Months before the online commerce war began in the country, the Tamil Nadu government began scrutiny of tax evasion by dealers associated with the e-commerce giants.
“The Commercial Taxes Department started the process in January 2014. This has got nothing to do with Flipkart’s Big Billion day or any other recent online sales. A core group has been identified to study the market and investigate,” a senior official of the department said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
In fact, a special investigation team of the department has already collected dealer details from Flipkart and Amazon. Both firms together have submitted a database of 338 dealers in Tamil Nadu. Now, the department is verifying the accounts of these dealers and their transactions.
“We have got the account details, and now we will compare them with their returns. If any violation is found, these companies will have to face action under Section 71of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006,” the official said.
Data being collatedThe department is also collating similar data from Snapdeal and Ebay. The penalty amount, along with interest, will be collected from those who have evaded tax.
MismatchThe team formed to monitor the e-commerce world has been scanning these sites over the past six months for tax evasion. Preliminary investigations have revealed that there has been a mismatch, and many have not paid value added tax on sales made through e-commerce portals.
The department will strengthen this team as more consumers are buying products online.
“We will be adding more members to this team as and when the need arises,” the official said.
