Received A GST Notice? Is It Real Or Fake, Here’s How To Verify

Last week, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs issued a warning regarding the issuance of fake GST summons by fraudsters. Taxpayers have been advised to exercise caution and verify the authenticity of any communication received from GST authorities.

Also Read: GST Officials Use AI, Detect 14,597 Tax Evasion Cases In Apr-Dec 2023

Fake GST Summon: Why In The News?

In a statement, the CBIC said the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has recently noticed that some individuals with fraudulent intent are creating and sending fake summons to taxpayers who may or may not be under investigation by the DGGI.

“The fake summons that are being sent out might look real because they have a Document Identification Number (DIN), but these DIN numbers are not issued by DGGI in the case of these entities. To deal with this issue, DGGI has been taking serious steps by informing and filing complaints with the Police against those involved in creating and sending fake and fraudulent summons,” an official statement said.

How To Verify GST Summons?

Always verify the authenticity of a GST summon before responding. Scammers sometimes use fake summons to defraud taxpayers.

CBIC said that taxpayers can verify the genuineness of any communication (including summons) from the department by using the ‘VERIFY CBIC-DIN’ window on the CBIC’s website or the DIN Utility Search on the online portal of Directorate of Data Management (DDM), CBIC.

Report Fake Summons

“Individual taxpayers who get summons from DGGI/CBIC formations that seem suspicious or possibly fake may immediately report them to the concerned jurisdictional DGGI/ CBIC office also for verification so that necessary action against those responsible for these fraudulent activities can be taken,” CBIC’s statement added.