Punjab detects Rs 200-crore tax evasion in hospitality sector Cheema

Chandigarh, Mar 30 (PTI) Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Monday said the state government has detected tax evasion worth about Rs 200 crore in the state's hospitality sector, with the total amount likely to rise to nearly Rs 500 crore as the investigation is expanded.
     Addressing a press conference here, Cheema said a total of 882 establishments, including dhabas, restaurants, eateries, bakeries, sweet shops, and catering services, have been brought under the scanner as part of a state-wide crackdown.
     He said the exercise, based on data analytics and risk assessment, has so far covered the 2025-“26 financial year, while further analysis of data from 2023-24 and 2024-25 is underway, which could significantly increase the scale of detected evasion.
     "In the preliminary inquiry conducted so far, 239 cases have been examined, leading to detection of turnover suppression of about Rs 50 crore," the minister said.
     He added that this suppression translates into a tax liability of about Rs 2.54 crore at a 5 per cent rate, of which Rs 2.02 crore has already been recovered, while further recovery proceedings are ongoing.
     Highlighting the scale of discrepancies, Cheema said suppression above Rs 2 crore was found in three taxpayers, above Rs 1 crore in six cases, above Rs 50 lakh in 18 cases, above Rs 25 lakh in 26 cases, and above Rs 5 lakh in 91 cases.
     The minister said the investigation has revealed systemic under-reporting across segments that rely heavily on cash and hybrid payment methods.
     "Dhabas account for around Rs 10 crore of suppression, followed by small eateries, coffee and tea outlets at about Rs 8 crore, while pizza and fast-food outlets account for over Rs 6 crore," he said.
     Cheema said major urban centres have emerged as key hubs of tax evasion, with Mohali reporting the highest suppression at Rs 8.16 crore, followed by Jalandhar at Rs 6.72 crore and Ludhiana at Rs 5.48 crore.
     He added that Patiala and Amritsar have reported relatively lower discrepancies at Rs 3.83 crore and Rs 99 lakh, respectively.
     The minister said the crackdown is being carried out using advanced data analytics, with inputs from the Tax Intelligence Unit (TIU) and the State Investigation and Preventive Unit (SIPU).
     He also credited the 'Bill Liyao, Inam Pao' scheme for helping in identifying cases of tax evasion by encouraging consumers to demand bills.
     Cheema said during scrutiny, it was found that several establishments were using online billing applications, prompting the department to seek detailed transactional data from such platforms.
     "Based on risk parameters and comparison with GST returns, we identified possible suppression of turnover. The data obtained is now being used for on-ground verification and reconciliation," he said.
     The department is in the process of collecting UPI transaction data and other digital payment details to further strengthen the investigation and ensure accurate matching of actual receipts with reported turnover, he said.
     The minister added that the remaining cases are under verification and the entire exercise of detection and recovery is expected to be completed within one month.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)