Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: A day after State government made first arrest of the GST defaulter, the Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant said that several defaulters approach political leaders seeking relaxation from payment or to evade action.
Late on Thursday, Mukhtar Shaikh and Maheed Xec, both directors of a company named Mukhtar Automobiles, were arrested under section 132(1) (c) and 132 (1) (d) of the Goa Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, for tax evasion to the tune of Rs. 20.96 crore.
Sawant was speaking during the inaugration of Goa Rajya Bhavan at Altinho. The facility will house State GST and Revenue collection sections of the government.
He said that every company of individual coming under tax bracket need to ensure that he or she pays taxes to the government.
He also appealed those business operators, to get their businesses registered under GST as soon as possible to avoid any action.
“We have seen many defaulters defaulting tax/ GST payment. To evade action or to get relaxation from payment they than approach politicians. This should be avoided,” Sawant said.
The Chief Minister said that government has given enough relaxation to all the sections from payment of various taxes and fees in view of current pandemic.
“State revenue is also hit by pandemic but that does not mean we continue granting relaxation,” he said.