Bengaluru: With an eye on Karnataka becoming the state with the highest GST growth this financial year, chief minister DK Shivakumar directed commercial taxes department officials to crack down on tax evasion while ensuring honest taxpayers are treated with dignity.At a review meeting Friday, Shivakumar said Karnataka had achieved 9% GST growth up to May 2026, second only to Telangana’s 10%, while outperforming Uttar Pradesh (8%), Tamil Nadu (7%), Maharashtra (5%) and Gujarat (5%).“The responsibility of implementing the suggestions made by the finance department rests on all of you,” he told officials, asking them to find ways to take Karnataka to the top position. “I have full faith that you will strive to exceed targets.”He directed officials to ensure that no goods vehicle enters the state without proper documents and said there should be “no scope for tax evasion” at border checkposts. He warned that he was closely monitoring the department’s functioning and negligence would be penalised.Shivakumar also asked officials to share intelligence with other states and conduct joint enforcement operations to curb GST fraud. He said the department had data on nearly 12 lakh taxpayers and should use technology to detect evasion.He said the department had detected bogus firms and recovered Rs 166 crore and asked officials to intensify legal action against fake companies and increase arrests in fraud cases.
