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Agrofood Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged the Tamil Nadu government to withdraw the recent State GST amendments that give provisions to the Roving Squad Officers to levy a heavy penalty for non-tax evasion errors during the inspection.
The Chamber strongly objects to the amendments dated January 10, 2023, issued by the Tamilnadu Commercial Taxes Department through its Circular bearing No.10/2019 dated May 31, 2019.
The new rules give instructions to the Roving Squad to levy the maximum penalty of double the tax amount, during the inspection of goods vehicles in transit, even for errors not involving any tax evasion, as per Section 129 of the GST Act, S Rethinavelu, President of the Chamber said in a statement.
Levying of lesser penalty has been deleted and the new provisions prescribe for the levy of 200 per cent of the tax amount even for the consignment accompanied by tax invoice and a valid e-way bill showing sufferance of tax, in which a non-tax evasion error is noticed.
Under Central GST Circular only ₹500 has been prescribed as a penalty for non-tax evasion. The amendments are against the principle of GST viz., One Nation; One Tax,” he pointed out.
The new amendments also prescribe the levy of penalty even in a case, where the godown in which the goods are delivered is a registered godown of the tax payer, but inadvertently omitted to mention the address in the e-way bill. The Roving Squad officers are provided with a mobile app to log in to the GSTN portal, wherein the details of taxpayers’ registered godowns are available.
“We wonder, how a penalty can be levied in such cases, which is against the provisions of GST Act Rules,” he said.
The Chamber indicated that the levy of such heavy penalties will pose a threat to the survival of trade and industry and has requested the State government to withdraw the new amendments and implement TV Somanathan’s Circular, which is giving protocols in detail to the Roving Squad to be adopted during inspection of goods vehicles and prescribing a lesser penalty for errors without any tax evasion, in letter and spirit.
It has also requested the intervention of the Chief Minister in this matter and form a State GST Council with trade representatives to discuss such issues before implementation.
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