A is for Assessee; A is also for Attack - Beware of the Four As
CUSTOMS, Central Excise and Service Tax assessees all over the country are in for real trouble in the next four months as the Board appears to have directed its Chief Commissioners to address the Revenue targets by a four pronged attack by using four As.
1. A is for Audit: In the next four months menacing Audit parties from the Department will descend on your premises and make you feel very uncomfortable and accuse you of evading taxes and persuade you to make spot payments of duty. Once you do that, another set of officers will come and demand interest and yet another group will issue a Show Cause Notice charging you with all possible violations and demand duty, interest and penalty.
2. A is for Anti Evasion: There is another group of officers who will make you feel that the Audit Group officers were angels. They will seize your goods, threaten you with arrest, summon you, take away your records and then force you to admit evasion, pay the duty and beg for mercy.
3. A is for Adjudication: Adjudication is a necessary corollary of Audit and Anti Evasion exercises. During the next four months, there will be an adjudication spree confirming all demands with interest and equal penalty and overanxious officers will swarm your place with coercive action to recover the arrears.
4. A is for Arrears Recovery: Every unreasonable, unfair and unjust order will leave a trail of arrears, which are to be immediately collected to boost revenue. Arrears recovery cells will be activated and there will be attachments, deterrent actions and all kinds of recovery measures.
Beware of these four As - they are going to attack you in the next four months. You need God's help for doing business in India.
It is said that the sine qua non of contract is quid pro quo, but in taxation, there is no equity.
The ultimate beneficiary of the Actions by the Authorities in four As would be the fifth A - A is for Advocate.