The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has released the Automated Return Scrutiny Module for automated scrutiny of Goods and Services Tax (GST) Returns in the backend of ACES-GST Application for Central Tax Officers.
Recently, during a performance review of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman instructed the CBIC to implement an Automated Return Scrutiny Module for GST returns at the earliest.
The new system was expected to launch soon and will correlate data from various GST returns to identify any mismatches. The CBIC has taken steps to comply with this directive by launching the module in the ACES-GST backend application for Central Tax Officers this week.
The purpose of this module is to enable tax officers to scrutinize GST returns of Centre Administered Taxpayers based on data analytics and identified risks. The module provides tax officers with a workflow to interact with taxpayers through the GSTN Common Portal, communicating discrepancies under FORM ASMT-10, receiving the taxpayer’s reply in FORM ASMT-11.
It also allows taking subsequent action in the form of either issuing an order of acceptance in FORM ASMT-12, issuing a show cause notice, or initiating an audit/investigation. The Automated Return Scrutiny Module is currently being implemented for the scrutiny of GST returns for the fiscal year 2019-20, with the necessary data already made available on officers’ dashboards.
To help with the crackdown on fraud, the Finance Minister had asked CBIC to conduct a comprehensive root cause analysis of cases already booked and provide recommendations for technology-based solutions to prevent future occurrences.
Additionally, the FM had stressed the need for continuous improvement of taxpayer services and suggested organizing interactions in each zone with members of trade and industry in the GST ecosystem to identify and systematically address any issues or suggestions they may have.
The new returns scrutiny system is expected to be implemented very soon for taxpayers and will correlate data from various GST returns to identify any mismatches.
The new automated GST Returns Scrutiny System automates the process of scrutinizing GST returns and generates alerts in cases of non-compliance. This technology-based solution aims to enhance tax compliance, reduce manual intervention, and increase the efficiency of tax administration.
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