The Punjab Excise and Taxation Department (PETD) is investigating approximately 700 boutiques in Punjab for potential tax evasion. These boutiques neither pay Goods and Services Tax (GST) nor issue mandatory bills to their customers. Among these establishments, around 40 larger boutiques in cities like Patiala and Ludhiana, with substantial annual turnovers, are failing to adhere to the state government’s required guidelines.
Senior officials from the department revealed that they conducted an initial survey of boutiques in various districts of Punjab following instructions from the state government. This survey revealed that the majority of these boutiques were in violation of the state’s instructions. Despite selling clothing worth lakhs of rupees every month, these boutiques were not paying the mandatory taxes to the Excise and Taxation Department.
One senior officer shared an example: “Recently, we visited a boutique that sells ‘lehengas’ and other women’s attires worth lakhs of rupees every year. But when we checked with some women customers as they came out of the showroom, not one of them had the mandatory bill. It was really surprising.”
During visits to various boutiques in the city, some owners admitted that they did not even have bill books and operated their boutiques from residential areas. One boutique owner stated, “A majority of customers are unwilling to pay taxes and they ask us not to issue the bill. Where is our fault in that?”
Punjab’s Minister for Excise and Taxation, Harpal Singh Cheema, mentioned their efforts to combat tax evasion in the state, such as the ‘Bill Liyao, Inaam Pao’ Scheme, which awarded 227 winners prizes worth Rs 13.39 lakh for uploading bills on the Mera Bill App in September.
The Finance Minister added that preliminary surveys uncovered around 700 boutiques throughout the state involved in alleged GST evasion. The process to take action against these tax evaders has begun.
Teams of officers are analyzing the sales at these boutiques, focusing on those that neither pay the required taxes for clothing purchases nor for embroidery work. The minister emphasized that lawbreakers would not be spared.
