Make card-payment machines compulsory for all registered under GST and whose accounts are auditable under Income Tax Act with compulsion to issue GST-invoices without being asked for
To further promote digital-payments, installation of card-payment machines to accept payments must be made compulsory by retailers registered under GST or who have their account-books auditable under Income Tax Act to begin with in urban areas. It is surprising that such machines are not there even with many big renowned retailers in unorganised sector even in metro-cities like Delhi. There is large-scale GST-evasion by such renowned retailers selling their own manufactured products because they very hesitantly issue GST-invoices that too on specifically being asked for though they include GST in cost of their manufactured products thus making charged GST their additional income. It should be made compulsory to issue GST-invoices by every registered GST-dealer without even being asked by the customer.
Notice about auto-issue of GST-invoices and installation of card-machines must be compulsorily displayed prominently at their establishments and on packing-material for consumer-awareness. Special prize-schemes should be announced for consumers giving information about retailers not auto-issuing GST cash-memos.
Digital can and should be further encouraged by bearing complete cost of transaction-charges on card-payments by Central government and banks irrespective of amounts whereby banks may be directed to reduce transaction-charges to nominal half-percent which may be borne by central government. Banks can abolish incentives for card-payments, and central government can withdraw since irrelevant incentives like on purchase of petrol through card-payments. Move will ultimately be extra revenue-generating both for central government and banks. Central government will earn extra through check on tax-evasion. Banks will increase their ultimate collection of transaction-charges because of manifold increase through card-payments
SUBHASH CHANDRA AGRAWAL