TL;DR: The Guruvayur Devaswom Board in Kerala has been accused of evading ₹4.52 crore in GST over six years. Authorities claim the Board didn't pay taxes on services like parking fees and property rentals. This situation highlights concerns about tax enforcement focusing on smaller entities while larger corporations often evade scrutiny.
What's the Buzz? 🤔
The Guruvayur Devaswom Board, managing 11 temples in Kerala, including the famous Sree Krishna Temple, is in hot water! The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has slapped a notice on them, alleging a whopping ₹4.52 crore GST evasion between July 2017 and March 2023.
What's the Deal? 🧐
The DGGI claims the Board didn't pay GST on several services, including:
Parking Fees 🚗🅿️: Charging for parking without paying GST.
Auditorium Rentals 🎭🏢: Renting out spaces minus the tax.
Commercial Space Leases 🏬📜: Leasing properties to banks and others without proper tax payments.
Advertising Fees 📢📰: Earning from ads in their publications without coughing up the GST.
Show Me the Money! 💸
An RTI response revealed that the temple boasts:
₹2,053 crore in fixed deposits.
271 acres of land.
1,084.76 kg of gold.
Despite this wealth, the Board is accused of skirting tax laws.
Not Their First Rodeo 🎢
This isn't the Board's first brush with tax authorities. In March, the Income Tax Department inspected their offices, accusing them of dodging statutory notices and failing to conduct audits since 2018-19.
The Bigger Picture 🌐
While the Modi government talks big about cracking down on tax evasion, critics argue that the focus is often on smaller entities like the Guruvayur Devaswom Board. Big corporations allegedly evading massive amounts seem to slip through the cracks.
MediaFx's Take 🎙️
It's high time the government shifts its gaze to the big fish in the sea of tax evasion. Instead of pressuring tax officials to meet targets and rewarding them for penalizing smaller entities, let's focus on the major players. Religious boards like Guruvayur, primarily engaged in non-commercial activities, shouldn't be the main targets. Why should they need a battalion of auditors and company secretaries? Let's aim for a fair tax system that doesn't disproportionately burden the smaller fry.
Join the Conversation 🗣️
What do you think about this issue? Should religious boards be taxed like commercial entities? Drop your thoughts in the comments below! 👇
