The government is expecting a revenue loss of Rs 10,000-15,000 crore annually on account of the recent changes in customs duty on iron and steel and plastic, an official said on Monday.

Share Market Live

NSE

The government, with effect from May 22, waived customs duty on the import of some raw materials, including coking coal and ferronickel, used by the steel industry — a move which will lower the cost for the domestic industry and reduce the prices.

Regarding these changes, especially steel and iron ore, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has received representations and the government is clear that it is unlikely to revoke the recent changes that were announced.

The Goods and Service Tax (GST) is going to give a further cushion to augment revenue collections for the ongoing fiscal. The government is looking at further enhancing audits and scrutiny exercises. It has already started the initial exercise, where it has identified 35,000 returns under scrutiny and risk-assessment-based scrutiny. The second tranche of risk assessment-based scrutiny is also likely to begin after two months, where the government will reach out to taxpayers on the basis of risk assessment on the audit and scrutiny to check for loopholes. Wherever there is a revenue leakage, the government would like to tighten these loopholes, sources said.

The GST Council is likely to meet in the second half of June. However, the government is yet to decide on a final date. No particular agenda has been decided yet as well. However, the decision of soon shifting anti-profiteering cases to Competition Commission of India (CCI) is almost final, government sources said.

At present, there are around 400 pending cases and in November, the tenure of the National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) will lapse and the all these cases will then be transferred to the Competition Commission of India.

First Published:May 30, 2022 7:40 PM IST