The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has stated in its report that, “Even after four years of implementation of GST, a proper system of review and post-audit of refunds had not been effectively institutionalized so that the Department may rectify mistakes in time.”
“Timely refund processing facilitates the taxpayers by providing much needed liquidity and cash inflows. Audit examined GST refund cases processed and paid by the Central tax authorities pertaining to the period from July 2017 to July 2020. During the course of examination of records, Audit observed certain systemic and compliance issues in relation to grant of refund by the Department, which need to be addressed,” the report added.
Further, the report noted that “there exists a mechanism to match ITC availed by a taxpayer with the GSTR-1 returns filed by the suppliers and to identify fraudulent cases through data analytics after the amount has been paid. However, adequate systems were not in place to prevent and mitigate refund related frauds by using real time/near real time data analytics so as to alert the tax officials before sanction of refunds.”
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Taxpayers Are Not Eligible for Atal Pension Yojana