Railway vehicle parking: Rs 7.56 crore tax evasion detected; inspections at 69 locations

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Contractors collecting vehicle parking fees at major railway stations in Kerala have been found to have evaded tax worth Rs 7.56 crore and concealed revenue of Rs 42 crore. The tax evasion was detected during inspections conducted by the Intelligence Wing of the State Tax Department.

The inspections were carried out at 69 locations, including the homes and offices of 22 contractors who had taken vehicle parking contracts at major railway stations from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod.

The tax evasion was carried out using multiple bank accounts and several QR codes. The QR codes were frequently changed while collecting parking fees. Official records usually showed only one or two bank accounts and their corresponding QR codes. As a result, taxes were not paid on the money received through the other accounts. More than 30 bank accounts and QR codes were found at some parking centres.

There are two types of parking fees- daily fees and monthly fees. The inspection found that contractors often concealed the monthly parking fees instead of showing them as revenue. When filing tax returns, contractors receive input tax credit for the rent charged by the Railways for the parking space. The contractors were found to have adjusted their reported revenue according to this amount while filing their returns. At several locations, the contractors had also subcontracted the operation of the parking centres.

Secret operation lasted nearly a year

A team led by K.M. Bindu, GST Intelligence officer in Thrissur, worked for nearly a year to uncover the tax evasion. Team members parked vehicles at railway parking centres at different times and on different days and paid the required fees. They tracked where the money went through the QR codes used for payment, which helped uncover the tax evasion.

Penalty and imprisonment

Cases will be registered against the contractors who evaded tax. They will have to pay nearly three times the amount in tax, interest and penalty. They may also face imprisonment.

Similar evasion suspected elsewhere

Information has been received about similar tax evasion at vehicle parking centres at KSRTC facilities, hospitals, malls and theatres. Inspections will also be conducted at these locations. People who notice tax evasion can report it to inform.sgst@kerala.gov.in.