CAG report flags Rs 1,100 crore revenue loss in state

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has reported a revenue loss of Rs 1,103.94 crore in Haryana across 2,552 cases related to sales tax, value added tax (VAT), excise duty, stamp duty and registration fees.

The CAG report, tabled in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha today, is based on a test check of records conducted during 2021-22. The departments concerned accepted underassessment and other deficiencies amounting to Rs 643.07 crore in 1,077 cases.

"The departments recovered Rs 3.52 crore in 64 cases, of which 39 cases amounting to Rs 3.35 crore pertain to earlier years," the report said.

A total of 28,627 out of 86,191 assessment cases related to sales tax and VAT were audited under the Excise Department, uncovering irregularities worth Rs 1,008.36 crore in 578 cases.

The report pointed out oversight on GST payments and return filings, leading to a loss of Rs 678.22 crore, while incorrect Input Tax Credit (ITC) claims resulted in excess credit of Rs 211.45 crore.

For excise duty, a test check of 24 out of 106 units revealed “non/short realisation of excise duty, licence fee, interest or penalty” amounting to Rs 35.45 crore.

The audit also found that penalty recoveries for illicit liquor and licence fee dues were not pursued, resulting in a shortfall of Rs 7.46 crore in government revenue.

Citing a specific case, the report highlighted that M/s Shokeen Wines was fined Rs 5.99 crore for breaches in 2020-21, but only Rs 1.02 crore was recovered from the security deposit, leaving Rs 4.97 crore unpaid.

The audit of the Revenue Department found stamp duty and registration fee irregularities totalling Rs 60.13 crore for 2020-21 in 1,308 cases.

The Finance Department was also flagged for lapses, including overpayment of gratuity, double drawal of pensions and travel allowances.

The report criticised the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) implementation, stating: "Even after more than eight years of implementation, benchmarks to measure the achievements of various IT objectives were not defined. Inadequate validation controls led to the processing of bills in contravention of the prescribed process flow. The absence of adequate input controls during the generation of the Unique Code of Payee (UCP) led to the acceptance of invalid PANs, compromising the uniqueness of UCPs."