GST – CAG Ready!
IT is said that when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, he was received by a person from an Indian State with a welcome cup of tea. Anticipating that one day somebody will reach the moon, this man had gone to Moon and set up his teashop – without any hype. If and when you have the GST, the CAG will not be far behind. While everybody is sure that GST will not come in 2011, not many are sure about the Government in 2012.
The CAG organized a National Seminar in Delhi yesterday on ‘Goods and Services Tax: Transition Issues', which was inaugurated by the Finance Minister.
In the Seminar, the CAG said,
“As professional auditors we are committed to continuously upgrade our skills. With reforms being introduced in the economy, our institution also has to keep abreast of the changes in order to fine-tune both our audit approach and the methodology of audit. We have moved on from being a fault-finding machinery to one where we adopt a holistic approach focusing on the macro picture, contributing to the process of governance through timely interventions.
The aim of audit is not to criticize but to place the Executive in a comfort zone by acting as an aid to the decision making process. As revenue auditors, we look at systems and processes and point out lacunae in laws and rules which lead to leakage of revenue and suggest ways to plug this.” [But who is going to convince the State Finance Ministers, especially the saffron brigade?]
Why the Seminar? According to the CAG, “Through this seminar, we intend to provide a platform where individuals who are actively associated with the process of determining the final shape of GST, engage in dialogue on critical parameters, share their views, experiences as well as concerns, reflect on the problems and throw light on what could be the possible way forward.”
The Seminar continues today where JS, TRU, Member, CBEC and Chairman, CBEC are slated to participate.
One reason usually stated for the unfair, illegal attitude and actions of the Departmental officers, ‘is fear of audit'. If at all GST comes, we should ensure that CAG is out of it at least for the first five years. Otherwise Auditors will point out all the lapses of the government and the good government will immediately ask the assessees to pay for their lapses. The premises of the assessees should be strictly ‘out of bounds' for the AG Auditors.