Chapter 28: Miscellaneous Provisions

The Common Goods and Services Tax Electronic Portal (GSTN Portal) is the central digital infrastructure for registration, return filing, payment, refund, and information exchange among taxpayers and authorities.

Statutory Reference: Section 146 of the CGST Act, 2017.

1.1 Designation:

The Government, in consultation with the GST Council, notified the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) as the Common Portal under Notification No. 9/2017 – CT dated 28 June 2017.

1.2 Functions of GSTN:

Facilitate registration, returns, payment, and refund filing.

Maintain electronic ledgers (cash, credit, liability).

Enable auto-population and matching of invoices and ITC.

Interface between taxpayers, Centre, and States.

Ensure secure storage and transmission of data.

Governance Structure: GSTN is a non-government, not-for-profit Section 8 company, with shareholding split between:

Central Government – 50%,

State Governments – 50%.

It functions as a neutral IT backbone, maintaining uniformity across India.

1.3 Features and Advancements:

e-Invoicing System integrated with IRP (Invoice Registration Portal).

e-Way Bill System linked to transport movement.

IMS (Invoice Management System) – new real-time reconciliation tool.

AI-assisted Compliance and API integrations for automation.

GST being a nationwide tax network involves massive data exchange among Central and State authorities. To safeguard taxpayer privacy and maintain confidentiality, the Act includes explicit information-sharing protocols.

Statutory References: Sections 150, 151, and 152 of the CGST Act, 2017.

2.1 Section 150 – Obligation to Furnish Information

Certain entities are legally bound to furnish periodic information returns to GST authorities.

Entities Covered:

Banks, financial institutions, and insurance companies.

Local authorities, electricity boards, and registrars.

Income Tax, Customs, SEZ, and MCA departments.

State transport and excise departments.

Objective: To enable cross-verification of compliance data (turnover, exports, registration, etc.).

Example: A bank may furnish information regarding turnover from credit card transactions or loan disbursements to the GST department.

2.2 Section 151 – Power to Call for Information

The Commissioner or any authorized officer may, by notification, direct any person to furnish information relating to GST or transactions relevant for tax administration.

Purpose:

Detection of tax evasion.

Verification of returns.

Preparation of statistical data for policy formulation.

Safeguards:

Direction must be notified in Official Gazette.

Officer must record reason to believe that information is relevant.

Information must relate only to class of persons or transactions, not individuals arbitrarily.

Amendment (Finance Act 2021): The power to call for information has been streamlined — officers may seek data electronically in prescribed form.

In line with Data Privacy and Governance reforms, the GST regime increasingly follows a consent-based data-sharing framework, ensuring that taxpayer information is shared only with explicit approval.

3.1 Principle of Consent-Based Sharing:

Introduced under the GSTN Data Sharing Policy (2021) and reinforced through Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act).

Information of a taxpayer can be shared with third-party systems (banks, fintechs, or accounting tools) only after obtaining digital consent via OTP or API authorization.

3.2 Practical Use Cases:

Safeguard: No sharing of sensitive taxpayer data (ITC details, invoices, turnover) without prior consent or legal mandate.

Statutory Reference: Section 152 of the CGST Act, 2017.

4.1 Restriction on Use of Information:

Information collected under Sections 150 or 151 cannot be disclosed or used for any purpose other than the one it was obtained for.

Disclosure is permissible only with prior written consent of the concerned person or by a court order.

4.2 Exceptions (Sec. 152(2)):

Information may be shared:

With law enforcement or audit authorities.

In proceedings under the GST Act itself.

Where disclosure is necessary for public interest (with government authorization).

4.3 Penalty for Unauthorized Disclosure:

Any officer or person who unlawfully discloses such information is liable for:

Penalty under Section 128, and

Departmental disciplinary action.

Judicial Note: In MakeMyTrip (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. UOI (Delhi HC, 2021) — the Court emphasized that taxpayer confidentiality is part of the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution, and administrative power must not override personal data protection.

GST data plays a pivotal role in inter-departmental transparency and analytics-driven governance.

5.1 Information Exchange Networks:

Income Tax Portal: PAN-based cross-verification of turnover and TDS/TCS.

Customs ICEGATE: Import/export linkage with IGST refund.

MCA Portal: Corporate compliance verification.

NPCI and Banks: Reconciliation of digital transactions for tax insights.

5.2 Future Roadmap:

Integration with Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Lakes for fraud detection.

GSTN–Account Aggregator Framework for secure, consent-based data flows.