CAG audit reveals Odisha recovers only ₹110 crore of over ₹2,500 crore GST demands

The Comptroller and Auditor General’s performance and compliance audit for the period ending March 2023 exposed deep flaws in Odisha’s GST administration. Examination of 177,000 returns generated demands of over ₹2,500 crore, yet only about ₹110 crore was actually collected, with an eight-circle sample yielding just ₹19.94 crore against ₹1,078 crore in notices. Detailed checks of 79 taxpayers uncovered excess input tax credits worth ₹1,228.31 crore and unpaid liabilities of ₹530.65 crore, while 301 inconsistencies totalling ₹10,267 crore were referred for action.

The e-way bill mechanism was found lacking, with cases of unfiled returns, cancelled registrations, duplicate bills and the use of 235 suspicious vehicles. The department has recovered ₹100.86 crore in some cases and issued notices for billions of rupees, but thousands of crore remain outstanding and many taxpayers have not supplied required documents.