AP’s AI GST model wins Centre’s praise

Vijayawada: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who chaired the 57th meeting of the GST Council in New Delhi on Thursday, appreciated the pioneering initiatives of the Andhra Pradesh commercial taxes department in integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advanced data analytics into GST administration.

The GST Council recognised Andhra Pradesh’s efforts to use technology to enhance transparency, eliminate subjectivity in the selection of cases, strengthen accountability and improve revenue detection through risk-based enforcement. The Council also observed that other States could consider replicating the initiatives.

Andhra Pradesh has introduced AI-enabled systems in key statutory functions, including scrutiny of returns under Section 61, audit under Section 65 and inspection under Section 67 of the GST Act.

The AI-based risk assessment engine analyses GSTN data, e-way bill information and third-party datasets to identify high-risk cases based on objective, data-driven parameters.

The approach has yielded significant results. During the first six months of AI-enabled scrutiny, 10,817 cases were selected, leading to the detection of Rs.743 crore, compared with Rs.366 crore under the earlier system. Average detection per case rose sharply from Rs.3.08 lakh to Rs.27.63 lakh.

The system includes supervisory safeguards, with cases escalated to the joint commissioner, Regional Internal Monitoring Committee or State Internal Monitoring Committee wherever required. Statutory notices continue to be issued by designated officers, ensuring human oversight and accountability.

The department has also developed an AI-powered legal assistant backed by a knowledge base of around 22,000 judicial pronouncements and the GST statutory framework. It assists officers in preparing legal instructions, paragraph-wise remarks, counter-affidavits and replies, subject to review and approval by competent officers.

The integrated legal AI platform currently supports 13,719 cases, including 8,098 cases before the First Appellate Authority, 577 GST Appellate Tribunal appeals and 5,044 matters before the High Court.

The council’s recognition has attracted interest from other states. Delegations from Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have already visited Andhra Pradesh to study its AI-based systems, while Assam, Delhi and Uttarakhand have also expressed interest. The developments highlight Andhra Pradesh’s emerging role as a national model for technology-driven GST administration.

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The Hans India