Recently the Central Government has bought Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) under the purview of Section 66(1)(ii) of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
Section 66(1)(ii) of the PMLA provides for disclosure of information and facilitating the sharing of information between the ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE (ED), the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and other relevant authorities and bodies.The addition of GSTN under this provision aims at enhancing information sharing and cooperation to combat tax evasions and suspicious forex transactions.
This move comes amid the increasing cases of GST frauds and fake registrations. Recently a probe was conducted by the GST Authorities wherein out of the 59000 GSTINs which were physically verified, over 17000 were found to be non-existent.
The other entities covered under this provision include the Competition Commission Of India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), SEBI, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and Director General Of Foreign Trade Delhi.
A copy of the gazette notification is attached below.
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