VAT department collects Rs 14,720 crore till first week of January; 40% short of target

New Delhi: With the state government’s value added tax (VAT) collection target of Rs 24,000 crore now seeming a tall order, its VAT department has stepped up action against traders and transporters bringing undeclared goods into the city.

The department had collected Rs 14,720 crore in VAT till the first week of January and was about 40% short of its annual target. A crackdown started in September—when it was made mandatory for dealers to declare goods they brought into the city—to prevent tax evasion has netted 783 vehicles in the past one month alone. In each case, a fine of Rs 50,000 was imposed.

The department has started installing automatic number plate reading cameras at all entry points of Delhi that capture the registration number of each entering vehicle and transmit it to the department’s server. The system is fully functional at two entry points and will cover the remaining points within the next few weeks.

On finding that many vehicles come into the city without any documents, the tax department impounded 250 and realised tax and penalty of more than Rs 2 crore from their owners. Officials say dealers are bringing in liquor, cigarettes, gutka, auto parts, electronics, grocery items, plastic, paper, readymade garments, etc, without declaring their cargo on the Delhi Sugam-2 form. The form can be filed even with an SMS or on the department’s website.

VAT commissioner S S Yadav said the department has deployed teams at the entry points of the city, railway stations, major markets and other places to check vehicles and take action against defaulters round the clock. Yadav said the teams inspected more than 10,000 vehicles in December 2015. He added that 539 vehicles were detained in the past three months, and tax and fines adding up to more than Rs 3 crore were realised from them.