The
Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and
Customs (CBIC), Ministry of Finance, on 25 February, 2021 signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) for data exchange between the two organisations.
The MoU 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 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. 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 and improve the regulatory enforcement and similar
steps by CBIC like the launch of ADVAIT (Advanced Analytics in Indirect
Taxation) a 360-degree taxpayer profiling tool. AI/ML, data analytics will play
a critical role in achieving this synergy.
The MoU will 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. The MoU will ensure that both MCA and CBIC have seamless
linkage for regulatory purposes. In addition to regular exchange of data, MCA
and CBIC will also exchange with each other, on request, any information
available in their respective databases, for the purpose of carrying out
scrutiny, inspection, investigation and prosecution.
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.
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. A Data Exchange Steering Group also has 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.
The MoU marks the beginning of a new era of cooperation and
synergy between the two organisations.