Page 14 - Banking Finance September 2025

ROUNDUP

ies and alcoholic beverage units. These The Indian government is working on OCI card can be cancelled
proposals were presented during the a voluntary code of conduct for com-
'UP Excise Investors' Summit' held in panies leveraging artificial intelligence for serious criminal of-
Lucknow. (AI), alongside new procurement fences: Govt

Excise Minister Nitin Agarwal high- guidelines to ensure responsible AI use The Indian government has introduced
lighted that the summit is part of the in the public sector. The move aligns new rules allowing the cancellation of
with global regulatory trends, includ-
state's strategy to promote the alco- Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards for
hol value chain and support its $1 tril- ing the EU's risk-based AI framework. holders convicted or charged with se-
lion economy vision. So far, 55 excise- "Risks and risk-based assessments have rious crimes.
related projects worth Rs. 11,000 become the cornerstone in the way According to a gazette notification is-
crore have been launched, of which 19 the EU regulates AI, and that is some- sued by the Ministry of Home Affairs,
projects worth Rs. 2,340 crore have thing we are also working on," said S. OCI registration will be liable for can-
been commissioned, while 27 are un- Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Elec- cellation if the cardholder is sentenced
der development. tronics and Information Technology, to a prison term of two years or more
while addressing the Abhay Tripathi
The minister also noted a sharp rise in or is named in a charge sheet for an
memorial lecture in New Delhi.
excise revenue, from Rs. 17,000 crore offence carrying a jail sentence of
in 2016-17 to Rs. 53,000 crore in 2024- He also stated that the government seven years or more.
25. The government's focus remains on supports a revenue-sharing model be- The notification, issued under Section
fostering export-oriented policies and tween AI developers, especially large 7D of the Citizenship Act, 1955, tight-
enhancing the state's industrial base language model (LLM) companies, and ens oversight of OCI cardholders
through supportive investment initia- original content creators whose work who have serious legal cases against
tives in the beverage sector. is used in AI training. The policy discus- them.
sions come amid growing concerns
Govt drafting voluntary over data privacy, bias, and transpar- The OCI scheme permits eligible per-
ency in AI systems and reflect India's sons of Indian origin to live and travel
code of conduct for AI use
efforts to establish a robust yet inno- in India without requiring a visa. How-
in India vation-friendly AI ecosystem. ever, individuals who are, or have
been, citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh,
or other countries specified by the gov-
GST officials detect Rs. 15,851 crore fake ITC claims
ernment are not eligible. The move
in Q1 FY26 reflects efforts to enhance national
GST officers detected Rs. 15,851 crore worth of fake input tax credit (ITC) security and accountability.
claims during the April-June quarter of FY26, a 29% increase over the same
period last year. The fraudulent claims involved 3,558 fake firms, compared
to 3,840 detected in Q1 FY25.
Join
Despite the rise in fraudulent claims, officials noted that the drop in fake
firm detection points to the success of recent drives against bogus GST reg- Online Certificate
istrations. The crackdown led to the arrest of 53 individuals and recovery of Course on
Rs. 659 crore. In comparison, Q1 FY25 had seen 26 arrests and Rs. 549 crore
recovered. Re-Insurance

A panel of state finance ministers, headed by Goa CM Pramod Sawant, is Management
reviewing sector-wise tax evasion and fraud. Officials report an average de-
tection rate of 1,200 fake firms per month. The authorities continue efforts For details please visit
to strengthen compliance and curb misuse of ITC mechanisms under the GST www.smartonlinecourse.co.in
regime.

BANKING FINANCE | SEPTEMBER | 2025 | 13