Finance Minister’s 1st National Conference of Enforcement Chiefs
A first of its kind, National Conference of Enforcement Chiefs from the State and Central GST formations, was held on 4 March 2024 under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This initiative aims to strengthen the GST enforcement system and address classification-related issues of the GST system.
At the conference, dignitaries from all the major states and the center were present. Some of the attendees were Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary; Shri Sanjay Malhotra, Secretary, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance; Shri Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC); other senior officers of the Department of Revenue, GST Enforcement Chiefs of the States and Central GST authorities, CEO and representative of GSTN, other heads of enforcement like the Chairman Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Director, Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Director Central Narcotics Bureau (NCB); and DG, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) were also present at the occasion.
The idea behind this conference is to motivate the authorities to understand stakeholders’ concerns and problems better. Also, the finance minister highlighted the need for streamlined processes and enhanced compliance practices among taxpayers.
Technology was a big topic, taking centre stage at the conference. The finance minister National Conference of Enforcement Chiefs is keen to evolve the space of Indian GST and compliance with better and advanced technology solutions. She underscored the pivotal role of technology and how innovation on the technological front can lead to seamless coordination across states in the national interest.
Another segment that was a big hit is the use of data analytics to improve and foster the efficiency and accuracy of enforcement efforts.
Of course, while discussing the compliance realm, enough emphasis can’t be placed on the issue of GST evasion. The same was discussed at the conference. The various types of evasions, the modes via which they are being evaded, and the major sectors facing the evasions were highlighted. Also, it became clear that there is a need to use technological advancements to avoid such tax evasion by identifying high-risk taxpayers.
Surprisingly, fake e-invoices emerged as a significant type of GST evasion method, and measures to combat the same were a big discussion at the National Conference of Enforcement Chiefs.
This initiative comes as welcome news where the government stresses using this platform of National Conference of Enforcement Chiefs to discuss tax obstacles. Moreover, the platform encourages the enforcement chiefs of the Centre and states to exchange successful strategies. This collaborative initiative aims to build a stronger and more transparent tax infrastructure.
The constant upward trend in GST collection got unanimous appreciation. Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary mentioned how GST authorities’ efforts have helped in achieving Prime Minister’s mission towards achieving ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’.
He also exhalated the tremendous leadership efforts of Prime Minister and Finance Minister in making India’s economic journey from fragile five in 2014 to top five now.
He was also seen being quite positive about achieving a GST revenue target of Rs. 2 lakh crore every month soon.
Since it’s only the beginning of such an initiative, we are still to see the major positive effects of the National Conference of Enforcement Chiefs. But looking at the conference agenda, the government is heading in the right direction. Technology in today’s day and age is the solution. Looking at the overwhelming response of the taxpayers and the financial leaders to the new GST compliance regime, we establish that Indian taxpayers are keen to bridge the gaps between today and tomorrow.
