A team of 60 GST officers conducted searches in 21 places of four major brick manufacturers in Thadagam and surrounding areas on Thursday. The officials seized incriminating documents and materials exhibiting tax evasion after search. “The tax evasion may run into atleast Rs 10 crore,” said an official.
As many as 196 brick kiln units are presently operting at Thadagam and surrounding areas in Coimbatore district. The building bricks attract 5% of GST. “Many brick manufacturers did not maintain invoice for the sales and they involved tax evasion. Based on the intelligence received and developed by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) department, the search was conducted for the four major brick manufacturers,” said the official.
GST joint commissioner VK Vamshadhara, issued a press note on Thursday night claiming that the brick kiln units have neither taken registration prescribed under section 22 of the Central GST Act, 2017 nor those that have taken registration have discharged the applicable duty as prescribed under section 9 of the CGST act. The units under the survey have been clandestinely removing the bricks without discharging the applicable tax causing substantial revenue loss to the exchequer.
The quantum of evasion is being ascertained and may run into a few crores.
The official added that one of the brick manufacturers owned a construction company, bus services, petrol bunk and he was involved in other business also. “Most of the brick kiln units did not get registration from the GST department. Some of them registered their unit names and were involved in tax evasion. The 60 officers are ascertaining the tax evasion details. If a manufacturer is involved in tax evasion of Rs 2 crore, he has to pay 100 % penalty (Rs 2 crore) and 18 % of interest (Rs 36 lakhs) to the GST department,” said the official.
