CCI Urges Relief for Honest Businessmen: Harassment on Technicalities Must End, Says Arun Gupta

Jammu,31-10-2024: Sh. Arun Gupta, President Chamber of Commerce & Industry, along with Sh. Anil Gupta, Sr. Vice President, Sh. Rajeev Gupta, Jr. Vice President and Sh. Rajesh Gupta, Treasurer met the Commissioner State Taxes Department and discussed with him various issues which are badly affecting the business community.  While speaking on the occasion Sh. Arun Gupta said that the businessmen who are doing their business honestly, paying GST and also are filing  their GST return in time are also harassed on one pretest or the other. There is a general practice that even businessmen who are doing their business honestly are being harassed on technical grounds; even on minor mistakes, they are not been spared by the authorities. Sometimes when our traders import items with proper billing and try to deliver the imported goods to the parties nearby their business premises, they are penalized on the ground that as per GST laws first they have to unload the imported goods at their own business premises and then they can shift the said goods to the premises of the dealer to whom said goods have been sold by using another vehicles. When there is no tax evasion on the part of buyer or seller why these innocent persons are penalized by the authorities.

Sh. Arun Gupta also briefed the Commissioner State tax department that there are some dealers who have purchased taxable goods during Covid-19 period and have claimed the input tax credit. However they could not make the payment of their purchase bills within the prescribed period of 180 days because the financial services and working in the banks remained badly effected during the Covid period. The department has reversed the Input tax credit and imposed penalties and interest on these dealers. He requested the State Taxes Department that the interest and penalty imposed should be waived off.

While replying to the issues raised in the meeting, the Commissioner State Taxes said that I also firmly believe that when there is no tax evasion the parties should not be harassed and penalized by the department. In this regard I have already conveyed my views to my officers.

Regarding the issue pertaining to reversing the Input tax Credit and imposing penalties and interest, he said that the government is going to announce an amnesty scheme to resolve this issue.