Ludhiana, May 22 (KNN) Ludhiana businessmen are concerned about genuine dealers being at risk of harassment during the ongoing drive against fake GST registrations, reported TOI.

Ludhiana MSME Association president Harish Kairpal said, "The GST officials are welcome to carry out the drive against suspicious and fake companies as we ourselves are fed up with the menace created by them. But we request the authorities to ensure that genuine businessmen are not bothered or intimidated during this drive in anyway."

“While we fully support the rules and regulations introduced by the government to check malpractices like bogus billing and tax evasion, we think there is a high risk of harassment of genuine businessmen. For instance, those who are registered under GST but have temporarily shut their businesses can also figure in this list and can be subjected to tough questioning and harassment by the visiting officials,” Rajkumar Singla, president of Fastener Suppliers' Association, Ludhiana, said.

The GST department is expected to carry out the drive for two months, and reportedly, around 300 'suspicious GST registrations' are under the CGST scanner.

"As far as Ludhiana is concerned, there is no doubt about existence of suspicious GST registrations and dealers, but it is hard to ascertain the exact number because the entire analysis is being done by centralised computer systems which pass on information to us time to time for different wards and divisions,” reported TOI quoting a CGST commissionerate official.

Under the ongoing drive, tax administration will employ advanced data analytics and risk parameters to detect fraudulent GSTINs. Upon identification, concerned officer will take necessary measures to suspend and cancel the counterfeit GSTINs, besides pursuing suitable courses of action as deemed necessary.  (KNN Bureau)