- Government has tabled the Comptroller and Auditor General(CAG) audit report on the Goods and Services Tax(GST) in the Parliament.
- The report has said that the government had failed to try out the GST system before its rollout leading to inadequate compliance mechanisms, and lower tax revenues.
- The report has also pointed out that the complexity of the return mechanism and the technical glitches in invoice-matching has rendered the system prone to Input Tax Credit(ITC) frauds.
- The report said that post-implementation,the Centre’s revenue from GST has registered a decline of 10% in 2017-18 compared to revenue of subsumed taxes in 2016-17.
- The audit report has also said that the Central government has not been following the rules set out regarding the transfer of revenue to the States.
- GST (Goods and Services Tax) is an indirect tax that has replaced many Central and State taxes like excise duty, VAT and service tax.It is a single comprehensive tax levied on all goods and services produced in India as well as those imported from other countries.
- Input tax credit is the tax that a business pays on a purchase and that it can use to reduce its tax liability when it makes a sale.In other words, businesses can reduce their tax liability by claiming credit to the extent of GST paid on purchases.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India is an authority established by Article 148 of the Constitution of India.The CAG is appointed by the President of India following a recommendation by the Prime Minister.
