New Delhi, Feb 6 (KNN) All Industries and Trade Forum (AITF) has written to the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amrinder Singh over the corruption in state Goods and Services Tax (GST) department.

According to letter being accessed by KNN India, Badish Jindal, President AITF alleged that new applications for GST registration are deliberately rejected by the state GST officials so that the applicant is forced to contact the officer directly, who then swindle the businessman.

''So, many times we have raised the complaints to the authorities but no action has been taken against any of the corrupt officer.

The state is losing more than 60 per cent of the revenue due to such corrupt officers,'' the letter read.

''The officers at the department issue show cause notices till they are contacted personally by the businessmen. He said the ratio of issuing show cause notices in SGST is more than 90 per cent whereas the applications sent to central Goods and Services Department merely got 10 per cent show causes and rejections,'' said Jindal.

Further, he also asserted that the officers ask people openly to pay or be rejected.

“To check the system, I filed GST registration application myself online, which went to a Ludhiana SGST officer. Even after replying the show cause notice, my application was rejected without assigning any reason,” added Jindal.

“One of the reasons for such frauds in Ludhiana is the long posting of officers who have formed nexus with agents and passer system,” he avowed.

He insisted a vigilance enquiry must be ordered against such officers for allowing evasion to the bogus units.

“Punjab has a potential to collect GST of more than Rs 70,000 crore a year, but unfortunately due to corruption in the state we are seriously lagging behind,” he said.

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