Cams in check posts to nab GST evaders in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: The GST system has made check posts redundant but an effective mechanism to prevent cross-border smuggling of goods has still not been evolved. Installing surveillance cameras upon the abandoned buildings of former check posts is seen as a possible solution by the state. Finance minister Dr T. M. Thomas Isaac said in the Assembly on Tuesday that surveillance cameras have been installed at Walayar check post in Palakkad, on an experimental basis.

“We also intend to put up the cameras in various border openings in Palakkad,” Isaac said while replying to the Discussion on Demands for Grants in the Assembly on Tuesday.  The cyber wing of Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society has developed a unique software to process the registration numbers. The Society is providing its service for free.

The cameras will capture the number plates of vehicles coming from across the border. A number so collected is fed into the computer system at the re-purposed check post. If the registration number tallies with the number in an invoice uploaded in the GST Network, it means the person transporting the goods has an E-Way bill. If not, mobile squads will be pressed into service to intercept the vehicle. An E-Way Bill, mandatory for transporting goods worth more than '50,000 for more than 10 kms, is nothing but an electronic bill of purchase.

Thanks to the GST’s sputtering start, the E-Way Bill is still not a reality. The virtual bills were uploaded from February 1 but the GST Network had crashed in 15 days. “The GST being a destination-based tax, the E-Way bill is necessary to ensure that the taxes are paid here in the state,” Dr Isaac said.

The surveillance camera strategy, when it was initially attempted, had a problem. The cameras will capture the image of the number plates but a computer system could process the number only if the plate is in digital format. 

“Large number of vehicles coming from outside the state use old number plates that could not be processed by existing softwares,” a top GST Department official said. Uralungal Society’s software addresses this issue. It will process the numbers even if the number plate is pre-digital.