Dealers, Applying For Government Tenders To Verify GSTIN Status Through Peridot App: Jammu & Kashmir Govt.

The Finance Department of Jammu and Kashmir has issued a circular directing the dealers or contractors applying for government tenders to verify their GSTIN status and authenticate their GST return through the Peridot App.

The government stated that dealers and contractors whose GSTINs have been canceled or deactivated are applying for government tenders with the submission of fake or forged GST returns. This occurs because tender-inviting departments do not cross-check tenderer documents with the State Tax Department.

In terms of the General Sales Tax Act of 1962, it was mandatory for contractors to get a NOC from the State Taxes Department before applying for a tender. This practice has been done away with, post-implementation of the GST Act, 2017.

In order to have timely compliance of returns by contractors as well as DDOs, the State Taxes Department, with the help of NIC Jammu, has recently developed an online web application, namely the "APNA TDS" portal, which helps in identifying payments made to work contract service providers by DDOs through the JK Paysys portal.

Before allotting any work contract, the status of the GSTIN of the contractor and the authenticity of the GST-3B return submitted by the contractor can also be verified through the Peridot app (available in the Playstore) or by the State Tax Department.

Before releasing payment to the contractor, the DDOs can verify the latest status of the GSTIN of the contractor by using the information available in the Peridot App or through the State Taxes Department in order to ascertain that the contractor has not defaulted on GST tax compliance. Payments to contractors who are not fulfilling statutory obligations under the GST Taxation Law should be avoided.

The government advised all administrative departments to direct their subordinate officers to check the status of the contractor's GSTIN and the authenticity of the GST-3B return submitted by the contractor before allocating any contracts or releasing payment to the contractor. It should be verified through the Peridot app (available in the Play Store) or from the State Tax Department. Further, the DDOs should check the latest status of the contractor using the information available on the Peridot app or from the State Tax Department. The payments in favor of those contractors who are not fulfilling statutory obligations under the GST Taxation Law should be avoided.

Circular: FD-Code/371/2021-02

Date: 24.02.2023

Click Here To Read The Circular