Government probing 53 cases of profiteering in GST regime
MoS finance Shiv Pratap Shukla informed Rajya Sabha that out of 354 petitions received, a standing committee attached to NAA has forwarded 65 to the Directorate General of Safeguards for investigation
The Directorate General of Safeguards, which probes complaints of profiteering by businesses under the goods and services tax (GST) regime, has initiated investigation in 53 cases, the finance ministry said on Tuesday.In a written reply, minister of state for finance Shiv Pratap Shukla informed Rajya Sabha that out of 354 petitions received, a standing committee attached to the National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) has forwarded 65 to the Directorate General of Safeguards for investigation.
The NAA’s task is to ensure that businesses do not pocket the benefit of tax cuts meant for consumers.“Notices of initiation of investigation have been issued by the Directorate General of Safeguards in respect of 53 applications,” the minister informed Parliament. The standing committee has turned down 68 petitions and sent back 59 applications to the state level screening committees for reconsideration.
The NAA has a national standing committee as well as state-level panels that accept complaints from consumers.With regard to a question on loss of market capitalization of Punjab National Bank, finance minister Arun Jaitley said the state-owned lender has “sound fundamentals” and strong growth potential, news agency PTI reported.Jaitley expressed hope that going forward, the bank’s market capitalization would improve, said the PTI report.
Jaitley also informed the Rajya Sabha that loans worth Rs81,683 crore were written-off by public sector banks in 2016-17, said a PTI report.Writing-off of loans is done for tax benefit as well as capital optimization and borrowers of such loans continue to be liable for repayment, the minister said, according to the report.
The Mint, New Delhi, 07th March 2018
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