All Tax Data Will Be Completely Secure, GST-Network Assures India Inc

GST-Network (GSTN), the firm which is building the information technology (IT) backbone of the Goods and Services Tax regime, on Tuesday assured stakeholders that all their data will be stored in an encrypted form. Only the taxpayer and the assessing officer will have access to the information.

Assuaging concerns of data theft, GSTN’s Chief Executive Officer Prakash Kumar said that data will be stored with two-layers of security. Addressing a PHD Chamber event, Kumar assured the industry that GSTN is applying the "best available security systems for data".

"Security of your data is of prime importance because in invoice, the item cost is also included. We are cognizant of the fact that if your competitor comes to know of it, it will be a big setback for you.

The GSTN CEO, also added that they will complete training of 60,000 central and state officers by mid-May to prepare them for the new IT backbone for GST.

More than 75 percent of the existing Value Added Tax (VAT) assessees have already migrated to the GSTN portal, while 31.5 percent of service tax assessees have enrolled so far, he said. As many as 56.5 lakh out of an estimated 80 lakh excise, service tax and VAT assessees have migrated to the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) portal so far.

The portal is all geared up to handle about 300 crore invoices per month which will be generated under the GST regime. GSTN has been set up primarily to provide IT infrastructure and services to central and state governments, taxpayers and other stakeholders for implementation of the GST.

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy however has on multiple occasions raised concerns over GSTN's shareholding pattern, and said it might compromise data security.