Stepped up VAT evasion probe among govt strategies to increase tax revenue

Sharesansar, May 27:

With a view to increase revenue collection through taxes, the government is coming up with measures that will enable it to control VAT evasion, broaden tax nets to bring in more sectors and speed up the process of collecting outstanding taxes. The measures are part of the government’s four-pronged strategy to mobilize revenues and include preparing a work plan to deepen the investigation into the pending VAT fraud cases. Businesses, including some the biggest corporate houses in the country, were found cheating the state coffers of billions of rupees by forging VAT bills. The government has already recovered around Rs 8 billion from settled cases. VAT has emerged as the major source of fund for the exchequer. For the ongoing fiscal year, the revenue department has already collected revenue worth Rs 234.45 billion, out of which, Rs 68.29 billion came from VAT. Tax officials have said the department is planning to launch awareness campaigns to collect the outstanding revenue dues from general tax payers.