Page 13 - Banking Finance October 2024

ROUNDUP

October, as part of an initiative to pro-
vide them with Aadhaar-like unique GST Evasion Doubles in FY24, Mumbai Tops the List
IDs. Agriculture Secretary Devesh Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion in India surged to Rs. 2.01 lakh crore
Chaturvedi announced the program, in FY24, nearly doubling the previous year's figure of Rs. 1.01 lakh crore,
which aims to register five crore farm- according to data from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI).
ers by March 2025. Mumbai recorded the highest amount of evasion at Rs. 70,985 crore, fol-
lowed by Delhi, Pune, Gurugram, and Hyderabad.
The unique ID will enable farmers to
access various government schemes, Among services, online gaming, banking, and financial services were the
such as the Minimum Support Price most prone to evasion, while sectors such as iron, copper, and tobacco prod-
(MSP) and Kisan Credit Card program, ucts were flagged for significant GST evasion in goods. Out of the total eva-
with ease. The initiative is part of the sion cases detected in FY24, voluntary payments amounted to Rs. 26,605
Rs. 2,817-crore Digital Agriculture crore across 4,520 cases. The most common evasion methods involved non-
Mission, and a pilot project has already payment of taxes through clandestine supply and undervaluation, compris-
been conducted in Maharashtra and ing 46% of cases.
Uttar Pradesh.
while seeking to balance this with the ing, shifts the responsibility of GST pay-
India Requires Rs. 30 Tril- interests of the payment and fintech ments from landlords to tenants when
lion Investment for 500 industries. This move aligns with global the landlord is not registered with GST
efforts, particularly by the Financial authorities.
GW of Renewable Energy Action Task Force (FATF), to combat This adjustment aims to plug revenue
by 2030 terror financing and money laundering leakage from unregistered property
India will need an investment of Rs. 30 through stricter norms for card and owners and expand the tax base, es-
lakh crore by 2030 to achieve its am- online transactions. pecially for commercial properties
bitious target of generating 500 GW of Although industry players, including used for business purposes. While this
renewable energy, according to Union global payment giants, have raised change will likely improve compliance
Minister for New and Renewable En- concerns about the costs of compliance and boost government revenue, it
ergy Pralhad Joshi. The announcement and changes to systems, India remains may increase costs for tenants, as they
came ahead of the 4th Global Renew- committed to enhancing data avail- now bear the GST burden on rentals.
able Energy Investors Meet & Expo ability on fund transfers. The FATF is
(RE-INVEST) 2024, which will be inau- currently deliberating on how to en- GST Cut on Key Cancer
gurated by Prime Minister Narendra sure that essential information on Drugs to Improve Patient
Modi. cross-border transactions is readily ac-
The global summit, scheduled for Sep- cessible to law enforcement agencies Access
tember 16-18, 2024, in Gandhinagar, without being masked, thus enabling In a move aimed at reducing the finan-
faster interventions. cial burden of cancer treatment, the
will bring together key stakeholders in
the renewable energy sector. Joshi government has reduced the Goods
emphasized that the investment will be GST Tweak on Commercial and Services Tax (GST) on essential
critical to achieving India's renewable Rentals Expected to Boost cancer drugs. This tax cut is expected
energy goals. to enhance patient access to life-sav-
Revenue ing treatments, especially as cancer
Government Pushes for The recent Goods and Services Tax cases continue to rise in India.

Greater Disclosures in (GST) Council decision to impose GST Pharmaceutical industry representa-
on commercial property rentals under tives have urged the government to
Digital Payments the reverse charge mechanism (RCM) extend this tax exemption to all rare
The Indian government is supporting is expected to increase government disease medications, in addition to
increased transparency in credit card tax revenues. The new rule, which took cancer drugs. Anil Matai, Director
and digital payment transactions, effect after the Council's 54th meet- General of the Organisation of Pharma-

12 | 2024 | OCTOBER | BANKING FINANCE