Bhopal, March 16 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Leader of Opposition (LoP) and veteran Congress leader, Umang Singhar, on Monday, wrote a letter to the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, alleging that an organised Goods and Service Tax (GST) evasion is taking place in the state.
The Congress leader in his letter said that serious cases of organised GST evasion was taking place in Madhya Pradesh involving various other states and demanded an investigation from the Central government.
Singhar noted that, based on detailed information received from the border regions and major industrial districts of Madhya Pradesh, it is imperative to bring to the attention of the Central government this grave matter.
“A network for organised, large-scale GST evasion is currently operating in Madhya Pradesh, originating from various other states. Through this network, the transportation and trade of vast quantities of goods are being conducted without the payment of valid taxes,” LoP Singhar said.
The letter highlighted that various commercial commodities, including iron materials, construction supplies, and spices are being transported on a large scale via trucks from Gujarat, Maharashtra, and states in South India into Madhya Pradesh, from where they are subsequently distributed across the entire state.
LoP Singhar added that several serious irregularities have come to light regarding the operation of this organised system.
“Large quantities of goods are being transported using fraudulent or manipulated E-way bills. In numerous instances, under-invoicing is being practiced — where the actual quantity and value of the goods are deliberately understated in order to minimise the payment of applicable GST,” he alleged.
The Congress leader also alleged that the entire mechanism is being orchestrated through a network of intermediaries and transport operators working in an organised manner, who facilitate the movement of goods from various states into Madhya Pradesh without the payment of taxes.
LoP Singhar also mentioned that such activities are resulting in a potential annual revenue loss amounting to thousands of crores of rupees in GST collections for both the Central and the state governments.
The Congress leader urged the Union Finance Minister to initiate a comprehensive and impartial investigation into this entire incident at the Central level, and to conduct a thorough scrutiny of the roles played by the organised networks, transport channels, and associated entities involved therein.
LoP Singhar told IANS that the copies of the letter have also been forwarded to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairman Vivek Chaturvedi, Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister Jagdish Devda, and Amit Rathore, the State Principal Secretary of the Commercial Taxes Department.
–IANS
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