Finance Ministry notifies GST Database as Protected System under Information Technology Act [Read Notification]

The Ministry of Finance has notified the GST Database as Protected System under the Information Technology Act, 2000.

On February 4, 2020, the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance through a notification in the Official Gazette of India authorized some people to have access to the protected system under Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN).

Section 70(1) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 empowers the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance the goods and service tax database and it is related infrastructure discrepancies which are installed at Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN). Those GST database which are installed at Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) are also known as protected systems under the Information Technology Act, 2000.

This notification is issued by Sunil Kumar, the Under Secretary Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance. Through this notification has empowered some specified persons to have access to the protected system under Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN). The persons specified are as follows:

1. Those persons who are designated Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) employees authorized by the heads of Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN).
2. Those persons who are designated as tax officers of the central government, state government, Union Territories, auditing agencies and the accounting authorities.
3. Those persons who are the authorized members or the employees of the contractual Managed Service Provider or any third-party vendor or vendors or its partners.
4. The person who is an authorized business partner under Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN).

The rationale of the Union government is to maintain the confidentiality of the protected data so as to avoid the misuse of data under Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN).