Since the GST is connected to ED, business owners who pay taxes risk being arrested: CM of Delhi Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, said on Tuesday that because the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is connected to the Goods and Services Tax (GST), even businesses that are paying the tax may be detained.

Kejriwal believed that attendees of the GST Council meeting on Tuesday would be against this development.

To let the ED to exchange information with the GST network, the government changed the money-laundering law’s clauses. The action would aid in the recovery of the GST that was laundered money to avoid paying.

 

“A significant fraction of merchants fail to pay GST, some unwillingly and others knowingly. The Centre recently included the GST within the ED’s jurisdiction. In a tweet in Hindi, Kejriwal said that this change indicates that the ED would henceforth arrest a businessman immediately if he doesn’t pay the GST and no bail will be given.

 

The GSTN manages the system’s technological foundation and serves as the central repository for all data pertaining to the GST, including returns, tax filings, and other compliances.

 

The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, has been amended, and GSTN is now placed on the list of organizations with which the ED will exchange information.

 

“The GST system is so complicated that some sections allow even individuals who pay GST to be imprisoned. This implies that the Center has the authority to imprison any businessman at any time. The chief minister said that this was quite risky.

 

Even small dealers would be impacted, according to the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who also called the move “extremely dangerous” for the national economy.