Data analysis will improve compliance, help in policy making: GSTN

Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) today said it will analyse final sales return data with respect to Eway bill to help improve compliance.

GSTN Chief Executive Prakash Kumar said analysis of HSN code -- which is used to classify products -- in Eway bill data helps to know which commodity is moving from which part of country to where and thereby the end user can be identified.

We are doing simple analytics by just comparing GSTR-3B and 1, Kumar told reporters here.

He said the potential of data analytics is huge as it helps not only to improve compliance but also helps in policy making.

The data analytics can be done on how same kind of taxpayers are behaving and also on circular trade for tracking actual movement of goods.

Once you have data at one place, there are techniques and we have started analysing. We will be developing tools for our tax officers so that they can do it themselves, Kumar said.

Analysis can be on what is reported in Eway bill and what's reported in GSTR-1.

Today analysis of Eway bill data will tell you which are the hub-and-spoke of a country for every commodity. Which commodity goes where and from where it is distributed, Kumar said.

GSTN Chairman Ajay Bhushan Pandey said the company is discharging the responsibility of a government company even though currently 51 per cent of its shares are being held by private institutions.

GSTN has been under CAG audit and will continue to be audited by the official auditor, Pandey said.

Kumar further said that current trend of return filing for the month of May show that people have started filing returns way in advance from the due date.

People have started filing returns from the 11th day of the subsequent month. This is a good trend, Kumar said.

Summary sales return for a month is to be filed by the 20th day of the subsequent month.