Biometric-based Aadhaar authentication and document verification have been introduced for Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration from October 8, the State GST Department said on Friday.

These measures are meant to prevent tax fraud through the misuse of government-issued identification documents such as Aadhaar and PAN cards without the knowledge of their owners for tax fraud. Such incidents have come to light across the country.

In Kerala, the GST Intelligence wing had detected incidents where these documents were used for creating fake GST registrations. The department also noted that Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat had reported a significant dip in such fraudulent activities following the introduction of biometrics-based Aadhaar authentication.

Candidates are selected for Aadhaar authentication from among the taxpayers who have filed applications on the common portal on the basis of data analysis and risk parameters, the department said. In the ‘high-risk’ cases, the biometric Aadhaar authentication is carried out. For the rest, an OTP-based Aadhaar authentication has been recommended.

The GST council recommended introducing biometric-based Aadhaar authentication for GST registrations in a phased manner in June this year.

The authentication has to be completed within 15 days of submitting the GST REG-01 application on the common portal for the registration.

Source: The Hindu