Industrial houses and multinationals Companies have got big relief. GST regional officers will now have to take the approval of their regional Principal Chief Commissioners (Commissioners) before initiating investigation against any big industrial house or major multinational company. They will also have to take the approval of regional Principal Chief Commissioners for imposing duty on goods/services for the first time. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has issued guidelines for Central GST (CGST) officers.
Issue official letter instead of summons
As per these guidelines, when a taxpayer is being investigated by State GST and DGGI officers, the Principal Commissioner will consider the possibility of all cases in respect of the taxpayer being processed by one office. The guidelines also set a time limit for tax authorities to complete the investigation within one year of the initiation of the investigation. CBIC further said that to initiate investigation in respect of a listed company or PSU or seek details from them, CGST authorities should issue an official letter instead of sending summons to the designated officer of the entity. The board said this letter should detail the reasons for the investigation and demand the production of documents within a reasonable time period.
Will start only after the approval of the Commissioner
It further states that tax authorities should not ask the taxpayer for information which is already available online on the GST portal. The guidelines also state that every investigation should be initiated only after the approval of the Principal Commissioner. However, prior written approval of the Regional Principal Chief Commissioner will be required to initiate investigation and take action in the four categories. These four categories include cases of interpretation seeking to impose tax/duty for the first time on any sector/goods/service. Apart from this, cases involving large industrial houses and major multinational corporations, sensitive cases or cases of national importance and such cases which are already before the GST Council are included in it.
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