Is your GST notice also fake?
Nowadays, there is an atmosphere of fear among small traders and shopkeepers. This is the fear of ‘GST notice’. It has often been seen that traders get nervous on seeing a government envelope or email and deposit money without doing any investigation due to fear of action. Cyber fraudsters are taking advantage of this fear. But do you know whether the notice you received is real or some new trick of fraud? The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has now revealed an easy way to break the back of this fraud, through which you can turn milk into milk and water into water within minutes.
How small businessmen are the target of swindlers
Cyber criminals have now become so clever that they prepare notices that look exactly like those of a government department. The same logo, same legal language and threatening words are used in it, which are enough to harass any normal person. Their main objective is to put mental pressure on the traders so that they pay the money immediately due to the fear of getting into legal trouble. Many such cases of fraud worth lakhs of rupees have come to light. Therefore, it is very important that whenever you receive a notice, instead of panicking, first check its authenticity.
This one number will reveal all the secrets
To stop this type of fraud, the government has created a very effective system, which is called ‘Document Identification Number’ i.e. DIN. This is the identity of any official communication or notice issued by the GST Department. You can consider this as the ‘Aadhaar card’ of the notice. Scammers may copy the look and feel of the notice, but they cannot generate a legitimate DIN. However, they can write any fake number on the notice, but it is now in your hands to catch them.
Understand the complete process step-by-step
You do not need to run to a CA or a lawyer to find out whether the notice you received is genuine or not. You can check it yourself on your mobile or laptop. For this just follow these easy steps:
- Find DIN Number: First look at the DIN written on your notice. It is usually written in the format “CBIC-YYYY MM ZCDR NNNN”.
- Visit the website: Now visit the official website of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
- Verification Option: There under the ‘Online Services’ tab you will find the option of ‘Verify CBIC DIN GST’, click on it.
- Enter the number: Now type the DIN number given in the notice in the box and press the submit button.
As soon as you submit, the system will tell you whether this notice is valid or not. If the notice is genuine, the message ‘Valid’ will appear on the screen.
What to do if record not found?
If after submitting you do not see any confirmation message or ‘Invalid’ is written on the screen, then understand that this notice is fake and you have narrowly escaped from becoming a victim of a big fraud. Do not delay at all in such a situation. This is a criminal case, so inform it immediately to the cyber cell. You can lodge your complaint by directly calling number 1030. Remember, your vigilance is your safety.