR-3B returns for more than six months. According to sources from the revenue department, all the GSTIN enterprises which had not filed their GSTR-3B returns for more than six months were first issued the cancellation notices and then their registrations were cancelled as per the standard operating procedure (SOP). Also, 28,635 taxpayers have been identified and all the GST Commissionerates have been directed to initiate suo-moto cancellation process in these cases as they have not filed their GSTR-3B returns for more than six months as on December 1, 2020. It is also worth mentioning that the Finance Ministry launched a drive against fake invoices fraud in the second week on November, and within one month the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) and Central GST Commissionerates have so far arrested 132 persons, including four chartered accountants and a woman for availing or passing on ineligible input tax credit (ITC) fraudulently. Meanwhile, 1,430 cases have been booked against more than 4,586 fake GSTIN entities across the country. A chartered accountant was arrested from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh for allegedly issuing fake ITC to the tune of Rs 20.97 crore by creating 14 fake firms without a supply of goods, sources said.