Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Friday (June 26) directed Commercial Taxes Department officials to intensify action against GST evasion while ensuring that honest taxpayers do not face harassment. He said every goods vehicle entering or leaving Karnataka must carry proper documents and that there should be no scope for revenue leakage.

Chairing a review meeting of the Commercial Taxes Department, Mr. Shivakumar said the department played a critical role in mobilising resources for the State and expressed confidence that it would surpass the tax collection target set for the current financial year.

“There should be no compromise in preventing tax evasion. Not a single goods vehicle should cross a checkpost or the State border without proper documents and complete accountability,” he told officials.

Coordination with neighbouring States

Calling for closer coordination with neighbouring States, Mr. Shivakumar asked officials to strengthen information-sharing and undertake joint enforcement operations to curb tax evasion.

The Chief Minister said the department now had data relating to nearly 12 lakh taxpayers and should make better use of technology and data analytics to monitor compliance. At the same time, he stressed that enforcement should not come at the cost of genuine taxpayers.

GST collection

Reviewing GST collection, Mr. Shivakumar said Karnataka had recorded a 9% growth up to May 2026, placing it among the better-performing States and ahead of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. Telangana had registered a growth of 10%.

“We are among the top-performing States in GST collection. Now we should identify ways to move to the first position,” he said.

To check GST fraud

The Chief Minister also reviewed measures to curb GST fraud through the department’s analytical portal developed in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad. He said the platform had helped detect several instances of fake invoicing and fraudulent input tax credit claims.

Officials informed the meeting that action against bogus firms had resulted in the recovery of ₹166 crore and that arrests in such cases had been stepped up. Mr. Shivakumar asked the department to further strengthen legal action against those involved in creating shell companies for tax fraud.

He expressed concern over declining performance in the Mysuru division and said explanations and excuses for missing collection targets would not be accepted.