The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ( CBIC ) has released new instructions to address the mapping and de-mapping of officers on the GST Network (GSTN) portal. This move comes after a notable incident where an officer, improperly left mapped on the GSTN after his transfer, facilitated a fraudulent refund.
Dated October 4, 2024, the instructions highlight a significant systemic issue and mandate immediate action. The GST officer involved in the recent scandal was not de-mapped in a timely fashion, which led to unauthorised actions impacting the integrity of the GST system.
In response, the Directorate General of Vigilance (DGoV) has proposed several systemic improvements. Key among these is the prompt de-mapping of officers from the GSTN portal upon their formal release from duties, to be enforced under the General Financial Rules (GFR-33).
The Instruction stated that, “A reference has been received from the DGoV, CBIC, New Delhi stating therein that a GST officer, mapped in the GSTN portal, was not de-mapped with immediate effect after his relieving from the charge, which resulted into fraudulent sanction of refund by the officer.
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2. In this regard, certain systemic improvement has been suggested by DGoV (Hqrs), inter alia, recommending that officers should be immediately de-mapped from the concerned field formation, on the GSTN portal, upon execution of the GFR-33. DGoV further suggested that the same may be monitored by supervisory officers, preferably of the rank of Joint Commissioner / Additional Commissioner, and a compliance report in this regard may be sent to the jurisdictional Commissioner / Principal Commissioner or equivalent within a specified time period. It is also requested that clear responsibility and accountability of the concerned jurisdictional officers, responsible for mapping / un-mapping of the officers on the GSTN portal, may be ensured regarding the same.
3. In view of the above, it is requested that all Principal Commissioners/ Commissioners or equivalent, may be directed to ensure strict compliance of the directions given by the Directorate General of Vigilance (DGoV) in this regard.”
Supervisory officers, particularly those at the Joint Commissioner or Additional Commissioner level, are tasked with ensuring compliance. They must also submit a compliance report to their respective jurisdictional Commissioner or Principal Commissioner within a designated time frame.
Officers responsible for mapping and un-mapping on the GSTN are also reminded of their duties to prevent misuse and maintain strict supervision.
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