Fiscal Faux Pas: ₹3.17 Lakh Crore in the Air
I just saw the CAG’s audit for FY 2022‑23, and—wow—they’ve flagged a whopping ₹3.17 lakh crore in potential and actual losses, idle funds, and accounting slip‑ups. They found ₹2.40 lakh crore collected for four reserve funds but never transferred, while loans and advances still show ₹74,241 crore in unpaid dues. Tax shortfalls include guarantee fees and dividends not recovered, plus ₹864 crore missing from compensatory afforestation entries. Despite GDP growth and rising tax revenue, the numbers tell a different story—one that raises red flags about financial transparency. Former statistician Pronab Sen reminds us these are “notional figures” that need comparison with past audits to gauge real impact. But, as a reader, I can’t help but feel my taxes are slipping through cracks here—or worse.
GST Glitches: ₹818 Crore Lost via E‑Way Bill Loopholes
The CAG also blew the whistle on GST evasion through the E‑Way Bill system. They uncovered ₹818 crore in tax slip‑ups: ₹577 crore in uncollected tax from EWB users, ₹81 crore in unpaid taxes via turnover suppression plus ₹45 crore interest, and a ₹155 crore mismatch in input tax credit claims. On top of that, analysts flagged manpower shortages and low vehicle interception rates, leading to revenue losses. The CAG recommends alerts for high‑value EWB users, better coordination, and analytical tools—spotting these gaps makes me question how much slipperiness hides behind our goods movement. If evasion runs into hundreds of crores, imagine the untracked pile. Scary, right?
Ministries In The Dock: ₹198 Crore in Audited Lapses
And it doesn’t stop there. The CAG called out ten Union ministries for procedural lapses totaling ₹198.71 crore. Blunders include parking funds in low‑interest accounts—causing ₹11.77 crore in losses in the coal sector—to excess payments by APEDA and idle campuses at IIFT and a fashion institute. Investors lost refunds, tourism projects stalled, and infrastructure built for ₹101 crore went underused. Reading this, I feel like I’m in a whodunit—but the culprit here is administrative sloppiness, not murder. It’s eye‑opening, and I can’t help but wonder how many more corners have been casually corner‑cut.
(With Inputs)
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Aishwarya is a journalism graduate with over three years of experience thriving in the buzzing corporate media world. She’s got a knack for decoding business news, tracking the twists and turns of the stock market, covering the masala of the entertainment world, and sometimes her stories come with just the right sprinkle of political commentary. She has worked with several organizations, interned at ZEE and gained professional skills at TV9 and News24, And now is learning and writing at NewsX, she’s no stranger to the newsroom hustle. Her storytelling style is fast-paced, creative, and perfectly tailored to connect with both the platform and its audience. Moto: Approaching every story from the reader’s point of view, backing up her insights with solid facts.
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