CAG finds ₹2155.65 crore GST case deviations in Rajasthan audit

It covered four revenue-earning departments (Commercial Taxes, Land Revenue, Registration & Stamps, State Excise) and selected expenditure departments.

Who it concerns: Government of Rajasthan (specifically Commercial Taxes, Land Revenue, Stamp Duty and Registration, State Excise, Personnel, Urban Development, Medical/Health, Higher Education, Local Self Government, and Sainik Kalyan Vibhag departments).

What the auditor found

• Total monetary value of findings: ₹584.81 crore across 24 paragraphs.
• GST: Deviations in 286 cases involving ₹2155.65 crore due to mismatches in Input Tax Credit (ITC) and tax liability.
• GST: 23 firms identified as bogus/non-existent, preventing recovery of demand.
• GST: 72 taxpayers in Sirohi Circle did not file returns despite notices; department did not initiate assessment action.
• Land Revenue: Non-recovery of ₹7.23 crore difference in value of allotted pasture land for mining.
• Excise: Multiple instances of short recovery of duties, license fees, and penalties on IMFL, beer, and liquor shops.
• Expenditure: Unfruitful expenditure of ₹8.35 crore on 12 DEICs due to non-recruitment and non-procurement of equipment (₹21.87 crore) after 3-5 years.
• Expenditure: Idle investment of ₹1.85 crore in Higher Education Department.
• Expenditure: Short recovery of ₹1.17 crore urban assessment by Urban Improvement Trust, Jaisalmer.
• Recommendations: Increase business audit selection rates, strengthen registration/cancellation mechanisms to prevent fake units, and build validation controls in the E-Way Bill system.

Also in the document

• CAG reported deviations in GST cases involving ₹2155.65 crore, which is significantly higher than the total reported value of all findings in this specific report (₹584.81 crore), indicating large-scale systemic mismatches in tax data.
• CAG noted that in 95 out of 100 audited cases, jurisdictional circles could not produce key records such as financial statements and trial balances, restricting the scope of the audit.
• CAG found that less than 2% of business audit cases for 2020-21 were completed by the department, against a norm of 5% selection rate.
• CAG reported that the Department did not provide login credentials for the E-Way Bill Portal, preventing the audit from verifying if taxpayers correctly reported supply details.