New Delhi (NVI): The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) today signed a MOU to exchange data between the two organisations for enhancing ease of doing business (EoDB) in India.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Manoj Pandey, Joint Secretary, MCA, and B B Gupta, ADG, CBIC, in the presence of Rajesh Verma, Secretary, MCA and M Ajit Kumar, Chairman, CBIC, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs said in a statement.
This MoU is in line with the vision of MCA and CBIC to harness data capabilities to ensure effective enforcement.
Both the organisations are going to benefit from access to each other’s databases which include details of import-export transactions and consolidated financial statements of companies registered in the country, it said.
The ministry also informed that the data sharing arrangement gains significance in light of development of MCA21 Version 3 which will utilise state of the art technology for enhancing ease of doing business in India.
It will also improve the regulatory enforcement and similar steps by CBIC like the launch of Advanced Analytics in Indirect Taxation (ADVAIT) a 360-degree taxpayer profiling tool.
The MoU will further facilitate the sharing of data and information between MCA and CBIC on an automatic and regular basis. It will enable sharing of specific information such as details of Bill of Entry (Imports), Shipping Bill (Exports) summary from CBIC and financial statements filed with the registrar by corporates, returns of allotment of shares.
Moreover, the MoU will ensure that both organizations have seamless linkage for regulatory purposes.
In addition to regular exchange of data, MCA and CBIC will exchange with each other, on request, any information available in their respective databases, for the purpose of carrying out scrutiny, inspection, investigation and prosecution, the ministry noted.
“Technology and data will play a critical role going forward in fulfilling the government’s vision of minimum government, maximum governance and both MCA and CBIC are well placed to fulfill this vision,” it added.
The MoU comes into force from the date it was signed and is an ongoing initiative of MCA and CBIC, who are already collaborating through various existing mechanisms.
Furthermore, a data exchange steering group has also been constituted for the initiative, which will meet periodically to review the data exchange status and take steps to further improve the effectiveness of the data sharing mechanism.
“This marks the beginning of a new era of cooperation and synergy between the two organisations,” the statement added.
-RJV
