India Inc could face a tax landmine with authorities beginning to question input tax credit claimed by companies in lieu of Goods and Services Tax paid by their vendors. The authorities have already started sending notices to businesses, confirming fears that scrutiny will increase in the new financial year as the government looks to plug leakages. Experts said notices have been sent in Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and some other states. The issue has its origin in the provisions of the GST law that warrant a reversal of input tax credit claimed by a business if its vendor has not paid the tax for which credit is being claimed. Currently, there is no mechanism to ascertain if vendors have paid GST. The GST Network Portal allows viewing of the return-filing status of a registered person, but payment of tax cannot be determined. At best, buyers can only verify whether vendors have included the invoice in their GST filings. Effectively, while a business may...