New Delhi, March 23 (IANS) As part of the Union Finance Ministry’s outreach to increase the country’s tax base, the field formations of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Commissionerate have launched awareness campaigns to increase registration and compliance under the GST regime.
As part of this initiative, the Delhi East Commissionerate launched a two-day campaign here over the weekend to engage unregistered manufacturers and traders and help them understand the importance of registering with the GST Department and complying with the provisions of the law.
Over the course of the campaign, more than 2,000 queries from traders were addressed by GST officers, who provided assistance with the registration process. The drive proved to be a success, with a significant number of unregistered traders coming forward to voluntarily register their businesses under GST, with more than 100 registration applications being generated on the spot after following due process.
GST helpdesks were set up across various local markets to address queries and help in the GST registration process.
This initiative received a warm and encouraging response from the local trade community, many of whom were previously unregistered, often conducting their transactions primarily in cash, which has a negative impact on the Indian economy, according to an official statement.
As part of the outreach efforts, 200 students from reputed Universities were invited to be GST Ambassadors to create awareness for the two-day campaign. These volunteers were closely monitored and guided by a large team of GST officers comprised of 10 Assistant Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners and more than 80 officials
The students actively participated in spreading awareness about GST provisions and assisted traders by going shop-to-shop to brief them about the process and benefits. The students undertook door-to-door campaigning and helped conduct a survey to generate leads for GST officers to follow up later.
They distributed 7,500 pamphlets published in Hindi and Urdu highlighting the provisions of GST Registration, according to an official statement.
A public announcement system, skits, street plays, and mohalla campaigns at different locations were also organised by the National School of Drama (NSD) team so that the people are made aware of the importance of payment of tax to the government as well as consequences of non-payment of tax.
“The successful execution of this campaign marks a crucial step in increasing GST registration among the unorganised sectors, thereby improving compliance and contributing to the overall growth and stability of the Indian economy,” said Pawan Kumar, Commissioner of CGST Delhi East
The CGST Delhi East Commissionerate will continue such initiatives and ensure that all sectors of trade are brought into the formal economy, fostering greater transparency, accountability, and economic growth, he added.
Mahesh Kumar Rustogi, Director General, Directorate General of Taxpayer Services (DGTS), in his address, highlighted the importance of formalisation of the economy in achieving the target of a $5 trillion economy by registering more business entities under the GST network.
–IANS
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