Bribery Allegations For GST Registration: CBIC Issues Clarification

GST Registration: A social media user Vinod Gupta expressed frustration regarding not receiving his GST registration. Gupta alleged that he has been facing objections for 20 days and has not received his GST registration. He added that he will now resort to bribing officials to get the registration.

"Tomorrow, I will commit a Crime. Giving and taking bribery: both are crimes. I applied for GST registration number of a firm in which my wife and daughter are partners. I applied 20 days back and objections started coming in. Till today the number has not been allotted. So I have decided to get the GST number tomorrow. I know I will get it after committing the crime," Gupta said.

Soon Gupta's post went viral and was reshared on social media platform X by a user named 'Abhishek Raja Ram'. Ram also highlighted that the CBIC is unaware of the reality of corruption in GST Registrations. Following the virality of the post, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and and the official handle of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) issued a clarification in the matter.

"CBIC has no idea of ground reality of corruption in GST Registrations. Their Executive Officers are so corrupt that even VG Sir has to vent out his frustration. Better Top level Officers take control of Registrations to save the country from corruption. Raise your voice Before it's too late. Please Stop your work for few seconds and raise your voice against corruption in GST," Ram said in his post.

As the matter further snowballed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman added that its the government's duty to provide services to the taxpayer and maintain transparency while doing so.

"To provide service to the taxpayer is our duty. While so serving the taxpayers, transparency and integrity are crucial in earning their trust and confidence. Confident that the Board and the field formations will remain sensitive and responsive," Sitharaman wrote in her post.

However, the CBIC stepped in and issued a clarification in response to Raja Ram's post and denied any malpractice or unnecessary delay on its part. The CBIC said that the application was filed by Gupta on May 26 and was assigned to the Delhi State GST.

The CBIC added that the case was processed on time and the Delhi GST raised a query citing incomplete information as the designation of the person who has signed the rent papers on behalf of the company was missing from the application.

The department added that the reply was pending from the taxpayer's end and the application can only be processed once the missing information is furnished by Gupta. The CBIC also urged netizens to not circulate incorrect information on social media without complete knowledge of the facts.