The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has launched the Automated Return Scrutiny Module for GST returns in the ACES-GST backend application for Central Tax Officers this week. The module has been introduced to comply with the directions of the Hon’ble Union Finance Minister, who had given instructions to roll out an Automated Return Scrutiny Module for GST returns at the earliest.
The Automated Return Scrutiny Module will facilitate the scrutiny of GST returns for Center Administered Taxpayers selected on the basis of data analytics and risks identified by the System. The module will display discrepancies on account of risks associated with a return to tax officers. It will provide tax officers with a workflow for interacting with taxpayers through the GSTN Common Portal for communication of discrepancies noticed under FORM ASMT-10, receipt of taxpayer’s reply in FORM ASMT-11, and subsequent action in the form of either the issuance of an order of acceptance of reply in FORM ASMT-12 or the issuance of a show cause notice or initiation of audit/investigation.
The implementation of the Automated Return Scrutiny Module has commenced with the scrutiny of GST returns for the financial year 2019-20, and the requisite data for the purpose has already been made available on the officers’ dashboard.
The Automated Return Scrutiny Module is a non-intrusive means of compliance verification that will enable tax officers to carry out the scrutiny of GST returns in a more efficient and effective manner.
This is a positive step towards strengthening the compliance mechanism and ensuring that taxpayers comply with GST laws in a timely and accurate manner.
The press note has been issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs and is available on their website for further reference.