It's almost close to three years since the roll-out of the biggest indirect tax reform, the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The government has now launched a massive enforcement drive, pan-India with a motive to check tax evasion and re-confirm fake credits.

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The taxman has started issuing GST audit notices to taxpayers for the first year of the roll-out, i.e. GST FY17-18.

According to a copy of the tax notice reviewed by CNBC-TV18, the taxman has invoked section 65 of the CGST Act for an audit of accounts and records covering the period of 2017-18 (July-March) or from the date of the last audit to 2017-18.

This audit drive according to sources will happen throughout the country during January and February 2020, post which a detailed field-wise report will be submitted to the centre, highlighting weeding out tax evaders and fake refunds and credit claimants.

The taxman in the notice has summoned the taxpayers to come with detailed records of as many as 12 specific documents, with an immediate appearance in person with the taxman.

These documents according to the notices include several GST forms, income tax papers, input service invoices, electronic cash/credit ledger, business agreements of sales and purchase, etc.

Pratik Jain of PWC India said explained this move. He reasoned that this wasn't exactly an unexpected move by the taxman.

“For 2017-18 the GST audit report was supposed to be filed by the businesses initially by December 2018. Then it got extended and now the revised final timeline hopefully is January 31, 2020. So, it has already been extended several times... So, the industry perhaps cannot say now that they were not expecting it. They should have been prepared for this earlier," he said.

First Published:Jan 8, 2020 6:15 PM IST