The Government of India has amended provisions of the money laundering Act to allow the Enforcement Directorate to share information with GST Network.
Key points
- As per the amendment to the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, GST Network has been included in the list of entities with which the Enforcement Directorate will share information.
- GSTN handles the technology backbone of the indirect tax regime and is the repository of all GST-related information, including returns, tax filing, and other compliances.
- The changes have been made for provisions under Section 66 of the PMLA, which provides for disclosure of information.
- In November 2022, the government had added 15 agencies to this list including Competition Commission of India, National Investigation Agency, Serious Fraud Investigation Office, State Police, Director General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of External Affairs, National Intelligence Grid, Central Vigilance Commission among others for sharing of information between these agencies and the Enforcement Directorate.
- The move to include GSTN under the money laundering law comes amid rising cases of GST fraud and fake registrations.
