The move follows the 57th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on October 8, which approved reforms to e-way bill-based interception and verification of goods in transit to curb arbitrary checks and facilitate the movement of goods across state borders.
Tamil Nadu is the first state to issue such a communication, ahead of detailed instructions from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) or other states. In an internal communication dated October 14, the state's commercial taxes department directed that the squads remain stationed at the offices of joint commissioners (intelligence) and intercept vehicles only on the basis of specific intelligence recorded in a time-stamped electronic format and on the joint commissioner's instructions. ET has seen the letter.
The directive requires intelligence inputs and written authorisation from senior officials before a vehicle can be intercepted. "This (requiring a senior officer's approval) may make an interception more accountable," said a government official. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, after the council meeting, had said: "The council recommended that goods can be inspected, detained or seized only by the officer of the supplier state or the destination state. No in between stopping and checking anything between the supplier state or the destination state." The relevant amendments to the GST law and rules are expected in due course. Other states are also working on instructions to implement the council's recommendations, while the CBIC is preparing a separate circular.