The Excise & Taxation Department, Haryana has issued fresh directions to all field formations mandating a structured and justified approach before initiating any suo-motu audit or scrutiny under the Haryana Goods and Services Tax (HGST) Act, 2017.
In an official memo circulated to all Additional, Joint and Deputy Excise & Taxation Commissioners across the State, the Department has clarified that no suo-motu case shall be taken up for audit or scrutiny unless supported with clear, specific and duly-justified grounds.
Officers proposing suo-motu scrutiny must submit detailed reasons along with verifiable data indicators.
Quantification of alleged tax evasion must be supported through records and analysis, intelligence inputs, available data scrutiny or any other traceable source of information.
Every proposal must first be examined and recommended by the Deputy Excise & Taxation Commissioner (DETC) concerned.
Upon DETC’s recommendation, the case file must then be sent to the Joint Excise & Taxation Commissioner (Range) for final approval.
Any suo-motu initiation bypassing the mandated process will be treated seriously. Field officers have been warned against unilateral actions without procedural compliance.
The Department stressed that the revised protocol is aimed at ensuring uniformity in enforcement actions, elimination of arbitrary initiation of audit and reliance on validated tax-risk indicators rather than mere suspicion
By embedding multi-layered scrutiny and approvals, the State GST administration seeks to align investigations with the evolving principle of evidence-based compliance management under GST.
The circular concludes by directing all field units to strictly adhere to the procedure, reiterating that non-compliance will invite serious administrative consequences.
The instructions have been issued with the approval of the competent authority and signed by the Joint Excise & Taxation Commissioner (GST-II), Panchkula.
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