New Delhi, 09 August (H.S.):

The Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), citing a recent report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), has levelled serious allegations of widespread financial irregularities under the former Arvind Kejriwal-led government in connection with GST administration and the distribution of electricity subsidies.

Senior BJP leader and Delhi minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, addressing a press conference here on Sunday, accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of failing to maintain proper financial accountability during its tenure. He claimed that 24 CAG reports had been presented since the BJP government took office around 18 months ago and alleged that each report had brought to light irregularities involving hundreds or thousands of crores of rupees.

Referring to the latest report, Verma claimed that financial irregularities amounting to around Rs 3,500 crore had been identified. He described the CAG reports as a documented record of alleged financial irregularities during the previous government and said they had brought details of the functioning of various departments to light.

According to the CAG findings cited by Verma, billions of rupees worth of e-way bills were generated even after GST registrations had been cancelled or taxpayers had failed to file tax returns, potentially causing significant revenue losses to the government.

He said the 24th CAG report was tabled during the Delhi Assembly’s Monsoon Session. According to the figures cited, 8,334 taxpayers whose GST registrations had already been cancelled continued to generate e-way bills. Collectively, these taxpayers generated e-way bills worth Rs 68,680 crore.

The report also found that 4,076 entities that had never filed tax returns generated e-way bills worth Rs 11,635 crore, according to the allegations. Of the total 6.10 crore e-way bills generated, only 0.10 per cent were reportedly scrutinised. Verma claimed that action was taken in only 70 cases, which allegedly revealed revenue irregularities involving Rs 3,071 crore.

The BJP leader also raised questions over the implementation of the electricity subsidy scheme. He claimed that subsidies amounting to Rs 17.81 crore were disbursed to around 50,000 consumers who had recorded zero electricity consumption for 12 consecutive months.

Based on the CAG findings, the BJP alleged that officials of the GST department, concerned ministers and the government were aware of the alleged irregularities and tax evasion but failed to take stringent action. Verma further alleged that the lack of enforcement was linked to an alleged network of coercive collections and bribery targeting taxpayers.

The BJP also claimed that indications of similar irregularities had emerged in government tenders and across various departments. The party said the previous government was being asked to respond to questions concerning the alleged financial losses.

The allegations are based on the BJP’s interpretation and presentation of the CAG findings; the former government’s response to the specific allegations was not included in the statement.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar