AP trader asked to pay Rs 20,000 fine for not showing Rs 15 GST

Mumbai: Tax authorities will not hesitate to send you a notice seeking hefty penalty if you fail or forget to include even a small amount of Goods and Services Tax in your GST returns form.

Recently a trader in southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh was asked by taxmen to cough up Rs 20,000 fine for not showing a GST of Rs 15 in his return filing form, according to a report in The Economic Times.

The notice from the tax department said, "It’s clearly established that you wilfully violated the provisions (of GST law)…a punishable offence,” the notice said. Under the new indirect tax regime, it has emerged the authorities will not tolerate any act of omission or commission on taxpayers' part.

The notice from the tax sleuths makes it clear that authorities may slap a notice 100,000 times more than the amount which was not shown either knowingly or unknowingly. It anyway amounts to an act of omission.

In July, the month of GST launch, the central government had asked as many as 200 officials in the country to make a list of traders and shop owners who were violating the provisions of GST laws. The team that was dispatched across the country included officers from the high profile IAS, IPS and IRS services.

The new indirect tax system was rolled out from July 1, since then traders have filed two GST returns, one for the month of July and another for August. According to data released by the government's media arm Press Information Bureau, total GST collections took a hit and came down in August.

In July, the government garnered Rs 94,000 crore till August 31 in total GST collections. Whereas, it received more than Rs 90,000 crore in total GST collections till September 25. The collections are down by Rs 4,000 crore.