Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman led a comprehensive review meeting with the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) to address various areas of work on Saturday. The meeting was attended by the Revenue Secretary, Chairman of CBIC, and Members of CBIC.
The review covered a range of areas, including trade facilitation, taxpayer services, grievance redressal, disciplinary cases, infrastructure projects, and the progress of the upcoming Palasamudram campus of the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics (NACIN). Sitharaman emphasized the importance of continuously improving taxpayer services and wanted to ensure that there is a systematic identification and redressal of grievances faced by members of the trade and industry who are part of the GST ecosystem.
During the review, Sitharaman was briefed on the final revenue achievement in total Indirect Tax collections for 2022-23, which stood at Rs. 13.82 lakh crore, an increase from Rs. 12.89 lakh crore in 2021-22. In terms of GST revenue, the average monthly collection for the year 2022-23 amounted to Rs. 1.51 lakh crore, with collections surpassing Rs. 1.4 lakh crore every month for a consecutive 12-month period.
Instructing CBIC to enhance their use of technology, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged for the implementation of an automated GST return scrutiny by the following week and the development of an action plan to expand the taxpayer base. She further recommended that measures be taken to improve employee welfare, which could include cadre restructuring, capacity building, and timely promotions, as well as prompt and efficient handling of disciplinary cases.
Moreover, in order to intensify its drive against fake billing and Input Tax Credit (ITC), Sitharaman suggested that CBIC undertake a comprehensive root cause analysis by studying the typology of cases already booked and come up with recommendations on technology-based solutions to address the issue and prevent its occurrence.
The CBIC also briefed Sitharaman about the activities carried out under the Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF-India), which is used to support capacity-building initiatives among the members of the World Customs Organisation (WCO).