GST Crackdown: Eateries and Ice Cream Parlours in Gujarat Evade Taxes Using Personal QR Codes

By: Admin
June 13, 2024
Categories: GST Recent News
4 Min Read

In a recent crackdown, the state Goods and Services Tax (GST) department exposed significant tax evasion among various eateries and ice cream parlours in Gujarat. The raids revealed that Rs 30 crore worth of ice creams, Rs 6.75 crore worth of bhajiyas (fritters), and Rs 4 crore worth of pizzas were sold without proper billing. This discovery is part of a broader investigation that has uncovered Rs 370 crore in tax evasion by small businesses in the business-to-consumer (B2C) segment over the past six months.

Businesses with annual turnovers exceeding Rs 40 lakh for goods and Rs 20 lakh for services are required to register for GST and pay taxes on their sales. However, many businesses were found concealing their actual sales to avoid these taxes. A senior SGST official explained that many businesses accepted cash payments and did not record them in their account books to show lower turnover and evade taxes. Others deposited money into various accounts using QR codes to hide the transactions.

Additionally, some businesses collected GST from customers but did not remit it to the government. They also used billing software to generate and later erase transactions, often with the assistance of software developers. The SGST department has conducted raids on various establishments, implicating over 300 individuals, and is taking necessary actions against the involved business owners.